Goodbye, Mr. Regret

She fixed her gaze on the spot where Ines was standing.

At that moment, Timothy stepped forward, bringing Sheila and Henry with him.

He wanted to see for himself what exactly this "talent and spark" Ines claimed to see in someone's eyes looked like.

Sheila had been into animation since grade school. All these years at Aetherion, she'd even worked on a major project with the renowned director Mr. Smith-so how could she possibly lack talent or spark?

Ines cast a long, searching look at the covered frame, then turned to face the crowd.

She spoke slowly, her voice calm and clear. "I hadn't originally planned to exhibit

this piece. But honestly, I couldn't find a single flaw in it. Today marks the first stop on my national tour, and this is one of the country's landmark animation conventions. After a lot of thought, I decided to bring it out for everyone to appreciate and learn from."

With that, Ines stepped aside and pulled the deep red cloth away from the large frame.

For a moment, it was as if someone had pressed mute on the entire gallery.

The silence was so profound, you could have heard a pin drop.

It was a painting of The Grand Canal, Venice.

But instead of the usual somber palette, the scene burst with vivid, luminous colors.

yet everything had been reimagined with

the canvas,

perfectly still, it felt astonishingly alive-each

an animation frozen

seconds,

finally understood what Ines meant

at motion, motion

about the piece felt oddly

Of course-paper cutwork.

intricate relief technique made

Applause exploded like thunder through the

clapping began to fade, Ines

began to explain

yet tranquil,

spoke of the way old and new blended together, and how

not her own design. Instead, it had been a fortieth birthday gift from one

out, "Which student, Ms. Ines? Will we get to

hers don't come around often, but all of you who love animation should keep