He regretted it instantly, ashamed and disgusted. But it was too late. A madman overcame him, rampaging over the last remnants of serenity, and propelling his iron fist into the soft, full lips he'd kissed a thousand times before.
The momentary violent outburst hurt more than he could imagine. And that's saying a lot... because Mark already knew all about the trials of love lost.
His energetic, blue-eyed Greta had been taken cruelly from him years before. Her suffering was not at his hand - it was beyond his control. Her abuse was a long, slow descent into the ultimate deathly embrace of terminal disease. Mark witnessed most of it from right beside her - at least until he couldn't stay any longer - until he couldn't bear the life-sucking paranoia of her dementia. Then he admitted her to a frail care home. And she descended further on her own.
After the punch, memories came back to haunt him. Guilt assaulted his mind like rabid dogs shattering brittle chains that were bound to break. In the darkness, he began a journey to find forgiveness and love again.
Mark's journey leads him to great discoveries; it takes him to the abyss where all is lost; and to where he finds what every human heart desires. It blurs the lines between sanity and insanity, between life and life beyond. His story is an eternal testament to uncharted depths of human consciousness, surprising and inspiring to the end. It is heart-warming, romantic and spiritual.