Chapter 229 A dream
With the sun on the verge of setting down, the sky was transforming into a mesmerising canvas of deep purple and indigo hues.
Walking along the streets filled with the shadows of the tall buildings, trees and other infrastructures, people of all age dressed in warm clothes could be seen.
Most of them had mufflers wrapped around their necks.
Especially middle aged office workers dressed in black suit, carrying a briefcase, after a long hectic day in office, right now most of them were either heading back home or heading to a bar to relieve their strees.
Bringing along the chill of the night, soft cold breeze which was blowing in the surrounding was making most pedestrians to cough and shiver in cold.
Imminently along with the descent of the darkness, some dots of twinkling stars could also be seen flickering in the sky.
And as it continued to get darker outside, temperature started to falter even more, making the pedestrian walking outside to hasten their pace.
Standing beside the hospital window, Hiro's mother let out a soft sigh as she murmured, "Days are getting colder" while looking at the scene unfolding outside the hospital building.
Although she was relatively warm since she was inside the hospital, she couldn't help but sigh upon seeing the action made by the pedestrian outside the hospital building.
While staring outside the window as her pupils constricted a little, she saw the reflection of her son's figure in the glass window.
Sleeping soundly in the bed behind her, Hiro was lying motionless, looking weak and fragile as compared to before.
Staring at her son's figure, her gaze softened as she felt extremely pitiful about her son's condition. She then while squinching her brows walked to the corner of the window and started to pull the curtain.
Just when she finished covering the window with the curtains, Takashi walked inside the room holding two cup of coffee in his hand.
Directly walking towards her, Takashi handed one of the cup he was holding to her.
"He hasn't woken up yet?" Mumbled Takashi as he looked towards Hiro.
Momo silently shook her head while giving Takashi a pitiful gaze.
Sleeping soundly, unable to hear anything, currently Hiro was dreaming.
In a dimly lit room, seated in a wheelchair a man with messy hair, outgrown beard and sickly appearance was dazing while staring at the sky outside the window.
Wispy clouds, tinged with shades of lavender and peach, stretched out like feathery tendrils in the west horizon.
From behind those wispy clouds, sun was spreading it's majestic rays while on the verge of setting down.
And although the sky looked extremely majestic and beautiful right now, the man's eyes looked rather dull, deprived of vitality as he showed no reaction.
'Just like my life even that sun is setting down. However it will rise again tomorrow, but I will never be able to rise again.' thought the man while staring at the setting sun.
His complexion yellowed and sallow, lacking the healthy glow of vitality. Dark circles punctuated the hollow beneath his eyes and his cheeks gaunt, devoid of any chubbiness or rosiness.
And although his eyes were reflecting the glow of the setting sun, his eyes looked lifeless as if he had given up on life itself.
The unevenly outgrown beard which masked most of his face further accentuated his sickly appearance, making him look like a beggar.
Up close if you look at him closely, you could see that he shared resemblance with Hiro. And it was indeed Hiro as well.
Getting discharged from the hospital it hadn't been that long since he was told that he couldn't play football anymore.
And currently he was all alone in his mother's house, staring at the setting sun.
'What's the meaning of my life? Neither do I have a degree nor do I have any savings. All I did was chase after my dream since young and look where I am today?'
'With my legs broken, I can neither carry heavy load nor play football. I'm just a burden.'
Thinking such, his already lifeless face turned even more grim. As if he was sitting atop a quicksand, he was getting swallowed by darkness with every passing thoughts.
'Relying on mother? How can I do that after abandoning her for so long? After father's death, she took on the responsibility to both feed me and look after the house by herself. Losing the love of her life, it must have been a lot difficult to her. But even so, instead of weeping and losing herself, she stood strong and consoled me.'
'Time and again she reminded me to focus on my studies. But I never listened to her. Instead of heeding her suggestion, I even rebelled against her.'
'I even went as far as to steal her hard earned money to buy cleats, jerseys, pay for competition participation fees and fund my pathetic dream, I've been nothing but unfaithful to her.'
'Looking back to moment, I've only made her life more miserable. And till this moment, I have done nothing but become a burden to her.'
At this moment, even from his dead eyes, drops of tears started falling down. And although his expression didn't change, tears continued to fall.
Finally as those drops of tear landed on his hands did he notice that he was already crying.
However seeing the drops of tears on his hand, instead of stopping, he burst into tears as he started to weep.
Right now he was regretting his past actions. However it was too late for him to feel regretful at this moment.
With his legs crippled and dreams shattered, he could do nothing but regret. He couldn't see any hopes nor any future. All he could see right now was pitch black darkness.
And the more he tried to walk, the more he got engulfed in the darkness. It was as if he was trapped in an infinite dark space.
At this moment just as he wiped some of his tears and looked towards the window, he saw his younger self's reflection on the window glass.
Seeing the reflection of his younger self, his eyebrows raised and his eyes opened wide. His mouth felt dry and his heart sank.
"Who... Who... Are you?" Hiro stuttered while staring at the reflection on the glass window.
As he said those words while stuttering, the figure in the reflection however didn't move. It stayed still at it's place, pitifully looking at him.
Seeing the actions of the figure in the glass window, his body started to shiver and beads of sweat started running down his temple.
He felt extremely creepy as he tried to move back. However at this moment, he couldn't even lift his hands. As if his whole body down bellow his neck was paralysed, he could only move his head.
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