Most people live life in a fairly normal, but mundane sort of way. We all have our trials and triumphs, highs and lows, demons lurking within. So on and so forth. For most people hiding the struggles is pretty old hat, we cover ourselves with make-up and false grins to hide the beasts inside of us all. This, however, was not the case for Mark who had a harder time at creating a facade. Through Mark's eyes, everybody including himself looked like the demons they tried so hard to hide. While everyone one else walked around normally observing the world, Mark was faced with reality. Most would think it would be easier to be able to see people's faults, you would know instantly who's being truthful and who you should avoid, but it only made Mark more jaded. We are allowed to hide ourselves and thus grant us the chance to ignore the fact that something is wrong when we are with others. For Mark, these faults were shoved in his face with no hopes of avoiding them. The only interesting part for Mark was observing these demon couples. Each person's demon was unique in almost every way except they all had tails with a sort of misshapen knob on the end for compatibility. We are supposed to "hook up" with people who are compatible and Mark could clearly see when people aren't. He could see the pained looks on their faces even if we couldn't see it in our world. While for most this was just emotional pain it was more for Mark because in his world it was not only emotional but physical. As such, Mark secluded himself from others scared of being hurt again because unlike the thousands of other "grin-and-bear-it"-ers he couldn't. In his own mind he was constantly writhing in pain and in our world it manifested itself in much the same way and most people are only willing to put up with that sort of sight for only so long.
Mark works in the city office as a clerk which was a fairly easy job, but it didn't help his condition much. He had to interact with people regularly and these people, by Mark's standards. were monsters. There was some morbid satisfaction in the game of "guess how many horns the next one will have", but even that gets boring somehow. It's not a glamorous life, but there's not much more he could do even if he wanted to. He got up, went to work, and went home. He had no other hobbies or interests that he could explore. Well, at least he didn't have any of those things left. Most of the passion left Mark when he became afflicted. The most frustrating part is not knowing why this was happening. It wasn't a gypsy or witch curse and to the best of his knowledge Mark had never stolen any ancient artifacts. The closest explanation he's ever had is a loose connection to his break-up with the most recent ex Erica. A woman he had proposed to on the same night he found out she was cheating on him. Maybe that was the reason because it is close to the beginning of his current state, but it seems to cliche to really be the cause and it was years ago. He still occasionally saw her, in her new form that is, and always felt that tinge of what could have been in his heart.
Sure, it maybe stupid for Mark to cling to a hope that is pretty much hopeless but that's part of human nature. We are so desperate to find someone that will match up with them. People love to know that their tails are compatible, unfortunately Mark didn't have his special sight with Erica so he never quite new. There have been a few dates since her, but Mark always knew right away that they didn't match up. They stayed together maybe for a few weeks, but it was like trying to force pieces from different puzzles together. And that's where our story is at. Mark trying desperately to make sense of things that will never make sense. And the rest of the world moves along trying to ignore the fact that something may be wrong. The story picks back up with Mark at work as most dull stories begin.
"Oh hey, Mark. Do you ever get a break?" the woman entered the county office. The woman was Erica and as she appeared to Mark, her fur was quite nice today. A lot better looking than the freaky ones with scales for sure.
"I guess not." He gave a half-hearted laugh and smile that came off as patronizing, but no one who came in cared enough to be offended.
"I uh, I just came in to get a marriage license." She nervously avoided the sentence, her tail flicking back and forth.
"Oh? I didn't even know you were engaged." He tried to hide the resentment with surprise as he shuffled through drawers.
"Yeah..." she looked down, grinding her feet against the ground like a child being scolded. "We've been together for a few months now."
"And you're sure this time?" The poison in his words were a bit harder to hide this time.
"S...sort of. I don't Mark, but I'm 28 I should've been married years ago." She sounded like she was pleading with him.
"Maybe." He sighed a bit sliding her the papers.
"Anyways, I...um well it would mean a lot if you showed up Mark. I do wish we could be friends."
"I'll think about it..." he stared at her blankly, trying to even remember the face that he loved with such a burning hatred.
When she left, Mark just slumped against the counter. It had been years since he'd seen a human face other than his, so recalling Erica's was virtually impossible. The only thing he could pull out where vague shapes and colors, but nothing definite. He couldn't even remember his family's faces, it was all just blurs. A few days passed before Mark actually received an official address, which after some investigating Mark discovered she got from a mutual friend because Mark never gave it to her. A few more days passed before he reluctantly RSVP'ed with a 'yes' only so he could see if these two actually matched. So, Mark spent the time leading up to the wedding preparing himself. He tried to find old photos of them or at least Erica, just to have a point of reference for the fake compliments he would have to toss her way. However, he had burned them all in one of those drunken fits that usually follow terrible break ups.
Before he knew it, it was her wedding day and he was getting dressed in his suit and tie. The wedding looked as traditional as could be and was packed full of people that Mark most likely couldn't have identified even if they were human. He smiled a bit seeing the mix of couples, some married with fitting pieces, some just the opposite. Eventually, he took his seat and the ceremony began. As far as a monster couple goes they seemed to compliment each other physically, but that's not what was important. The ever crucial moment when their parts matched up, or at least tried to, was what Mark waited for. But when he got his wish, the disappointment set in as unfortunately for Mark they were a match. So, he politely excused himself and left without her notice. It was bad enough he knew for sure he was wrong so there was no sense in sitting through both of them confess it over and over again.
The only problem was that wasn't the whole story, but Mark left never knowing the full truth...at least not yet. Erica was planning to apologize to him for everything. One that night, she was fully prepared to say yes and marry him. She felt the same way he felt about her and she felt they would've had a perfect marriage. But like everybody, she had a moment of weakness and doubt. Maybe it was her subconscious desire to have one last partner before she married or maybe it was something else, but it happened and that changed everything. When they broke up both Erica and Mark were devastated, but Erica eventually moved on with her life and as a result her tail end changed which Mark could have never seen. Mark held onto the hurt though and always feared it. So, maybe Erica did cause his affliction in some way. If Mark could know that they were destined for each other from the start the fear would be gone right? That's not how love works and Mark never learned that. Sometimes two people will just never match up, but what he didn't know about those that did had molded to each other. Love wasn't about getting it right right away, but about learning and changing with that person and bonding. It wasn't as simple as putting puzzles together, it was more like bonding metals. He could never fully look past the monstrous hides that he was stuck in this loop. So, while we ignore the bad and try to focus on the good Mark was stuck in an opposite reality.
