Roland was so used to the pervasive sense of failure that he was unprepared for the blood-rush of success. He breathed differently. The dingy little room humped around in his vision briefly and settled at a different distance, an object of interest, not of choking confinement. He reread his letters. The world opened. {…} How true it was that one needed to be seen by others to be sure of one's own existence. Nothing in what he had written had changed and everything had changed.
Roland had grown accustomed to a feeling of constant failure, making the sudden experience of success overwhelming for him. As he realized he had triumphed, his perception altered; the drab room around him seemed less suffocating and more like an intriguing space. He took a moment to reread his letters, which now sparked a renewed perspective on the world, feeling as if possibilities had expanded before him.
This shift highlighted a profound truth: to affirm one's own existence often requires external validation from others. Although the essence of what he had written remained unchanged, the impact of recognition fundamentally transformed his reality. His moment of success illuminated the importance of being seen and acknowledged in order to truly understand oneself.
