Chapter 564: A moment beside the riverbed
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Time psed like the grains of sand in an hourss. With each passing day, the temperature fell, signifying the arrival of winter.
During that period, Hiro routinely went for a checkup. Prioritizing recovery, he avoided any task that would hinder the recovery.
Although he found it a bit troublesome, he heeded his mother''s words to stay away from football. However, it didn''t mean that he totally ignored it. Though he couldn''t engage in it directly, he studied the gameys of others to broaden his knowledge.
It took a whole two and half months to remove the cast. Because of the cast, he had a lot of trouble in his daily life activities.
Especially, wiping his butt was a pain in the ass.
Fortunately, during this period, his father regained his senses. The recovery of his father wasn''t the only thing that took ce during that period.
Taking advantage of the resting period, he managed to improve the rtionship that had turned sour due to his absence.
In this period, after losing to Al Hl, one of the giants in the Saudi League, Kawasaki was knocked out of the AFC Champions League. They were also knocked out of the Emperors club after losing against Kashima Antlers in a thrilling showdown.
Fortunately, they retained their lead in the league.
In short, a lot of things had taken ce during his recovery period.
Right now, Hiro was seated on the grassy riverbed beside the river. The sky was painted with orange pastels with the sun nearing the horizon.
A silhouette of birds could be seen floating above the setting sun.
The nting rays of the setting sun fell on his face, giving a golden hue to it. In the gentle breeze, his hair dangled freely.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
As for his eyes, it shone like amber under the light.
At the moment, Hiro''s figure seemed like a character straight out of a painting.
"Do you always enjoy watching the sky?" Ishikawa who was seated right beside him couldn''t refrain from asking.
She had been watching him for a while. Yet he seemed as if he was lost in thoughts.
With his gaze fixated on the horizon, he mumbled softly, "I just find it soothing to watch the sky. Tomorrow, you won''t be able to witness the same scene."
Ishikawa felt puzzled when she heard him, "What do you mean? The sun will set again tomorrow. So, why won''t you be able to witness the same scene?"
"Indeed, the sun would set tomorrow too. But you won''t be able to witness the same pattern of the sky. The hue might be brighter or the clouds would be sparse. But the moment you are witnessing right now, it won''te again."
Suddenly, what was he talking about? Ishikawa stood there staring at him, trying toprehend the meaning of his words.
Even so, she couldn''tprehend what he was trying to convey. So, she asked, "I don''t get it. Are you talking about the sky or is there any hidden meaning behind your words?"
Hiro slowly turned around to look at her and said, "What I mean to say is that we should enjoy the present."
Earlier, she had been talking about him leaving and she had been looking sad since then. So, he wanted to remind her that though they would be parting soon, they were together right now. So, they should cherish the present.
That was the message he was trying to convey.
As Ishikawa realized what he meant, her eyes dpidated, ''Is it because I have been talking about his departure? So he''s reminding me that we shouldn''t be depressed about the future but cherish the present.''
Then she curled her lips to reveal a subtle grin, "Indeed, it''s as you said."
Just then a ball came flying their way. The ball was about to hit Ishikawa. Fortunately, Hiro reacted quickly and prevented the ball from hitting her.
"I''m so sorry," someone apologized.
At the moment, beside the riverbank, some people were ying football. From the looks of it, they appeared to be training.
"You idiot, I told you that you shouldn''t mindlessly kick the ball," another person scolded the one who just apologized. "Just kicking the ball with power will cause it to go astray."
Hiro, however, couldn''t be bothered by them. Turning to look at Ishikawa who appeared to be startled, Hiro asked, "Are you okay?"
She nodded her head as she responded, "Umm..., I''m fine."
While he was focused on her, the two boys rushed to them to apologize, "I''m sorry, brother. I didn''t mean to hit you."
Hiro hadn''t paid any attention to them before. But as he looked closely, he found the boy before him quite young.
Then he took a quick nce at the field and again rolled his eyes back to him, "Was it you who shot just now?"
The distance from the post was quite far. So, he couldn''t help but wonder how that boy shot this far. Well, if it was him he wouldn''t have any difficulty shooting this far.
But for a boy so young, he couldn''t help but find it strange.
Immediately, the boy started whining, "Yes, sir. But I really didn''t mean to shoot at you." Moisture began to umte in his eyes and even his voice started to crack.
The boy looked terrified.
Seeing how terrified the boy before him was, Hiro panicked, ''Ahh- Was I too harsh? Did I sound intimidating just now?''
Hiro''s mind raced with thoughts.
"Ah— I didn''t mean to scare you. I was only asking... if you had shot with such power," Hiro tried to rify, his tone ridden with guilt.
"Stop whining already," the other boy with spiky hair who had apanied him scolded.
"He''s not scolding you."
"But what if something bad had happened?" the boy who appeared to be on the verge of tears
said.
For a while, the other boy with the spiky hair tried to console him by scolding him.
Nheless, it seemed that the two had a rather close rtionship.
It almost reminded Hiro of the days he yed for Okami Elementary School.
Revealing a bemusing smile on his face, he watched the two. Just then his gaze fell upon the
crest on their shirt, "Where do you guys study?"
"Ookami Middle School."