Before the Graduation Ceremony

He hadn't set foot in this room since his mother passed away.

He hadn't even been free to walk around the mansion as he pleased, and after being left alone, he'd been driven into an even smaller room and spent his days mentally broken.

The time when he finally got a grip on himself and realized he couldn't go on living like that was also when he ran away from the family.

“···.”

Inside the drawer were a hardbound photo album, a thick notebook and bookmarks, colorful pens, and buttons tangled up with thread.

Max brushed the dust off the paper notebook with his hand. Memories came flooding back.

His mother preferred writing by hand with a pen to using a tablet.

‘She also used to print or develop photos and put them in albums.’

He opened the faded album lying beneath the notebook.

It was filled with pictures of his childhood and his mother. What struck him now was that there wasn't a single photo she'd taken alone...