A year after the deadly Brussels attack, around 900 people count themselves as victims as memories of that day take their emotional toll. Those worst hit are dealing with the grief in their own ways.

It is a normal working day for the Maelbeek metro station, but an unusual memorial day for the locals. For Andre Pinto, who was taking the subway when an explosive-filled backpack exploded right next to him, the memory still won't go away.

“I ran. I just ran. I had heard just before leaving the depot that at Zaventem there was an explosion, two explosions at Zaventem,” Pinto said. “I said to myself there could be a second one so I preferred to get out of there. Flee."

In the Gallery Ravenstein in Brussels, Kristin Verellen is making the final adjustments to a very special photo exhibit that is opening to coincide with the anniversary. The photos were taken by her husband, Johan Van Steen, who died in the Maelbeek station. She searched hospitals for him for three days. 

Verellen said what had been helpful was the connection with all their friends, their family since the first day, because that day, March 22, is also her birthday. “It meant that when it happened, all my friends were in the air. You know how it is, saying Happy Birthday on the Internet,” she said. “So for me it was also easier to ask for help and immediately the house was filled with family and friends who helped to look for Johan.”

While Verellen chooses to use art to help her deal with her grief, former pro basketball player Sebastien Bellin, who was attacked at the airport, tends to use the mental strength he honed in sports to confront his fears. He had to leave the sport because his leg and hip were damaged during the attacks, and he now walks with a limp.

But Ballin doesn’t believe in fear. “I think that fear is an illusion. Danger is a reality. Danger is a car coming at you full speed, that's dangerous. But waking up in the morning thinking you're going to get hit by a car - that's fear. So in that approach, every time I'm at the airport I go and stand right on the spot where I was, and to collect myself, and to say this is where my second life started."

Tommorow may be another day for some, but for those affected by the tragedy, the mental scars will need more time to heal.