<□>Wit□ e□ch passing m□men□, layers of □r□ten□e an□ facade began to □eel away,□□evealing the raw au□hent□city that lay beneath. The □econd en□o□nter□strippe□ awa□ the □onst□aints□of ini□ial impressi□n□,□allowing f□r□a de□per□ mor□ mea□ingful co□nectio□ to take ro□t.□Wall□ were□d□sman□le□, barriers were broken dow□, and v□lnerabilitie□ were lai□ □are in a disp□ay of honesty and t□ansparency.