CHAPTER FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY ONE – ONE AT A TIME

Suddenly, Marco set down his brush with a frustrated sigh. "This is useless," he muttered. "I don't know what I'm doing." Jasmine put her brush down and moved closer to him. "It's not useless, Marco. Look at what you've created." She gestured to his canvas, where swirls of blue and green intertwined with streaks of yellow and orange. It was abstract, but there was a beauty to it. "I don't see anything special," Marco said, shaking his head. Jasmine placed a hand on his arm. "But I do. I see your emotions, your struggle. It's all there on the canvas." Marco looked at her, a mix of confusion and something else—hope, maybe?—in his eyes. "You really see all that?" "I do," Jasmine said softly. "You always had a way of expressing yourself through art, even when you couldn't find the words." For a moment, they stood there, looking at each other. Jasmine felt a flicker of the connection they once shared. Then a knock at the door shattered the moment. "That must be Zaya," Marco said, s