THE TATTOO

CHAPTER TWO

The strange man

"Kasie," Uju called as she glanced at the wall clock, "let's go, we are running late already". She perused the list she was holding making sure everything they needed to get from the shopping mall was written.

Kasie walked frantically to the living room. She looked tensed.

“What’s the matter?”, Uju asked standing up immediately.

 Kasie stammered, "I...I saw him."

“The strange guy?” 

“Yes, through the bathroom window. He was hovering in the backyard but I do not think he is still there. I made a sound and he ran off to the other side of the compound," Kasie replied while trying to catch her breath. 

They had been seeing this strange man longer than they could remember. Uju had reported the case to the estate security a couple of times but nothing seemed to be done about it. She hugged Kasie, promising to report to the police this time. She just needed a picture of him on their property as evidence.

Uju sighed. “Do you still want to go shopping? We could cancel and stay home. I’d order online”.

“Oh…It’s okay mum, we can go, I feel better now. He was so close to the window. That probably got me startled".

Uju knew they were being stalked by this man, especially her daughter. She had previously bought pepper sprays which she strategically placed in different parts of the house and a number of tasers she bought from an illegal site online. She was scared too but wants kasie to know she had everything in control. She wouldn't let anybody harm her child, not on her life.

“Let’s go then, we are already late and remember we're going to the salon too, Okay?,” She said trying to sound calm and not let Kasie know how worried she was.

 “Right away my lady," Kasie said. She was laughing now in a bid to ease the already built up tension.

Uju spoke with the gateman when they got outside. He reported not seeing any unfamiliar face in the compound. As she drove off, she made a mental note to report the case to the police the coming week, since this strange man appeared almost every day now.

At the mall, they had decided to split in other to shop faster and make it to the salon afterwards. Uju was getting groceries while Kasie went for toiletries.

“Hey young lady, could you please recommend a pad for a 13 year old?," Kasie heard a male voice speak not far from her. She turned to the direction of the voice  and saw a man probably in his mid thirties with an awkward smile on his face and obviously shy.

“I do not think sanitary pads are sold based on age,” Kasie let out a laugh. “It’s mostly based on flow. So, what is her flow?”

 

“Flow?," He asked, looking quite confused 

“Yes, flow. Heavy or light flow?," Kasie asked with a mischevious smile on her face. She knew he was confused and she was having fun while it lasted.

“Sincerely, I do not know. I got an SOS call from my niece to get pads, she said nothing about flow. I can’t seem to put a call through to her after we last spoke. I’m probably stranded." He said, a little bit too fast. 

“Okay sir, I’ll help you out. You should get these," she said while taking two ALWAYS ULTRA sanitary pads from the shelf. “This for heavy and this other one for light flow. She’d choose the one that best suits her. I think you should also get tampons just in case," she handed him the sanitary pads.

He felt a little less uneasy now, quite enjoying the 'pad' lecture. He collected the pads from her trying to differentiate the two and was about asking her to help him choose tampons too when Uju's voice interrupted. 

"What's going on here?!," Uju yelled from afar as she briskly approached them. "Hey you, do you go about talking to random girls in the mall? She is a minor, she’s just fifteen!". 

Uju's past trauma had left her with an over the roof PTSD. She almost didn't have control of her actions whenever she saw a man around her daughter. She knew she overreacted most times but couldn't help it. Every man was a suspect until proven otherwise according to her 'post trauma theory.'

Kasie made to calm the situation as she tried to explain what actually transpired but her mother wasn't having it.

“What did I tell you about talking to strangers?," Uju queried. She dragged her shopping cart along as she got closer.

“Ma’am, I’m really sorry but she was just helping me to…,” the man started to say as he came closer.

Uju dragged Kasie by the hand. “Sir, do not come an inch closer to her, go talk to women your age. Excuse me!," She said and stormed out with Kasie.

He stood there with pads in his hands embarrassed and muttered "women" while shaking his head.

It was already late at night when Uju drove into their compound. She parked in the darkness. They had wasted time at the salon after they left the mall. Kasie was still grumpy due to the drama earlier at the mall and made to alight from the car but Uju held her hand in order to apologize for how she reacted. As she began to say, "Sweet, I'm really sor...," they both saw a manly figure come out from the back of their flat and started walking towards them.

"Can you see that...?," Uju asked Kasie with fear in her voice while hastily grabbing her handbag and ransacking it for a taser...

CONTINUE WITH CHAPTER THREE