Mary

It was almost midnight, and Mary found herself alone in the living room of their small apartment. The soft hum of the clock on the wall ticked away, marking the passage of time. The room was adorned with photos of her and Daniel over the years. Each photograph told a story, a chapter in the book of their lives.

In the subdued glow of the living room lamp, Mary traced her fingers along the frames, her touch gentle as if caressing the memories captured within. There they were, a younger Daniel with messy hair and a gap-toothed grin, holding a handmade Mother's Day card. A smile crept across Mary's face as she remembered the earnestness in his eyes, eager to surprise her.

Next to it, a photo captured the first day of school, Daniel clutching his backpack with a mix of excitement and nervousness. Mary recalled the bittersweet emotions of that day, watching her little boy take a step towards independence.

The photographs continued. A snapshot of a birthday celebration, with a cake adorned with candles flickering in the dim light. Mary chuckled at the image of Daniel.

Yet, as Mary looked through the photographs, a subtle melancholy crept in. She paused at a picture of a much younger Daniel, asleep with a well-loved teddy bear clutched in his arms. The innocence of that moment tugged at Mary's heart. She found herself wrestling with conflicting emotions. The recent turn of events had ushered in a whirlwind of changes.

A month — that's all it took for Mary to feel as if she had witnessed a rapid change. It was as if he had matured overnight. Sometimes she caught glimpses of Daniel with a distant, contemplative look on his face. He looked at her as if he hadn't seen her in years. She had asked him what was wrong, but he always brushed it off. Was this normal? She had asked her friends at work, and they had said that he was just growing up. Do children just grow up overnight?

Mary sank into the worn-out armchair, her gaze fixed on the photograph in her hands. The young boy in the picture seemed worlds apart from the young man she saw glimpses of today. Her fingers ran over the edge of the frame. She found herself longing for the days when Daniel's biggest concerns were scraped knees and bedtime stories.

But he was growing up, and she can't hold his hands through every step of the journey. She couldn't shield Daniel from the uncertainties of the future, nor could she rewind the clock. All she could do as a mother was to support Daniel, to help him be his best self.

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Small chapter to show Mary's thoughts of the recent changes in her life and her son's