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nkaw!! kaw!!

nBy the time they finished dressing up, the sun was already on the verge of setting down. Far in the horizon, as the flocks of ravens flew right infront of the setting sun, the slanting rays of the setting sun gave a warm orange tinge to the sky.

nAnd as he was immersing himself into the picturesque landscapes around him, a silhouette of a person became vivid at a certain distance away from the gate.

nUnable to take his gaze away from the ethereal scenery infront of him, he kept on staring at the familiar person ahead. Just then a warm gust of gentle sea breeze knocked the sun hat from her head.

nShe then turned around to pick her fallen hat. And as she picked her hat, she looked at him and she stretched her arms out while revealing a gentle smile.

n“Let’s go home”

nShe spoke in a soft tone.

nThe bright rays of sun coming from behind her, blinded him. But even so, he could vividly see her face. Dressed in a white one piece, the warm rays of setting sun further highlighted her beautiful facial features.

nUntil this day, he never realised just how beautiful his mother was. After the death of his father, she lost the glow in her face from overexertion. And as time passed, her once beautiful face started developing wrinkles.

nWhile he was complaining about his life, she worked overtime to make sure he was well fed. Working multiple jobs, paying the bills, taking care of his studies and footballing needs, she never complained once.

nAs he was staring at her beautiful face, a particular memory flashed before his eyes. When he was 17 years old, just after finishing high school. While playing football with his friends, his teammates started to show off their new cleats which their parents bought for them, for graduating high school. Being quite young, he couldn’t help but feel jealous.

nAnd due to jealousy, he too asked his mother to buy him new cleats. She sternly declined his request, but he kept on pestering her to buy new cleats despite her refusal. While she was already having troubles with paying the bills, he only added fuel to the burning fire by pestering her to buy a new cleat for him.

nWhile he was stubbornly asking for new cleats, he didn’t even notice that she had been wearing the same clothe for years and years. He couldn’t even remember when was the last time that he had seen her in new clothes.

nBe it some special occasions or even his graduation, she never bought anything for herself but yet still she provided him with everything that he needed. Even though she couldn’t fulfill all his desires, she still fulfilled most of his needs.

nReminiscing such moments made him regret about his course of actions. He felt guilty. While she provided him with everything, he couldn’t do anything for her. He couldn’t even buy a new set of clothes for her for all those years.

nSuddenly his heart felt heavy and his eyes moistened. Without even realising, tears started welling down his eyes.

nHe then ran towards her with eyes full of tears. And as he got close to her, he threw himself in her arms and hugged her tightly.

n“Arey!! What’s the matter? Did something happen in school?”

nShe asked while gently stroking his back with her hands.

nHowever he didn’t reply anything at all. He only tightened his grip as she stroke his back.

n‘He must have not been selected for the team’

nShe guessed.

n“It’s alright!! It’s alright!! We’ll try another time.”

nShe tried to console him.

nFinally after sometime, he loosened his grip.

n“Shall we head home now??”

nShe asked as he loosened his grip.

nBut still, he didn’t reply anything at all. She tried to shake him off, but there was no reaction from him whatsoever. Just then his arms fell down involuntarily.

n“Did he fell asleep?”

nShe chuckled as she carried him up.

nAnd indeed he had fallen asleep in her arms. Even though he fell asleep, she didn’t wake him up and instead carried him all the way to the station.

n“Did he fell asleep?”

nHis father questioned as they exited the train.

nWhile he was sleeping peacefully in her arms inside the train, his mother phoned his father and informed about his condition to his father. She then asked him to pick them up in the station.

n“Shh!! Don’t talk loudly. Let him sleep.”

nShe whispered.

n“Okay!! Okay!!”

nHe whispered back.

nHis father took him from her arms and carried him.

n“The training must have been really exhausting today.”

nTakashi whispered.

n“I guess so.”

nAs if he was unconscious, he didn’t even notice when he fell asleep. His parents carried him carefully from the school to home without waking him up.

nAt 1:43 AM

nLater in the night as he woke up from his dream, he found himself lying in his bed.

n“Ugh!! Uh- When did I get here?”

nHe mumbled as he woke up in the night.

n“Where is mom? The last thing I remember is hugging her infront of the school gate. Was everything perhaps a dream??”

nHe bewilderingly questioned.

nGrowl!!

nAll of a sudden, his stomach started to make weird noises.

n“Ahh!! Why do I feel hungry all of a sudden?”

nHe hadn’t eaten anything since lunch time. To let him sleep peacefully, his parents didn’t wake him up for dinner.

nHe then got out from his bed and started to walk towards the kitchen.

n“There must be something in the refrigerator”

nHe mumbled as he tried to open up the refrigerator. Expecting he might wake up and feel hungry, his parents had stored a cake and a apple juice in the refrigerator.

n“Woah!! There’s cake today.”

nHe was baffled by the sight of cake in the refrigerator.

nRarely his mother let him eat sweet things. She considered sweets unhealthy and therefore forbade him to eat sweets. Cake being a sweet was no exception as well.

nNom!! Nom!!

n“I must have passed out in her arms.”

nHe mumbled while chewing the cake.

nHe couldn’t think of anything else beside passing out in her arms to explain why he couldn’t remember anything after hugging her.

nWhile reminiscing of the moment before he passed out, he remembered about the things he thought while hugging her. And once again those thoughts saddened him.

n“Yosh!! Let’s earn a lot of money and buy her everything she desires.”

nHe yelled enthusiastically.

nBark!! Bark!!

nThe dogs in the neighborhood started to bark listening to his loud yells in the middle of the night. 𝑜𝘷𝑙.𝘰𝑟𝑔

n“Opps!! Gotta keep it low or else it won’t end up good if mom finds me awake.”

nHe mumbled as he chugged the bottle of juice in a single gulp.

nAfter eating, he headed towards his bed. He closed his eyes, but he couldn’t sleep for some reason. Unable to sleep, he started to think of ways to make money.

n“Even though I know the future events, I can’t make use of it. I only know of the major events which will take in football. And I can’t even remember most of the champions league finals.”

n“But even knowing those events won’t change anything at all. Afterall betting is illegal in Japan. And even if it were legal, I wouldn’t be allowed to bet afterall I’m still too young.”

nHuman mind is programmed in such a way that it forgets most of the things if there’s no repetition whatsoever, as time progresses. So it was only natural for Hiro to forget most of the event which took place because it had been a lot of time since he last remembered those events.

nThe events like champions league finals and other matches which happened a long time ago, he couldn’t remember it even if he wanted to remember.

n“So betting is out of our list to make money.”

n“What if I write novels??”

nAnother idea flashed in his mind.

n“Ahh **!! Right!! I never read a novel before. I should have listened to my friends back then.”

nHe exasperated.

nIn his previous life, many teammates in his team suggested him to read novels. But he never paid any attention to novels and brushed off their suggestions.

n“What if I teach football??”

nHe thought of teaching football as a means of earning money. But he forgot that he himself was still a child, once again.

n“Ahh **!! Right!! Who’d want to learn football from a six year old. Hahaha!!”

nHe laughed awkwardly.

n“Argh!! I can’t think of anything. Just how the hell should I make money?”

nHe screamed in frustration.

nEven after thinking for a while, he couldn’t come up with any means of making money. He was too young to make money legally.

n“Argh!! Let’s just forget about making money for now and focus on football.”

nFinally he gave up on the thoughts of making money after failing to come up with ideas to make money.

n“Just what time is it now?”

nHe reached for his drawer beside his bed to take out his phone. Just as he reached for his phone, something sparked in his mind.

n“Phone!!!”

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