The Crestfallen

Alexander "Alex" Silverwing

But as he stepped through the front door of his house, he was greeted by the usual chaos of his family. His little sister, Lily, was running around in circles, her laughter echoing off the walls. His mom was in the kitchen, chopping vegetables for dinner.

"Hey, Alex!" his mom called out. "How was school?"

"Fine," Alex muttered, already feeling the walls closing in on him again.

His mom turned around, a smile on her face. "Anything exciting happen today?"

Alex shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. His mom had always been kind and understanding, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was somehow letting her down by not being able to be happy like everyone else.

As he trudged up the stairs to his room, he could hear his parents and sister chatting and laughing downstairs. He felt like an outsider in his own home, like he was watching someone else's life play out in front of him.

He threw himself onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling as his mind raced. He wanted so badly to tell his parents about what he was going through, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it would only make things worse.

Just as he was about to give up and retreat into himself again, his phone buzzed. It was a message from Mark.

"Hey man, just wanted to check in and make sure you're okay. You wanna hang out later?"

Alex's heart lifted a little bit at the thought of spending time with his friend. Maybe he didn't have to face this alone after all.

"Yeah, that sounds good," he typed back, feeling a small smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

As he waited for Mark to arrive, he couldn't help but think about what it would be like to finally open up to someone about what he was going through. To let someone in and share his burden.

When Mark finally showed up, they headed out to the nearby park and sat on a bench overlooking the lake. They talked about their plans for the summer, their favorite movies, and everything in between.

But as the sun started to set and the park emptied out, Alex knew it was time to broach the subject that had been weighing on him for so long.

"Mark," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "I need to tell you something."

Mark turned to him, his eyes full of concern. "What's up?"

Alex took a deep breath, the words tumbling out of him before he could second-guess himself.

"Since my dad died, I've been struggling with anxiety and depression for a long time now," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I felt...like it was my fault that my dad died. I didn't even know how my dad died.", he continued.

"I wanna fix it. I don't know how to fix it. I don't even know if I can fix it. But I wanted to tell you because...because I trust you. And because I don't want to feel alone anymore."

Mark was silent for a long moment, his gaze fixed on the water.

"I'm sorry you're going through that, man," he finally said, his voice soft. "But I'm here for you. We're all here for you. And I promise we'll help you figure it out. You are never alone, man."

Alex felt a weight lift from his chest as Mark put an arm around his shoulders, offering him the comfort he'd been too afraid to ask for. Alex felt a weight lift from his chest as Mark put an arm around his shoulders, offering him the comfort he'd been too afraid to ask for.

It was then that he noticed a girl from his class walking towards them. She had long brown hair and bright blue eyes that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.