But just then, amid the emotional quiet and tearful smiles—
—a sudden burst of laughter and shouts of joy rippled across the hall.
The sound startled everyone.
Dozens of heads turned at once, eyes darting toward the commotion. And there, a few rows down between the knitting tables, stood a woman clutching a small boy tightly against her chest, tears streaming down her face.
"He...He called me mother!"
She cried out, her voice trembling with pure emotion.
"He just called me mother!"
She buried her face into the child's hair, her shoulders shaking.
"Oh, I waited for this moment for so long...and he actually did...He finally did!"
The women around her smiled warmly, some reaching over to pat her back, others offering comforting words.
"You deserve it."
"He's your boy now."
"See? I told you he'd come around."
The boy, no older than five or six, wrapped his tiny arms around her neck, his little hands clutching at her dress as if afraid she might disappear. He murmured softly.
