Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Chapter 16

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.

of the usual somber palette, the scene burst with

and scenery retained their classic forms, yet everything had been

the

perfectly still, it felt astonishingly alive-each figure seemed ready to move

was like watching an animation frozen

thirty long seconds,

what Ines

motion, motion that

about the piece felt oddly

Of course-paper cutwork.

relief technique made the

silence shattered. Applause exploded like thunder through

clapping began to fade, Ines raised both hands, signaling

to explain the piece's unique

Timothy's own impression-dynamic yet tranquil, still yet

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

not her own design. Instead,

student, Ms. Ines? Will we get to

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

she smiled, a deep note of regret crept

throat, her eyes shining with tears as