"Mero what do you mean? What is the problem? Please tell me, you are scaring me Mero... tell me." Wura said in worry, there was a certain look of pain and worry in Mero's eyes that caused her heart to pound loudly in her chest.
"What do you mean this is the problem?" asked Wura as Mero looked away, he seemed to be hesitating, he looked as if he did not want to say what was on his mind.
"Mero look at me, you dare not hide from me, tell me what exactly is going on." said Wura as Mero looked at her and sighed.
"Me and you... this is the problem." said Mero as confusion flashed in Wura's eyes.
"What do you mean me and you?" asked Wura in confusion as her eyes watched Mero closely.
"I...I... we need to stop doing this Wura." said Mero as Wura was left being even more confused each passing moment.
Every passing moment, every single word he said, made no sense to her, she was unsure of what Mero meant.
"Stop doing what Mero?" she asked, her voice laced with concern, with confusion, but mostly with worry. Mero's voice started to sound rather shaky.
"Stop lying to ourselves..." he said.
"I need to stop lying to myself... it is doing nothing but causing me serious harm, and severe stress." he said as he let out an exasperated sigh and he moved away from Wura and turned the other way.
"Mero, tell me, what is the matter, what is making you so stressed?" she asked, she was unsure if she was not sensitive enough to tell what the problem was, or if Mero was just being extremely unclear.
Mero groaned as he refused to look at her, he kept his distance and moved further away. He felt terrible right now, he could not do this.
"Mero what is it? You are making me worry, tell me what is going on?" she asked in severe concern. She did not like how Mero was moving far away from her, as if he disliked her, this made no sense to her, and the fact that he was refusing to communicate with her was making this situation even worse.
"Mero..." she called, he still refused to look at her, at this point it was clear that he was avoiding her and her voice.
Wura had enough of this sudden change of behaviour, she walked towards him, she stood in front of him and raised his head to look at her.
"Mero, tell me what is wrong, this is unlike you to seem so...absentminded—Tell me... what is wrong?" she asked in a calm, gentle, soft tone that caused Mero to look directly into her eyes.
"I—I think that I like you." he said with an exasperated sigh.
"What—?" asked Wura in utter surprise as she retracted her hand and stopped touching Mero as if he was an open flame.
"Yes... I think that I have feelings for you Wura..." he said as he knew the implications that would arise once he revealed what had been plaguing him for the past months.
Wura was speechless, she did not know what to say. At first she had thought that maybe Mero was just joking, maybe he had decided to play a trick on her, but she immediately shunned that thought when she saw just how truly serious he looked.
"What...that is not true... that is not true Mero, I think that you are just confused..." she said as she immediately refuted the statement. She shook her head and took a step back.
"No, I am not confused at all Wura... what I am telling you is the truth." he said as he looked at her intently.
"You wanted to know the truth—you wanted to know the problem, you wanted to know what the matter was, well this is it—I have feelings for you Wura... I am sorry, but I do." said Mero seriously.
The more he said it, the more she refused to believe it. She could not believe such a declaration, she felt as if she was unable to breathe. She had never expected such a confession from Mero of all people.
She could not take this at all. Yes, she knew that she had said she wanted to know the truth, but this was just too much for her to handle.
"Mero... I am sorry but... I refuse to believe that you are saying that because you mean it." she said as she shook her head.
"Are you sure that you are not running a fever because you were cold? Or maybe you have a cold, maybe that is why, you must not feel well." said Wura as she would rather make different excuses than to face the issue at hand.
"You can touch me right now and confirm that my temperature is just fine. What I am telling you is the truth." said Mero.
"I knew that you would react like this... that is why I did not want to tell you—but I had no choice." said Mero.
He knew that the consequences of his confession would be dire, but he just could not take it anymore. He was stressed both physically and emotionally from hiding his true feelings for a long while now.
He felt like there was no point, he felt as if there was nothing for him to lose except for Wura's respect and that pained him a lot. That he would lose her respect, her friendship, he did not want to lose any of that at all.
"Mero, try to understand me... you caught me off guard... I was not expecting that at all..." she said as she sighed and she looked away, she could not face Mero at all.
With his confession, it was clear that he saw her in another light, not in the way she had always thought that he looked at her.
"I am sorry... I did not mean to make you feel uncomfortable in anyway." said Mero as he apologized, he truly felt terrible that he had caused Wura such distress.
"No because... this has really caught me off guard Mero... I apologize if my reaction scares you but—but I just cannot deal with this right now." said Wura as she sighed and she walked to her bed as Mero resisted the urge to go after her.
"But it is the truth." said Mero as Wura looked at him.
"I do not like this at all... when—when did this start?" she asked.
"Your feelings for me... when did they begin?" she asked, she needed to know. Now was not the time to act like a child, she was an adult and they were both adults, they needed to settle this like adults.
"I am not sure... they have been there for a while—" he said as she shook her head and bowed her head, taking a deep breath.
"How long?" she asked.
"The past few months... but they were not as strong as they are now." said Mero as he sighed, he was not one that liked speaking about his feelings, but now was not the time to be silent, this was a serious issue that both of them had to work out together.
For crying out loud, it was wrong for him to be feeling this way for her, it was completely wrong.
"Oh Mero... I do not know what to say... I truly am not sure what to say." she replied.
"You do not need to say anything... if you need some time to process everything I understand." he said as Wura looked up at him.
There was silence for a while until Wura stood up and said something that surprised Mero.
"That means that the only reason you have been the way you are to me is because of these feelings?" she asked.
"No... I have always treated you the same." he replied instantly.
"I find it hard to believe that Mero, forgive me, but right now, my mind is a mess, I was in no way expecting your confession, and I do not even know what to do with what you have just revealed to me." she said in a stressed tone.
"It is alright... I only have one question though." said Mero.
"What is it?" she asked, instantly regretting that she had asked what his question was once he had said it.
"I just need you to answer truthfully and honestly." he said.
"...Do you feel anything for me...? Even if it is only a little, but do you?" he asked in failed hope as that was the last straw. Wura quickly turned around, she felt like she was unable to breathe, everything was blurry, her hearing was crowded.
She needed to get out of here, she needed to get out of this enclosed space right now.
She walked to the entrance of the tent as Mero was calling out to her, but she could hear nothing in her mind.