CANVAS OF POSSIBILITIES.

Chapter: 47

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TALON:

As I stood beneath the towering arch of the university, a wave of emotions crashed over me. The sun cast a warm glow across the campus, and the air was thick with excitement. It was graduation day, a milestone I had anticipated for years. Yet, as I adjusted my cap, a familiar heaviness settled in my chest.

I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of freshly cut grass mingled with the faint aroma of blooming flowers. The atmosphere buzzed with energy, yet I felt an unsettling emptiness. Around me, graduates in their caps and gowns laughed and chatted with their families, the sounds of joy echoing in the air. I scanned the crowd, searching for familiar faces, but found only the vibrant laughter of my peers celebrating with their loved ones. The realization hit me hard: I was alone.

I had walked this path for years, and while I had forged friendships that became my family, the absence of my mother was a wound that never fully healed. She was the one I lo