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.

everything

from the canvas, as

was perfectly still, it felt astonishingly alive-each

watching an

thirty long seconds, nobody

finally understood what Ines

motion,

something about the piece felt oddly

Of course-paper cutwork.

made the picture pulse

the silence shattered. Applause exploded like thunder through

to fade, Ines raised both

to explain the piece's unique

own impression-dynamic yet

and new blended together, and how the relief-cut technique had been ingeniously

her own design. Instead, it had been a fortieth birthday gift from one of

we get to see any more

"Probably not. She found her own happiness-got married and moved on. Talents like hers don't come around often, but all of you