
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.PENANAI4cgV9XlTN
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.PENANAyhrZzvdcGz
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.PENANAPiQaEEa1LM
Tall. Loud. The kind of boy who smiled with his entire face.14Please respect copyright.PENANA9Sa2ugyv50
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.PENANAWXDescEQW2
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.PENANAimGPbBvhya
He didn’t know how to receive warmth. It scared him more than cruelty.14Please respect copyright.PENANAyuS6LzUSln
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.PENANACSCf8l8pwG
What if?14Please respect copyright.PENANAky3FUxmQ0C
What if his pain could become purpose?
And so, beneath a dying tree and a rising moon, an idea was born.14Please respect copyright.PENANAdiRWAjeqdk
A startup. A dream.14Please respect copyright.PENANA0nOIP2d5gA
Not just for money, but for legacy.
They would build it from scratch.14Please respect copyright.PENANABXu1AR8bxO
With empty pockets. Full hearts.14Please respect copyright.PENANAgiztQDjEpU
And one name carved in memory:14Please respect copyright.PENANA5NQFcBUy5D
Sarah Joseph Conglomerate.
A tribute to the mother who gave him life and the father who loved her.14Please respect copyright.PENANAFOq1ZvvrTm
Smile never told them what the name meant.14Please respect copyright.PENANAKF7iFS3lIG
He simply whispered to the night:14Please respect copyright.PENANALiU1s0tijZ
“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.PENANAdtN0EKXTTv
Smile felt something warm beneath his ribs.14Please respect copyright.PENANAkWJra95AGH
It wasn’t joy. Not yet.14Please respect copyright.PENANAbXeBD9nxKQ
But it was close enough to hope.