
The university gates were taller than anything Smile had ever stood beneath—ornate, iron-wrought, and heavy with dreams not meant for people like him. Yet he stepped through them, his worn shoes dragging the dust of a life far removed from privilege, his bag holding nothing but borrowed pens, notebooks filled with faded ink, and a heart still learning how to beat.
No one knew who he was.14Please respect copyright.PENANAuuP7ViLILT
And that, for once, was a blessing.
He walked the halls like a shadow—silent, unnoticed, existing somewhere between presence and absence. Most students laughed in groups, shared food, spoke of family vacations and weekend plans. Smile kept his distance. Not because he wanted to—but because it had become his instinct. People meant pain. Distance meant safety.
But fate doesn’t always knock.14Please respect copyright.PENANAeooQJvHAwG
Sometimes, it collides.
It happened in a quiet moment—he dropped a book in the library, and a hand reached down at the same time. Their fingers brushed. He looked up, startled.
Harbon.14Please respect copyright.PENANApMBlssRu8P
Tall. Loud. The kind of boy who smiled with his entire face.14Please respect copyright.PENANAzPGdKHEgQL
He laughed and said, “Hey, don’t look so scared. You act like I’m going to bite.”
That was the beginning.
A few days later, another face joined them—Fredge.14Please respect copyright.PENANA6eE6sQx3CK
Calm. Curious. A boy who asked deep questions with quiet eyes.
Unlike the rest, they didn’t ask Smile about his past. They didn’t mock his silence or his second-hand clothes. They simply sat beside him. Shared notes. Cracked jokes. Offered a seat at the cafeteria table without a word of judgment.
At first, Smile resisted.14Please respect copyright.PENANAM57u6QPay4
He didn’t know how to receive warmth. It scared him more than cruelty.14Please respect copyright.PENANAFKmzuJruJb
But Harbon’s noise and Fredge’s stillness created a space where even silence felt welcome.
And slowly, the wall began to crack.
One late evening, as the three sat under a tree on campus, Harbon said, “You ever think about starting something? Like… something big?” Fredge added, “We’ve all got brains and time. What if we use them?”
Smile didn’t answer. But something inside him stirred. A distant echo.14Please respect copyright.PENANA03yqkIR4mr
What if?14Please respect copyright.PENANAXGbdnnWpX3
What if his pain could become purpose?
And so, beneath a dying tree and a rising moon, an idea was born.14Please respect copyright.PENANAuXPcy7ESxQ
A startup. A dream.14Please respect copyright.PENANA45EoHeMsC2
Not just for money, but for legacy.
They would build it from scratch.14Please respect copyright.PENANAmemCzhqweT
With empty pockets. Full hearts.14Please respect copyright.PENANAIxhJxKtwbi
And one name carved in memory:14Please respect copyright.PENANAkHefeMucy7
Sarah Joseph Conglomerate.
A tribute to the mother who gave him life and the father who loved her.14Please respect copyright.PENANAYYDCm4nknw
Smile never told them what the name meant.14Please respect copyright.PENANAfSovtwSTHN
He simply whispered to the night:14Please respect copyright.PENANAv2vRdmrUXz
“This is for you, Ma. For you, Pa. I’ll build something the world can’t ignore.”
And for the first time in a long time,14Please respect copyright.PENANAV0MDa7407y
Smile felt something warm beneath his ribs.14Please respect copyright.PENANA0qmvSpM8XF
It wasn’t joy. Not yet.14Please respect copyright.PENANAR6brpf2DcI
But it was close enough to hope.