The soft rain drops fall gently from the dark Grey sky above, people rush below the gloomy clouds crossing the dimly lit streets. Colourful umbrellas with different sizes move like pawns in a messy game of chess while those who are unprepared for the weather cover their faces with jackets and purses hurrying to find shelter in a string of shops. Salesmen and women smile delightfully as they welcome wet potential customers.
A Red and Grey Metro bus follows its routine route from the bustling city to a quieter suburban neighbourhood, eventually turning onto North Street. This particular area is popular with middle-class residents. The bus comes to an abrupt halt at a familiar bus stop right in front of a jewellery store. Simi, a beautiful 27-year-old woman with a fair complexion and a blend of ethnic backgrounds with long curly hair, takes a lethargic step off the bus holding a brown medium sized box with some belonging inside. The bus driver seems somewhat concerned about the exiting woman,
“You look so out of it, lady! Nearly missed your stop.”
She sighs heavily, her face is red, and her eyes are teary. She wears a light blue pencil skirt that allows her legs to move with ease, and her black half sleeved blouse complements her black shoes which are wet on the tips. She completes her look with a cream white jersey unbuttoned in the front.
Simi looks up to the heavens and takes another meandering step on to the wet sidewalk - as the bus doors close taking hold of a piece of her jersey and pulling away with it. Simi’s eyes widen and she screams in horror realizing what is happening. The bus pulls her along for a meter and a half, her jersey tears throwing her on the sidewalk, she flings the box in the air to break her fall with her hands and lands on her bum on the dirty wet pavement, avoiding major physical hurt.
Distraught and a little sore, tears roll down Simi’s face. She sits in the dirty water for half a minute sobbing while the rain soaks her. Strangers passing by help collect some of her belongings and put them in the crumpled wet box. She stands up shaking her head and sobbing, “Thank you so much” collecting the last pen and wet notebook from strangers' hands. With a limp and missing shoe, she disappears around the corner.
Supporting the wet box with one leg, Simi unlocks her apartment door, sniffling heavily to keep the tears from coming down. She walks in, closes, and locks the door behind her, then leans on it. Slowly she slides down to the floor, releasing what's left of the wet box, she buries her face in her hands against her drawn-up knees and sobs bitterly.
Within her opulent one-bedroom apartment, an air of melancholy lingers. Gracing an exquisite dark brown cabinet were five magnificent ornaments, flanked by two dainty light brown vases on either side. The lounge boasted a rich, dark red rug, where two cozy two-seater couches nestled close together, separated by an elegant light brown side table bearing a solitary green flower in a vase and a cherished photo frame. Across from these couches, two chic single-seater chairs gaze toward the heart of the room, where a brown coffee table holds its ground.
Simi’s phone buzzes. At first, she ignores it, after the buzzing continues along with notification sounds, she reaches for it from her soggy box, sniffling, she unlocks it. She reads a text from a contact named “Erik-Baelicious”. The text reads:
“I am sorry we couldn’t workout, I hope you find someone right for you.”
Simi drops the phone, and her eyes are unable to contain a fresh flood of tears.
“Oh gosh, I don’t know if I can take this!”
She rises with a red face and swollen eyes, she stumbles to the bathroom, she splashes her face with cold water and looks at herself in the mirror for a moment, tears simmer from her eyes but she composes herself.
She takes off her wet blouse revealing her lovely petit body and a silk pink bra that holds her tightly, she takes off her skirt and unhooks her bra preparing to change.
MOMENTS LATER.
Simi wears a loose, black tracksuit pants and a light Gray wrinkled t-shirt with big black letters spelling “I love Mzansi” printed along the front. She shuffles into her unlit kitchen; she reaches for a wine glass hanging under her top cabinet then bends to reach for a wine bottle from the lower cabinet. She pours herself a full glass and walks towards the large red and black curtains by the lounge.
Simi slides the curtains apart with her free hand and reveals glittering city lights from her fourth-floor flat. She slides the wide glass door open and the inner white curtains dance slowly from the breeze gently hitting her face. Her mood has changed, she is quiet, thinking deeply. She stares blankly outside through the open sliding door, taking big gulps she shakes her head slowly as if having an internal debate.
Her phone vibrates again and makes the notification sound, she fetches it from the floor by the door and reads the new text. This time, it is from an unsaved contact number:
“Dear Mrs Tange, we are reaching out to you again to request your presence at Thanda Bantu Hospital. kindly note that you are required to come and sign consent forms for administering new test drugs for Mrs. Rosa Tange, before Friday. As previously communicated your mother will miss the treatment that could help stabilize her mental state. Please contact us on this number for further enquiries: 0102 371925.”
Simi’s face changes from peaceful to deep disturbance. She throws her phone on the cabinet next to her and begins to breath heavily, she walks and perches on the edge of the couch, the photo frame catches her eye, it is her smiling wildly with a round face looking heavily pregnant with painting smeared on her face in a huge pink gown she wore surrounded by other laughing and happy faces. Simi lifts the picture and looks at it earnestly. Her face crumples up again and tears bubble up once more like a spring. She sinks back into her couch weeping.
Suddenly a thought enters her mind, and she looks straight ahead with intensity. Her head swings towards her kitchen while thoughts continue to flow in her head. She rises, snatching her wine glass and strides with purpose into her kitchen. She opens the drawers searching for something. Huffing with frustration, she turns to the lower cabinets and searches with more vigour. She pauses as a new thought occurs to her. Standing up she starts to walk purposefully towards the bathroom. Midway there, she wheels around back to the kitchen, refilling her wine glass and taking it with her to the bathroom.
Putting the glass on the bathroom counter, Simi opens her mirror cabinet, and her face subtly acknowledges that she has at last found what she was looking for. She stares at the bottles of medicine in front of her for a while. Then a loud sigh punches through the silence. She reaches for several capsule bottles and puts them on the basin near her wine glass, murmuring to herself as she reads each one’s description carefully. In the end, she sets two bottles aside.
Simi grabs her wine glass and the two capsules, taking a gulp, she walks back to the lounge with bottles clattering heavily with sound of many pills. She places the bottles on the coffee table, she hesitates then walks to the kitchen to refill her glass with a new bottle of red wine. Looking apprehensive, she walks to the lounge cabinet and turns on a portable Bluetooth speaker which starts to play soft music then comes to sit again on the couch. She opens the bottles and spills most of the pills on the table from both of them. Clutching her wine glass, she takes a big gulp then looks at the drugs on the table like an enemy she loves to hate, her chest rises and falls from heavy breathing.
She stands up abruptly, almost spilling some wine, and walks to her open sliding door, limbs lurching stiffly. She leans on the one pillar looking outside in deep thought and worry. Taking a drink of wine, her eyes start watering again. She shakes her head with deep despair, as if having an argument with the invisible creator, looking hopeless.
Shoulders slumped, Simi wanders back inside, heading to her couch and the pill filled table. She stares at them, dark purple round pills and peach and white bullet pills. Simi reaches for her phone and begins a new text not addressed to anyone:
“I’m sorry that it had to come to this but I have no other choice but to at least be in control of one aspect of my life. Please know that I had to do this.”
She puts the phone on the table, breathing heavily. Her eyes roam wildly around the room as tears roll freely down her bright red cheeks.
Simi reaches for a handful of drugs and holds them in her hand. She looks up to the ceiling momentarily and hesitates, then she brings the drugs close to her mouth and attempts again to throw them down her throat...
Glug, glug, glug.
Simi freezes in horror! The sound comes from the kitchen, liquid being poured into a glass. She stares in the direction of the kitchen not moving a muscle, her mouth hanging open in fear.
The pouring sound stops and it’s dead silent! Simi swallows, trying to manage her breathing which has become the loudest sound in the room.
“Hel...” her voice breaks “hello, is anybody there?” she waits for an answer to no avail.
Simi slowly puts the pills and wine glass on the coffee table and rises with her eyes fixed towards the kitchen. She takes very light and slow steps, her breath heavier than before, her face white with fear.
“Hi Simi.” A woman appears from the kitchen holding a glass of wine wearing a smile.
“Uuhh-!” Simi shrieks and freezes in fear “Who… who are you? how did you get inside my house?” her voice and body shake as she speaks, she is relieved the person is not charging at her.
“Simi, the real question is what are you doing?” the stranger replies, she speaks with calmness that takes over the room.
Simi looks at the stranger standing in front of her. An elderly woman in her early 50s. The stranger wears a dark green curvy dress coming down to just under her knees, a posh brown coat over her shoulders and her elegant look completed with medium black heels. Her face is bright, posture upright, and her eyes gleam behind the glasses she wears. A faint look of concern hovers around her eyebrows, but an overall warmness radiates around her.
Simi questions the stranger, still in shock but now also with a little bit of anger. “How do you know my name? Who are you lady?” The last statement is blurted more loudly, her confidence rising a little.
Simi is perplexed and questions if what is taking place is actually real.
“What do you want from me …please?” she asks with an undertone of desperation.
The stranger comes into the lounge proper and Simi skittles away. The elderly woman looks a bit reproachfully at her and then sits down on a couch, sipping her wine before putting the glass on the table. She crosses her legs and looks at Simi who is hunched over in the corner of the room, posture defensive.
“Please sit down. So, we can talk.” The visitor speaks calmly. Simi doesn’t move. The visitor sighs quietly, then leans forward and says earnestly, “I know you are hurting and everything seems to be lost but believe me, your life is far from over. Of course, that’s if you start making the right decisions.”
This bit of insight visibly shocks Simi. Reluctantly, she walks to the single seater couch and sits down across the strange lady who seems to be quite comfortable in her house.
“I’m sorry, I really don’t understand what’s happening here. Who are you again?”
The strange lady chuckles and looks straight into Simi’s eyes.
“If I told you, you wouldn't believe me, so let's talk about you. About all that's going on in your life right now. How are you doing?”
The question infuriates Simi, who rises in anger.
“Uh!... what? You think you can just barge into my house and start asking me questions about my life? Are you stalking me? How did you even get in here?”
Simi storms over to the door to check if she locked it. The strange lady watches her antics, taking another sip of wine and snuggling deeper into the comfortable couch.
Simi jerks the locked door and gets annoyed, wondering how the lady got in.
With a fierce head shake, she unlocks the door and yanks it wide open.
“Please get out before I call the police!” Although Simi growls the words, there is a trace of desperation and fear in her voice.
“Go ahead and call the cops my dear, well, you’ll need to explain these. "The lady points at the pills scattered all over the table.
“Oh, and while you’re at it, tell them that you’ve been planning to hurt yourself for some time now. I think they will come quicker than you think?”
Simi’s face twists, her expression both perplexed and angry.
“You know what actually,” the lady muses, taking another sip of wine, “maybe the cops can help you better than I can.”
“Those are…those pills are prescribed. I don’t want to hurt myself.” Simi is defensive and irritated.
The lady looks at Simi with a mild smile. She rises from her seat and walks slowly towards Simi.
“Yeah, right.” She comes closer. “But actually, your plan is to end it all tonight, isn’t it? Well, my dear, let me tell you something interesting - did you know that if you take a handful of those pills, your insides will melt like plastic in the oven?”
Simi breathes out loudly involuntarily, the open door still clutched in her hand.
“Gradually, your heart rate will surge to ten times its typical pace. You'll slip into shock and collapse, regrettably retaining full consciousness throughout the ensuing ordeal. Each moment will unfold in excruciating detail as your blood seethes, akin to water in a pan atop a wood fire. Your body will begin to prioritize the shutdown of non-essential organs, starting with your eyes and hearing. Sensation will slowly fade from all four limbs, while your nose, eyes, and ears exude blood, each occurrence intensifying the unimaginable pain that remains with the senses you still possess.
Death won't arrive swiftly, not as your heart ceases its rhythm. Rather, you'll fall seriously ill, expelling the contents of your gut from your mouth and any available orifice. You'll choke on your own lungs, and, ultimately, after enduring what seems like an eternity—a torturous hour that stretches on endlessly—you will meet your demise.”
The lady takes her last sip of wine, now standing within arm's length of Simi, whose eyes and mouth are wide open. Simi shakes with fear, her chest moves rapidly from heavy breathing.
“Now that is a sight I do not want to see! I’ll help myself out while you call the cops.”
The lady walks back to the kitchen to put her empty glass in the sink, leaving a shaken Simi behind. Slowly, Simi closes the door and locks it behind her.
“How do you…” Simi follows the lady into the kitchen, her head hanging. “How do you know all this?” She looks up at the lady, eyes filled with confusion and fear. “Who are you?”
The lady smiles quietly, retrieves her glass and fills it again. Holding both her glass and the bottle of wine, she walks past Simi back into the lounge.
“Oh me? I am… a friend of yours. I came here because I care about you, I couldn't let us make a stupid decision. I know life is hard Simi, but we don’t end it just because we hit a brick wall.” The lady’s voice is full of empathy.
Simi follows slowly behind the strange visitor, who now pours more wine into Simi’s glass, placing the almost empty bottle of wine on the coffee table. She offers Simi her glass and reluctantly, Simi takes it.
“Come let's sit down and talk. You will soon understand.” The lady sits down on the couch again, crossing her legs, weirdly comfortable in Simi’s house.
Simi sits gingerly across from her.
“I know you have tons of questions,” the lady says cheerfully, swinging her propped leg, “but let me first ask you - how did we get here?” She uses her free hand to gesture at the pills on the table.
Simi’s nostrils flare with irritation. “What? I - I told you, that’s just my medicine. And I thought you were going to explain who you are.”
“OK let me rephrase that, I -”
“No!” Simi interrupts the stranger. “I’m asking the questions. Who are you and what do you want from me?” Her voice is stern.
The stranger releases a loud sigh. Looking directly at Simi “I did not ask to be here Simi, and, even if I was really here, I wonder if you’d be able to tell the difference between reality and illusion in your state?”
The response throws Simi for a loop and she looks at the lady with confusion written all over her face. The lady interrupts Simi’s chaotic thoughts.
“Look, truthfully, you needed me, what I do know is that we’re having this conversation right now, and we’re here together.” She sips her wine. “And this wine tastes divine.”
“Oh, I see" Simi whispers, while nodding her head and looking over to the window. “So, either you are a sick person whose been following me around, or you don’t actually exist, which would mean I’ve lost my mind.” Simi smiles in desperation “Like mom, oh I knew this day would come.”
With a slightly crazy laugh, Simi puts her untouched wine on the table and gets up slowly. She walks to the bathroom and closes the door behind her. She looks at herself in the mirror clearly questioning her sanity, before opening the tap to full blast and drenching her face with water.
“Please tell me this is all a dream, please tell me this is a dream, I am dreaming right now and when I get out, I will wake up and life will be back to normal.”
Simi opens the door to the smiling face of the stranger in her house which makes her jump in surprise.
“Aaaah!!! Oh my gosh!!" She clutches at her chest.
“Well… dream over yet?” the visitor asks chuckling.
“Listen” Simi says, inching past the lady and towards the door again, “I don't know who you think you are or what you think you are doing but I think you’ve got the wrong address or something. And…and you think you know what's going on in my life? Look lady, everybody is going through some form of hell, and I’ll admit I am not an exception, but if you think you can spy on me and try to manipulate me or something you are deeply mistaken. Whatever sick game you are playing won't work on me, so please what the hell do you want from me?” Her voice rises as she speaks, and she shouts the last sentence.
They both stand in the lounge; Simi is clearly fired up and breathing heavily.
The lady claps her hands together, making Simi jerk again. “There she is!’ The lady smiles while nodding her head. “I’ve been waiting for the fighter in you to show herself - it's important that you let her out often, you know, because sometimes you forget she is in there and you do stupid stuff.” The lady nods at the pills.
Simi is annoyed, angry and confused that she can’t even reply.
So the lady continues. “I didn’t ask to be here, but guess what? I am. If I was a stranger, do you think I’d have time to be checking on what's happening in your life? Everyone’s got their own hell to handle, right? But you know what, I do know what's happening in your life. You lost your unborn child 6 months ago, and it was the single most brutal, awful, and hardest thing you had to go through.” The lady’s voice hitches, her previously cheerful face tight with pain. “She was…is…still so special to you...”
Both women are emotional, recognizing how deep losing that child was.
The lady straightens her shoulders, as if shaking off the memories. “And you were just retrenched along with half of your company’s employees. Your boyfriend Erik, that jerk, left you because you were “too secretive”. Ha! That lousy excuse for a man was just over you but too much of a coward to tell you straight up, sorry you’ll soon find that out. Oh, and Mom, lovely Mom, she isn’t getting better babe, she’s uhm…” she shakes her head, “Yeah, she’s not making it. I’m sorry, but if you think about it, you probably know this already.”
At this, the tears shimmering in Simi’s eyes spill over.
“How can you say that! You don’t know anything.” Simi’s voice is thick with tears.
“Oh, babes but I do.” The lady speaks with sympathy and conviction. “I know everything. Sweet Kensani was the beginning of it all, losing her broke you, the most devastating experience of your life… and I know you blame yourself for losing her until this very day.”
Simi drops to the couch wailing loudly, shoulders jerking violently as she buries her face in her hands.
The lady walks to Simi, gently placing her arm around her shuddering shoulders. She sits quietly next to Simi who continues to sob bitterly.
MOMENTS LATER.
Simi sniffles, ending her cry with gasps of air, struggling to contain herself.
“It’s not your fault babe. I know it's hard but it’s going to be alright.”
Simi raises her head and looks at her companion with bloodshot eyes.
“How do you know?”
The lady responds with brisk confidence.
“Because I know, I have been exactly where you are right now and look at me now.” She waves a hand over herself with a flourish.
Simi wipes her face with her hands and speaks through her tears.
“I don’t think you understand the pain and the pressure I’m experiencing right now, it's just so so hard.”
The lady nods and continues rubbing Simi’s back gently.
“I know it’s hard dear, I know, and I also know that you are a very strong person. Maybe you don’t believe it now, but you will overcome this and live your best life.”
Simi sniffles less and less now.
“Sounds like a fantasy to me,” she says grudgingly.
The stranger smiles gently.
“Yes, you will live your fantasy, a fantastic, beautiful life, and the best thing is that you will help other people by who you will become.”
Simi smiles a little at this brazen statement, blinking and sniffling as a few remaining tears roll lazily down her cheeks. “I’m not sure about that.”
“I’m not sure about that.”
The lady chuckles and nods her head. “Oh, but I am sure about that Sims - you are going to be amazing.”
“I just, I don't know, I…” A fresh wave of tears suddenly grips Simi and her breath stutters as they roll down her face, she continues wiping them, sniffling all the while.
The elderly woman allows Simi to take it all out while she rubs her back in silence.
“It's OK” she speaks softly, allowing Simi to calm down.
Simi finally inhales then releases a deep breath “I just don... I don’t have the strength to go on anymore, I have been fighting and staying strong, but I am tired, I’m finished right now.”
“I know” the stranger speaks softly nodding her head “you are allowed to be tired, but when you are tired you don’t quit, you rest and try again.”
“Huh!” Simi inhales heavily, “I wish I could do that. I need strength for all of this, and I don’t think I have it in me to keep on trying, and trying…” Simi clenches her hand into a fist.
“Oh, you do my dear, trust me, you definitely have it inside you.”
The lady reaches for Simi’s glass of wine and unfurls her fisted hand, placing the glass into it.
“But right now, you need this - we both need it!”
The two women giggle at the fact of needing a drink, the lady reaches for her glass and both sit back and sip their wine.
Simi looks at the strangely familiar intruder for a moment, this time she has a half smile and a warmness about her.
“Tell me something, do I know you from somewhere? I mean there is just no way a stranger broke into my house to comfort me, right? I mean that... that never happens.”
The stranger replies with a smile on her face.
“Maybe you do know me, but anyway who said I broke into your house? Why couldn’t I have come in through the front door because you left it unlocked?”
“I never leave my door unlocked”, Simi answers with conviction, her words slightly slurred “so the only way to come in is to break in.”
“That is not the only way in my dear, however, I did not break in, I am... just here,” the stranger answers waving her hand in a twirl.
Simi’s head swings with a wobble as she looks into her nearly empty wine glass. Suddenly she smiles.
“Are you an angel? Or maybe a figment of my imagination? Or better yet a spy?” Simi holds the fourth option to herself, not wanting to admit that she herself may be experiencing the hallucinations and delusions of her mother's schizophrenia.
The lady lets out a chuckle. “One of them is true, though not the schizophrenia, and is being a spy better than being an angel?” Simi furrows her brow, trying to think about if she has shared her mother’s mental condition to the stranger, but the lady keeps speaking. “You may not know this but for the rest of your life this moment will mean everything to you. You’ve got to ask better questions. Who knows, I may have some answers.” The lady winks at Simi.
Simi pouts slightly. “You aren’t making any sense; what do you mean "better questions”? What “answers”?”
“Answers you really seek Simi, maybe about Erik or perhaps about mom.”
“Erik? Mom? What…what do you know about them?” She becomes apprehensive and her face changes to a serious, straight face.
The lady taps her chin with her finger. “Well, about Erik - no it wasn’t you, Erik was just never good for you. About mom…you need to go see her soon.”
Simi’s anger is gathering looking at this woman speaking about her private life.
“Shut up, you don’t know anything about Erik and me, and even less about my mom!” Simi snaps, shaking her wine glass at the stranger.
“Oh, but I do know, much more than that. And I also know that one day you will thank me for... for being here.” The stranger’s voice is calm but stern.
Simi blinks rapidly, shaking her head. “I can’t…I don’t…You gotta help me out here. Seriously, who are you really and where do you come from?”
The lady swirls her wine, crossing her legs at the ankles. “What difference will it make hmm? I’m just here right now. If I am an angel or a spy, how will knowing that help you at this moment?”
“It's just weird that someone would come into my house knowing so much about me and be so comfortable, I mean who does that? This is so bizarre” Simi adds in a mutter to herself.
“You are right my dear, it's weird I’ll give you that. But what you need to do is just trust me and trust that me being here was necessary. You will understand one day.”
“Just trust you?” Simi lets out a grunt of disbelief, downing the rest of her wine before eyeing the stranger with deep suspicion. She is not sure if the presence of this strange woman is real or a figment of alcohol infused imagination.
“It's hard, isn’t it?” The lady swirls her wine, voice contemplative. “Losing something so precious and having to be strong because life demands it hey?” The stranger looks straight into Simi’s eyes. Simi’s faces pinches up, fighting back tears.
“Yeah, it is hard. Yay for you, you know all the facts about me. But you don’t actually know what it’s like. Stop talking as if you do,” she retorts.
The lady gives a small, strained smile. “Well, like I said, I have actually gone through this exact situation. I do know how you feel - I know the emptiness and the hurt, and the desperation to forget the pain, to forget everything.” She shakes her head, her eyes landing on the pills. “It’s…all consuming.”
Simi’s eyes well up with tears, and she doesn’t move, still fixing her eyes on the stranger who has now become sad, her face losing all its the brightness. “I remember when I wanted to just end the pain. I couldn't take it anymore.” tears well up in the stranger’s eyes.
“So…did a guardian angel or a spy come to your rescue?” Simi questions, wiping tears from her cheeks.
“It was so bad that I used to cry myself to sleep every night, until one evening I told myself, I am done with life. I had so much wine, I was ready to end it all.” she shakes her head looking down in thought. “There was a knock at the door, a delivery guy had the wrong address doing his last pizza delivery, he said I could keep the pizza because he was not taking it back and not prepared to go searching for the correct address, so I kept it, I ate all of it and drank more wine.”
“Really?” Simi giggles with delight.
“Yeah, I guess pizza saved my life, ha ha,” she chuckles wiping welled up tears from her eyes, she looks back at Simi who is listening attentively. “He came at the right time, the next day, I woke up with a heavy headache.”
“Thats what you get for having lots of wine right?” Simi scornfully teases her companion.
They both giggle.
“I remember the next day when I checked the news, there was a bus that crashed a few blocks from my street, many people were badly injured and 3 people lost their lives, since that morning, my life was never quite the same, I just knew that life is more precious even with the pain.”
“That’s awful” didn’t that just push you over the line?
“No, I realized that being alive was actually a blessing, I am here for a purpose, I guess I needed that near death experience to snap out of my self-pity and actually find purpose for my life.”
“Have you found it yet?”
“Oh yes, I have found it, I wouldn't be here if I had not found my purpose.” She nods with a smile.
“Sounds like a great story,” Simi says, but she sounds skeptical. “Perhaps I need to look death in the face first and then I will feel differently.”
The stranger responds with a bright smile “Oh babes, you will feel differently in a few hours, just let the wine do its job.”
“I think it has already done its job, the pee I have could drown a city,” Simi replies with a giggle, attempting to rise from her seat.
The stranger laughs back, watching Simi get up.
Simi struggles to get up and manages to stand but after taking one step forward she goes down on her knees, letting out a cry of shock.
“Are you OK?” The stranger jumps, trying to catch Simi before she falls, both end up on the floor anyway and they begin to laugh out loud, Simi still on her knees and the stranger leaning on the couch.
“I think I peed a little there,” Simi admits through her amused gasps.
“Oh god no, please don’t drown me” the stranger replies and Simi laughs some more.
“This wine better not give me a headache in the morning” Simi struggles to her feet, the lady helps her up.
“Well, I think a good night’s rest will do you some good.”
“Yeah, I hope so. First, I gotta make it to the bathroom in one piece.” They both giggle at the notion, as Simi staggers to the bathroom.
The stranger speaks softly to herself with a smile. “You’ll be fine babe, just get through tonight.”
Simi closes the door behind her and pees. The visitor rises to her feet and walks towards the bedroom, where there are clothes on the bed as if left in a hurry. She takes them and puts them on a stylish purple one-seater couch by the corner of the brightly lit room. The bedroom walls are cream with a big queen bed almost filling the whole room. There is a chest of drawers on one side directly opposite a window on the other side of the bed.
Simi flushes the toilet and walks to the bedroom using the wall to support herself. She finds that her lady visitor has opened up the sheets for her to get in.
“Okay okay, I’ll get in but… where do you come from?” Simi questions one last time.
The visitor laughs. “Still full of questions. Just get in babe.” The visitor covers Simi as she gets in the sheets while she remains on the bed on the outside of the sheets.
Simi cuddles herself with her eyes half closing and a wide but drowsy smile on her face.
“You still need to explain yourself you know that?” Simi mumbles, failing to keep her eyes open.
“Yes babe, I know, for now… rest.” The lady pats Simi gently as she falls asleep.
“Your pizza guy couldn’t make it tonight, may his soul be blessed, that’s why I had to come,” she whispers to Simi who begins to snore.
THE NEXT DAY.
Simi opens her eyes slowly, she lies motionless in her blankets. Her eyes wonder in slow movements looking around, her forehead creased, the sun rays hitting the curtains telling her that it’s morning.
“What happened?” she wonders softly in a sleepy voice.
She slowly rises and sits on her bed looking around with questions in her eyes.
“Ahhhhhhh.” She clutches her head which is pounding with a hangover. “Ahh man, was I dreaming? Wait! Was someone actually here?…” Simi gets out of bed in the same clothes she went to bed in and walks to the lounge in search of any evidence from last night but finds it very clean. There is no evidence of any activity from the night before and no one else is in the flat. She stands in the middle of the room wondering, and puts her hands on her head looking around.
“That couldn't have been a dream” she speaks softly to herself. She lets loose a laughing breath and shakes her head. “There’s just no way. I swear there was someone here last night.”
The house is neat, the way she usually keeps it, her bag is nicely put on the couch. There is nothing on the table. Simi pops her head into the kitchen which is also clean save for an empty glass of wine on the kitchen counter.
Simi walks to the door and attempts to open it, the door is locked. She walks to the bathroom and all is in order. She walks back to her room and sees that her clothes are neatly folded and placed on the chair.
Simi sits on the edge of her bed, silently shaking her head in contemplation, trying hard to remember the events of last night.
Simi’s phone beeps and she reaches for it. A news update has popped up on her screen:
“News Update: It has been confirmed that a man and two other people lost their lives, several others were injured on the North Street Metro bus accident last night. The MB27 bus driver's loss of control resulted in a collision with a wall, trapping a pizza delivery man in between, sadly he and two passengers lost their lives on the spot. Wet weather was attributed to the accident.”
Simi gasps. “Oh Gosh! I was on that bus, that’s three blocks from me” She covers her mouth with her hand in sorrow. She puts her phone back on her side table. “The pizza delivery man couldn’t make it,” she wonders about the words she heard the night before.
She looks at her clothes on her bedroom chair and shakes her head once more. “Who was here last night? I remember getting into bed and I remember getting tucked in,” she says softly to herself. “Yeah, there was a lady here, right? so weird …”
Vaguely Simi recalls a gentle whisper, 'Go see mom tomorrow, you both need it.'
“Mom!” Simi rushes to the bathroom, turning on the shower. Could she just be imagining that someone came to save her from herself or was there really a mysterious visitor? It had to be her imagination.
In the kitchen, there are two used empty glasses of wine, one on the counter and another in the sink.
The End.
