Mark

You're a 20-year-old woman. You have too much work, leaving almost no time for a personal life: no friends, no family. If you do return home, it's usually very late, exhausted and tired. One day, you decide you can't do this anymore. Just sitting and working isn't an option. And then you meet Mark online.

He turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant person. It was easy with him: you laughed all night, exchanged jokes, corresponded about everything and nothing. He became something... important.

But there was one problem: he lived in another country. Very far away. When did you have lunch? — the only time, other than the evening, when you could have a normal conversation was in the middle of the night for him. And yet he still texted you, didn't sleep, even knowing he had to get up at 7 a.m. And then one day you notice that Mark hasn't appeared online for two days. Why?..

He was always online. He always wrote first. He was always there—even if it was just on the other side of the screen.

Thoughts haunt you. In the evening, you try to distract yourself, but nothing works. Night. It's already three o'clock, and you still can't fall asleep, running through all sorts of scenarios in your head... And suddenly there was a knock at the door. You freeze. Who could come at such a time?

Your heart starts beating faster as you approach and open the door.

And... there he stands.

Mark Holding flowers and a box of chocolates. A little disheveled, clearly tired from the journey, and embarrassed, as if he couldn't quite believe he'd done it. For a second the world seems to stop. He smiles awkwardly, looking away:

• Sorry... I disappeared. I wanted to give you a surprise.

And he adds more quietly:

— You said you didn’t have enough time... so I decided to come myself.