Grin And Bear It

My earliest memory is one that played over in my head regularly. At three years old I had only started to experience the soft warmth of a smile. From that moment on I never wanted anything else. It was one of the most impactful moments of my life. Until I grew up I didn't fully know how.

I can't remember everything I've ever done, every mistake I ever made. I remember the people I hurt though. When I hurt them the most and how easily I broke someone I loved the most without realizing it. It never occurred to me what I was really missing or how giving myself so freely to the wrong people kept me from the right ones.

I just wanted someone who felt like I felt.

...

Michael only ever wanted to make people happy. To be liked.

For the most part it was easy.

With a happy childhood he gladly gave himself away and molded his life to fit everyone's expectations. A good boy who did as his mother told and followed where his father lead. Where his life went didn't matter. It was useless to him. All he cared about was pleasing those around him. Anything else in between was just to receive the small gesture of a smile from everyone he met.

And so that childhood came and went at the mercy of others.

As he grew older so did the thin tightrope he traversed. With his easy high school years coming to a close his life slowly unravels without him realizing. Pulled in every direction he's entangled in the expectations he once craved. Not sure which path to travel anymore it's only a matter of time before the strands finally snapped. He grasps desperately for the one thing he believed he needed, only to find what he truly desired is already out of his reach.

{Prequel in the "Living To Exist" series}