Goodbyes were never easy.
They carried the weight of memories, the ache of endings, and the uncertainty of what lay ahead.
As Akutu approached the final days of university, she realized that leaving was just as important as arriving.
Every chapter in life had to end—so a new one could begin.
The first goodbye was to the campus.
She took slow walks through familiar paths, tracing the steps of the girl she had been when she first arrived. The library where she had spent countless hours buried in books. The lecture halls where she had struggled, learned, and grown. The little café where she and Sarah had shared their deepest secrets.
This place had shaped her.
And now, she had to let it go.
On the last evening before graduation, she stood in the middle of the campus and whispered,
"Thank you."
The second goodbye was to friends.
Sarah, her partner in everything, was moving to another city for a new job.
"I can't believe we won't be roommates anymore," Sarah said, hugging her tight.
Akutu swallowed the lump in her throat. "I know. But this isn't the end for us."
They had made a promise—to always be in each other's lives, no matter where the road led.
Still, as they packed up their dorm room, Akutu couldn't help but feel the ache of change.
Life was shifting, pulling them in different directions.
And all they could do was hold on to the bond they had built.
The hardest goodbye, however, was to who she used to be.
She wasn't the same girl who had arrived on campus four years ago.
She had loved and lost, failed and succeeded. She had faced fears, made tough decisions, and found her voice.
As she put on her graduation gown and walked onto the stage, she realized something.
She wasn't just saying goodbye.
She was stepping forward—toward the next version of herself.
With her diploma in hand, she took a deep breath.
A new journey was beginning.
The pulleys of life had shifted once again.