The stabbing pain started suddenly and Lani sighed. Of course it would be now. Her boyfriend of 11 months had just broken up with her which she had somewhat expected anyway. Things hadn’t been right for weeks and she had continuously been thinking about ending the relationship. That of course didn’t stop the hurt from creeping in to moisten her eyes.
The pain had started on her right forearm.
Lani hated tattoos, had done ever since she was a child. But even so, a tattoo was slowly starting to ink itself into her forearm as she stood there staring down at it. This was her curse. Every time something of some importance happened in her life, a tattoo would appear. These tattoos came in all different shapes and sizes and always depicted a lesson for her to learn. Once she had figured out the meaning from the tattoo, it would fade away to her natural clear skin. Although, the tattoos weren’t always lessons. Sometimes they were warnings.
A few years ago a tattoo had appeared as a storm cloud. She was supposed to go and catch a flight that night but something had held her up. The flight she was supposed to be on had crashed and every passenger had been killed. She should probably be thankful, but she disliked being inked repetitively.
The stinging subsided as quickly as it had started and she tucked a strand of her short black hair behind her ear. There on her forearm was a tiger cub stalking its prey. Lani pondered this for over twenty minutes, thinking of what it could mean while making herself dinner. She finally concluded that it was something along the lines of ‘trust your instincts’.
She took her Mac ‘n’ Cheese off the oven and placed it on the bench top to cool. She sighed, looking around her small, untidy apartment. For a 22 year old woman, you would think that her apartment would be clean, but no. It was a terrible mess. She quickly downed her food, continuing to survey the mess of her home. And then she started to do the unthinkable.
She started to clean.
For two hours she cleaned. And not just the visible surfaces, she cleaned everywhere. Her cupboards, her bathroom, even her DVD cabinet. When she was finally finished she walked through the apartment, looking at what she had done. She beamed to herself, a little proud. Every single surface was spotless, not a thing out of place.
