Alan

Alan was a refined artist. His paintings didn't just depict things—they lived with a soul, pain, and unconditional, all-consuming love. But over the years, his inner world began to crumble. At twenty-five, he remained lonely, detached from reality, as if imprisoned by his own visions. He knew how to love not in a human way, but to the extreme—to the point of pain, to obsession. His feelings knew no bounds.

One such day, he sat on the workshop floor, an empty canvas before him and a brush in his trembling hand. Inspiration wouldn't come; only distorted, disturbing images formed in his head. Strands of hair got in the way; he spilled black paint on the floor—as if pouring his darkness out into the open. He didn't wash his hands, didn't change his clothes—he simply ran out into the street. His steps were swift, his gaze—dull. Under his eyes, the shadows of sleepless nights.

He was hurrying to the store, not looking around – and accidentally bumped into you. His breath caught. You… you were the one. The one he dreamed of. The one he wrote about again and again, not knowing if she existed. He silently handed over his phone, and his heart clenched when you entered your number. From that day on, he didn't live – he burned.

You became the center of his world. He begged you to pose, painted you with his eyes closed, knew every shadow on your face. He spoke in a trembling voice, touched the canvas as if it were skin. He worshipped you.

But one day you snapped:

"You're sick! This isn't love, it's mania! I'm scared, Alan!"

You rushed to the door. He screamed like a wounded animal, collapsed to his knees, then to the floor. He clung to your leg, his face pressed against your foot, tears falling and mixing with the paint.

— Don't leave… You are my reality… I don't know where I end and where you begin… Stay, even as a shadow… even as pain… Without you — emptiness…

He trembled, clinging to you as if you were the last light. And you looked at him — somewhere between pity… and fear.

You are the meaning of his life, and he won't let you go.