Though he might be fortunate enough to defeat the beast, there is a trail of past hurts left behind in his soul, a residue that lingers in the air. It can be a wound that never completely heals. After the years in college, which are not always as wild and happy as many remember, he acquires a roommate. There also, loneliness arrives unaware, demanding rent rather than paying it. Without even realizing it, a gaping hole has formed in his soul.
Loneliness consumes all the space it can find, eating voraciously into every thought.
He feels left out again. Sometimes included, yet somehow excluded. He has finally found a career he loves, and he works hard at it because that is an area in which he excels. Perhaps he earns an upper management position and believes he has everything going his way. However, years later, as he prepares to retire, he still has that ache inside.