As Mark grew older

[Bassim]

Have I made any mistakes?

As Mark grew older, he rejected the middle-class values of his family and conformity in favour of the life of a bohemian. He lost interest in making his banking career and acquiring more material things and started to enjoy long walks in the countryside and the company of poor poets, artists and failed writers. Suddenly, another world opened to him, less glamorous and exciting, but more genuine and intense. He would not go back for any money. Here, he was surrounded by real friends who cared about one another and were not interested to know how much money you had in your pockets, while there vultures lurked behind their luxury homes and plotted how to tear one another to pieces. Whenever he thought about that world, Mark felt ashamed that once he was part of it too, because if you scratched a polished veneer, you would not find much humanity underneath.

 

[abaka]

As Mark grew older, he rejected the middle-class values of family and conformity and adopted the life of a bohemian. His banking career and the acquisition of material things no longer interested him. He began to take pleasure in long walks through the countryside and the poor company of failed poets, artists and writers. Suddenly another world opened to him: less glamorous and exciting, but more genuine and intense. He would not go back for any amount. Here he was surrounded by real friends who cared about one another and were not interested to know how much money you had in your pockets, while there vultures lurked within their luxury homes and plotted how to tear each other to pieces. Whenever he thought about that world, Mark felt ashamed to have ever been a part of it. For beneath its polished veneer, there was little humanity to be found.