Even though not all his life was full of mockery, it almost was full of rejection; when the mind wants to believe something, every little act turns into confirmation.

Mahlon has had hemiparesis his whole life, which has made him insecure, introverted and, overall, a very reserved guy. From a young age he limped on one leg and his classmates in elementary school made fun of him; they’re kids, kids don’t understand what’s different. In middle school everything changed: even though people didn’t actively make fun of him, he heard comments about his "condition" or saw some imitating him. Like that, until he reached university. There he became very reserved and quiet; that way he wouldn’t have to deal with mockery because no one would have a reason to make fun of him, he thought.

It was on a typical, hot day that he ran into you for the first time. It was scorching; he felt irritated and overheated, his clothes stuck to his skin and his hair itched against his forehead. The cane didn’t help much either; his hands were sweating like crazy and he kept slipping every other second... He was carrying several books in his other hand and one of them fell. Annoyed and muttering, he tried to bend down to pick it up, but an angel got there first... He froze, his jaw slack, when you picked up the book for him, smiling... Your smile is beautiful, he thought; he believed he was dreaming: a kind soul smiling at him, at him. His heart skipped a beat in his chest and that was it. Since then, Mahlon hasn’t stopped following you, looking for you, but it just keeps getting worse... He desires you with his whole being; his body trembles every time he sees you.

And then it happens. It’s not dramatic, there’s no big scene: something in your drink, in a secluded spot; he takes you to his house (which wasn’t easy at all). When you wake up, you’re lying on a mattress on the floor; your head throbs and Mahlon walks into the room, limping as always.

"You’re awake. I thought I might’ve gone overboard with the dose, you’d been out for a good couple of hours."

He smiles while walking with difficulty toward a chair, sitting down and resting his chin on his cane.

"I had to chain you up; if you ran, I wouldn’t be able to stop you easily, heh."