Acception

Part one

Making a wish that he did not have anxiety, depression, the whole idea of wanting to be someone else on the inside and the outside, Mark always blamed himself for everything around him.

If one of his relatives died, it was his fault, someone picked on him because he was down all the time, his fault, his need to put on a fake smile every single day, his fault.

His friend since kindergarten, Kate, had always tried to cheer him up, calling Mark every now and then just to tell him how beautiful he is, both on the inside and outside, and every time there was something that burdened him, Kate would always take the time to talk to Mark, wherever she was.

On a daily basis, Mark worked at a shop in the middle of the town he lived in, the shop was a place Mark never wanted to leave since the positivity in the shop was just something that pleased him.

Most people knew about his condition, so they always took the extra energy within them to stay positive, even when their day maybe hadn't been the best.

You couldn't really tell that Mark was hiding the pain inside him most of the time but there was always that glimt of happiness in his eyes that just made every customer smile.

People realized that the happiness within Mark just could not get out because all the bad feelings was an isolation for the happiness, so everything was trapped inside of him.

The shop usually stayed open an extra hour when Mark was there because he, himself, noticed that the shop was a place where he could get away and think of other things than just problems.

Kate worked just nearby, in a pet store, sometimes she asked for a longer lunch than usual just to go and see how stable Mark was and if she could make it better.

It always pleased Kate to see Mark happy just because most of the time she spent around him, he was in a bad condition.

One day, Kate had a longer lunch so she went to see Mark, but someone else was there that time, she asked where Mark was but no one knew where he was and the person working there at the moment, took his spot for the day.

Mark didn't answer his phone, he was not at home, it just confused her since all he wants to do is go working.

Every possible thought flew around Kate, everything just hurt inside of her, when Mark didn't answer or found himself at work, it was bad, really bad.

The only thing she could think of was him just completely hurting himself, it's something she had witnessed a lot, he could sit and cut himself with a razor blade, he could punch a wall until his knuckles were all blue and bloody, when thoughts affected him, pain was not a problem.

A knife penetrating through Kate's chest and being twisted over and over again was what she felt until she went back inside the store, there he stood, Mark was working all of a sudden.

- Where were you? Kate asked with a tear running down her cheek.

- I've been here all the time, you came in here a few minutes ago asking where I was, he said while frowning.

The amount of confusion inside Kate's head just completely shut her body down, everything was black for a minute.

She woke up in Mark's arms, he kissed her forehead, it was something special, it was one of those times she wouldn't want to wake up.

- Are you okay? Mark asked with a worried voice. 

- I'm fine, thank you for the kiss, she said and giggled.

Mark asked her if she had time to talk that night, she said yes without hesitation.

Later that night they went for a walk near a lake, it was cold but Kate just felt warm around Mark.