Harare, Zimbabwe(CNN) We were standing in the square outside Parliament in downtown Harare on Tuesday when word started spreading. A woman ran up to me and asked, "Is he gone? Is he really gone?"
Most Zimbabweans have only ever known one president. Robert Gabriel Mugabe, 93, ruled this country with a tight grip. He never tolerated dissent, and it was ordinary people who paid the price of his 37-year reign.
Many of them spent Tuesday afternoon writing short notes on colored cards of paper and hanging them between the jacaranda trees in the square.
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Protesters calling for Mugabe's impeachment demonstrate outside Parliament on Tuesday.
"Mugabe, your time is up," read one. Nicholas, a 21-year-old graduate without a steady job, summed it up for many: "The fear is gone. We want a new Zimbabwe."
The army seized control of the country and put Mugabe under house arrest a week ago, but the "Old Man," as he has become known, had still refused to quit.
Zimbabweans were girding themselves for a protracted and bitter impeachment battle as Parliament convened to oust their stubborn leader on Tuesday.
But not long after the joint session opened, the speaker read out a short message. It was the resignation letter that everyone wanted to hear.
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Members of Zimbabwe's Parliament celebrate after the resignation of longtime President Robert Mugabe was announced on Tuesday, November 21. Mugabe, 93, had led the country for nearly four decades.
His resignation comes six days after military leaders seized control of the nation and placed him under house arrest.
Protesters call for Mugabe's impeachment near the Parliament building in Harare on November 21.
Demonstrators protest outside the Parliament building on November 21.
Jacob Mudenda, the speaker of Zimbabwe's Parliament, presides over a session where a motion was moved to impeach Mugabe.
A man accused of supporting Mugabe is attacked outside Parliament on November 21.
People gather to pray for the country in a park near Parliament on November 21.
Lawmakers meet inside Parliament on November 21.
Gen. Constantino Chiwenga speaks during a news conference in Harare on Monday, November 20. Military leaders had been in talks with Mugabe over his exit, and Chiwenga said that progress had been made.
Students from the University of Zimbabwe participate in a demonstration in Harare on November 20.
Newspapers are held in place with rocks at a newsstand in Harare on November 20.
At a bar in Harare, people watch Mugabe give a televised address to the nation on Sunday, November 19. Mugabe ended
the address without giving his resignation.
Mugabe meets with generals in Harare on November 19.
Members of the ruling party ZANU-PF react after the decision to oust Mugabe as party leader on November 19.
A portrait of Mugabe hangs in the hall of the ZANU-PF headquarters, where delegates met for a special committee on November 19. Mugabe co-founded the party and had been its leader for decades.
A woman and her daughter look out from their balcony as a crowd of protesters gather on the road leading to the State House in Harare on Saturday, November 18.
People hold a portrait of Zimbabwe's former vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, during a demonstration demanding Mugabe's resignation on November 18. ZANU-PF announced Mnangagwa as its new party leader. He was fired by Mugabe on November 6.
A soldier greets a citizen during a demonstration on November 18.
People in Harare react as they see a military helicopter fly overhead during protests against Mugabe on November 18.
Mugabe, center, arrives to preside over a student graduation ceremony at Zimbabwe Open University on Friday, November 17. It was his first public appearance since the military takeover.
Mugabe, right, is seen in talks about his future in this image
tweeted by Caesar Zvayi, the editor of The Herald newspaper, on Thursday, November 16.
An armored vehicle is on patrol in Harare on November 16.
Business continues as usual in Harare as roadside vendors sell vegetables on November 16.
Members of the military check a gun as they stand atop an armored vehicle parked in Harare's central district on November 16.
An overview of Harare on November 16.
A banner of Mugabe remains outside the ZANU-PF headquarters in Harare on November 16.
Soldiers seal off a main road to the parliament building in Harare on November 15.
Soldiers patrol a street in Harare on November 15.
Soldiers inspect a vehicle on a road leading to Mugabe's office in Harare on November 15.
Residents in Zimbabwe's capital line up to withdraw money from a bank on November 15.
Two pedestrians pass behind an armored personnel carrier stationed at an intersection in Harare on November 15.
A man in Harare reads a special edition of The Herald newspaper on November 15.
An armored military vehicle is seen outside the building of the state-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corp. on November 15.
Soldiers monitor traffic in Harare on November 15 as the military set up checkpoints at key locations in the city.
In a screen grab of a TV broadcast on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corp., Maj. Gen. Sibusiso Moyo reads a statement saying the military was conducting an operation to target "criminals" close to the President who were causing "social and economic suffering." He denied a coup was underway.
Within minutes, a ripple of news became a wave of celebration as people streamed out onto Nelson Mandela Avenue.
I have covered Zimbabwe on and off for years. We have spoken to activists who went up against batons, tear gas, and bullets. Just a few days ago, insulting the president would have landed you in jail.
And here was seemingly everyone in Harare and the millions of Zimbabweans abroad celebrating all at once.
They surrounded the military's armored vehicles, slapping high fives with the soldiers. They climbed onto trucks, waving the Zimbabwean flag. They held anti-Mugabe signs aloft and raised their fists, snapping selfies with each other and with us.
Zimbabweans celebrate outside Parliament; soldiers hoist a child up onto their tank following the announcement.
Tendai Mahwe, dressed in a gray pullover and blue shirt, spoke for many.
"I think this is a dream come true. We haven't seen any other leader in Zimbabwe. I heard the news on Twitter and it is a moment of brilliance. We want more investment from both east and west."
Tendai said he had only recently found a contract job after years of searching. He is hopeful for the future.
And so was everyone else we met. They were young and old, rich and poor, mothers with babies strapped to their backs. Everyone partying together, sharing laughs and beers. And why not? The average person suffered the most under Mugabe's reign, and now it was over.
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People remove a portrait of former President Mugabe.
There was Ivy, nearing her sixties, clambering onto to our live position because she wanted to have her say. And we wanted the whole world to hear Ivy.
Draped in a Zimbabwean flag, she said the "Old Man" must now rest. "I couldn't sleep even at night. I used to have sleepless nights, because with no food at the table, suffering, now everything is ok but we need to pray for a new leader. "
A Zimbabwean dances on the roof of a vehicle as the sun goes down in Harare on Tuesday.
It is up to that new leader to harness the unity of Zimbabweans and the potential of young people like Tendai. There is a tough road ahead, to be sure.
But on Tuesday night, as we stood on top of a pickup overlooking the crowds celebrating outside of Mugabe's old office downtown, those questions were for another day.