Page 178 - DivineSparkRisingFinal

Divine Spark Rising
No spotlight chase, no dramatic entrance. She
simply appeared, small against the vast hall, her
cotton shirt and jeans a quiet rebellion against the
suits and cameras that waited for her. Her hair was
loose. Her wrist carried the pale outline of a spiral
tattoo.
For a moment she stood without speaking,
scanning the faces before her. A tremor passed
through her shoulders, then settled. She placed
both hands on the podium.
The silence stretched.
When she finally spoke, her voice was low but
clear.
"I want to talk about something we all do," she
said. She let the words settle in the still air. "Even
the best of us."
She drew a quiet breath and lifted her eyes.
"We pretend."
A ripple of uneasy laughter moved through the
room.
"We pretend we’re fine when we’re falling apart.
We pretend we’re confident when we’re terrified.
We pretend we’re certain when, deep down, we
have no idea."
The laughter faded. The crowd grew still.
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