text: &#x200B; Mark lives alone in a studio apartment in London. He works in finance, which is something he doesn’t like to elaborate on in conversations when the topic comes up. Mark’s days usually start by him waking up at 6 AM, taking a shower, going to work, working to 9 PM, grabbing a couple of beers with his friends, and then going to sleep. Mark hates his life. It’s been the same way for 10 years and if he doesn’t change anything it will probably continue to be the same to the day he dies. The only thing that consoles Mark is the high chance of him dying early, due to an overconsumption of drugs and alcohol, combined with a lack of sleep. Mark is sitting at his office; drinking coffee and analyzing numbers and trying hard not to fall asleep. Someone slaps him on his back. He turns around; it’s his boss, Peter. Peter smirks and says, “Falling asleep already, eh? You can sleep when you are dead and I don’t see a tombstone here next to you, and also this isn’t a graveyard. Never mind that, I need those reports in by tonight. I also need you to start going through the numbers for this quarter.” Mark opened his mouth to respond, but Peter was already halfway towards his office. “That old grump, now I have to work late again. That’s 987 days in a row.” Mark thought to himself. He sighed and took a sip of coffee. It had turned cold, of course. This was not the life he had dreamt of living. He wanted to be happy, live an interesting life, spend his time on hobbies, have a lovely girlfriend, and most of all; create a better world. Instead, he worked in a staid company, surrounded by people who only cared about money and profits, spending his nights doing drugs. A colleague sat a hot cup of coffee on his desk and said, “Mate, last night was mental. I reckon it can’t get better than that, but we’ll find out tonight, right? The blokes are meeting at the club at 9.” Mark replied, “I can’t tonight I’m working late, sorry mate” His colleague made fake crying noises, “We all work late, that’s why we get blasted, innit? Play hard and work hard. Did I tell you about the bonus I got last week?” Mark replied, “Many times.” His colleague started to walk away, “Awww, you’re just jealous. See you tonight, Mark.” Mark was in fact jealous, but not of his colleagues. He was jealous of people living ordinary lives and doing meaningful work, something he had never done his whole life. He decided it was time for his lunch break. The sun was shining as he stepped outside the office; birds were singing, people were eating ice cream in the park, and an elderly woman stumbled on a rock in front of him and slammed into the ground. As she was lying on the ground, Mark felt his heartbeat speed up. He decided he was going to do something nice for another person. He walked up to the old lady and extended his hand. She looked up at him and took his hand. Mark smiled and said, “Are you okay, lady?” She brushed the dust off her clothes and answered, “I’m old. I can’t walk properly anymore, but don’t get your knickers in a twist. I’m as fine as I’ll ever be. Thank you for helping me” She walked to the bus stop close by and sat down. Mark stood there and felt something weird. It wasn’t old lady dust. He was happy. He decided he was going to help more people. He heard someone crying in the park. A young girl sat alone on a bench; tears were running down her face and she was obviously not enjoying the sunny day as much as the rest of the people. Mark sat down next to her and awkwardly said, “Hi” She looked at him and wiped away her tears, “Hi?” Mark smiled and said “I noticed you were crying. I’m sorry to intrude, but is there anything I can do to help?” She looked dazzled, “I don’t think so. Thank you for asking. It’s just that my cat has disappeared. I’ve been looking for days, but I can’t find him. I love my cat and I miss him so much.” He scratched his head “What is your cat like?” She started sobbing, but eventually calmed herself, “He’s black. He’s a black cat, and he likes to eat cat food and snuggle next to me while I watch the telly.” Mark nodded, “That sounds like a nice cat. I understand why you miss him. If I see him I will give you a call immediately” She smiled, “Yes. He is a nice cat. Thank you. My name is Susan. Here is my number in case you ever find my cat” She gave him a little poster with the picture of a cat and her number written down at the bottom. Mark folded the poster and put it in his pocket, “My name is Mark.” Susan said, “It’s nice to meet you, Mark. You have made my day a little better. Do you want to help me search for my cat?” Mark was about to respond, but his phone rang. It was his boss. He answered, “Hello, it’s Mark” His boss had an angry tone in his voice, “You’ve been gone for 30 minutes. Where are you? You have to come back to the office and finish all the paperwork.” Mark did not want to go back to the office. He wanted to help Susan find her cat. Mark felt a surge of adrenalin go through his body as he said two words he had wanted to say for quite some time, “I quit.” He hung up the phone. He had just ended his career at the company, but in another sense, he felt his life had just begun.