Growth is never a straight path.
Sometimes, it's fast—like a rush of wind pushing you forward.
Other times, it's slow—like the steady pull of a river shaping the rocks beneath it.
For Akutu, the past few months had been a mix of both.
She had changed.
But had she truly processed it all?
One quiet afternoon, Akutu sat alone in her room, staring at her old notebook—the same one Kojo had returned to her weeks ago.
She flipped through the pages, reading words she had written at different points in her life.
Some of them made her smile.
Some of them made her cringe.
But one page made her pause.
It was a letter.
To herself.
Written nearly a year ago, when she had felt stuck, unsure, and afraid of what the future held.
Dear Akutu,
I don't know where you'll be when you read this, but I hope you've figured things out. I hope you're not afraid anymore. I hope you've learned how to let go of things that hurt you. I hope you're happy.
She exhaled slowly.
She wasn't sure if she had figured everything out.
She wasn't sure if she had completely stopped being afraid.
But she had let go.
And she was… happier.
Not in a dramatic, perfect way.
But in a quiet, content way.
She had friends who cared.
She had dreams that felt possible.
She had learned to choose herself.
And maybe, just maybe—
She was finally becoming the person she had always hoped to be.
That evening, Akutu met up with Kojo at their usual study spot.
"You're quiet today," he observed.
She gave a small smile. "Just thinking."
"Good thoughts or bad thoughts?"
She shrugged. "A bit of both."
Kojo nodded, as if he understood. "Thinking is good. It means you're growing."
Akutu chuckled. "That sounds like something an old man would say."
"Maybe I am an old man in disguise," he joked.
They both laughed, and for a moment, everything felt light.
Akutu glanced up at the sky, a soft orange blending into the blue.
She had spent so much time rushing forward, trying to escape who she used to be.
But maybe, she didn't need to run anymore.
Maybe, she could just be.
The pulleys of life had shifted once again.