There’s a man and he’s determined to pull out all of his hair because he’s never felt love. He’s taken up all of his hours proving he should be loved. He did this one thing and the other. He studied and perceived how others had gotten love. He asked people he thought were loved what they liked to do so that he could be more like them. Now, he’s just yanking at his hair. He’s 30 years old and the urge is strong. The man grabs on to two big patches on the front of his head, makes sure his grip is sturdy, and begins to pull back. First a few hairs come undone, then, a more layered peeling of the hairline. The skin bumps off the head with the menace of what may happen. It might take a more powerful man to fully uncap our poor fellow. But no, he’s not quitting. I guess it makes sense. 30 years old. The math is there. He’s thinking about that one tournament where he didn’t get that hug from dad. He’s thinking about that first girl that fucked his worst enemy. He’s thinking about how his friends joked he was too fat. He’s thinking about how animals didn’t sit in his lap. Now some blood presents itself. More than you would think…at first. Then you realize how much stuff goes on in our heads. Makes sense it streams out. A hole is starting to open up on the right side of the cranium that peeks at about a half inch of shiny flesh. Quickly the hole is filled with the familiar bold redness of blood. Huh, would ya look at that? What a sight. He really wants it. On average it takes this sort of man 4, even 5 attempts to get to the point our man here is at. Most don’t ever live long enough to have enough hair to truly do it. They just push back at their temples, but that’s a tough technique from what I hear. The man is giving it his all, nevertheless. His upper back and triceps are marked with those lines that show that true straining is occurring. He’s thinking about how it was all unfair to him. That if he ever enacted some sort of revenge it was unequivocally justified. It was that fifth girlfriends fault he did what he did on that trip to Europe. It was that one friends piece of shit way of being that made him tell those lies. It was his family always criticizing him that made him miss out on all those dinners. Now the whole front of his hairline is peeled back beginning to reveal the whiteness of the skull. Blood pouring out over his brow and cheekbones. It only gets easier from here. The man shouts that there is no God, no good, and no love. He’s weeping while rocking forward. Using the momentum of his body to continue the peeling. He will ultimately tear off his whole head piece and bleed out before the night is over. They’ll find him 13 days after it happens. And, of course, there will be a funeral. They’ll talk about the 1 small thing the man ever mustered to give back to society at that one foundation 8 years ago. People will cry, don’t doubt it. This man’s passing will not go unrecognized. It’s how we are as a species. There will be humans in those seats. All thinking, all wondering…where did he get the strength to pull so hard.