The term "gradually" is often used to emphasize slow, almost imperceptible change in both tangible and emotional realms. It can describe the steady evolution of intellectual capacity, as when a character's mental abilities unfold over time [1], or the slow return to negative emotions such as hatred [2]. Authors employ it to evoke natural transitions—a soul growing cool like the earth after sunset [3] or a landscape lightening at dawn [4]—as well as shifts in social dynamics or personal states, such as the unfolding of habits [5], the subsiding of turmoil [6], or the steady reanimation of hope and recollection [7]. In each instance, "gradually" underlines a process that unfolds at a deliberate pace, inviting the reader to experience transformation in its many subtle stages.