Olivia was startled and looked back, only to find that a pinecone had fallen and hit her shoulder. But when she raised her head, she saw an unexpected person—her mother, Christina. Their eyes met, and Christina looked just as surprised. However, she quickly collected herself, jogging over to Olivia, taking her hand, and asking how she’d been. Both of them tacitly avoided mentioning the last time Olivia had left without saying goodbye.
Olivia had no idea what to talk about, simply nodding or shaking her head in response. When she saw her mother’s boyfriend, James, approach as well, she immediately felt a wave of discomfort and quickly walked away. After walking a short distance, she looked back, noticing Christina and James had turned in another direction, seemingly heading toward the sports hall. Nearby, Donna and Jackson were chatting and laughing with Karl. Karl noticed Olivia and greeted her enthusiastically. She smiled warmly and waved back, feeling a deep warmth for everything Karl had done for her.
It turned out that Karl had an important basketball game coming up, and Donna and Jackson were going to the gym to cheer him on. He hadn’t had a chance to invite Olivia, uncertain if it would be appropriate, so he hadn’t mentioned it. But now that they’d run into each other, he confidently invited her to join. Olivia, never one to hold back, accepted readily.
The gym wasn’t particularly large, accommodating about 500 spectators. In the stands, Olivia sat to Donna’s left, with Jackson on Donna’s right; they were all in good spirits. The game was about to start, and both teams’ players had entered the court. When the announcer introduced Karl, two people stood up from the opposite bleachers, applauding. Olivia looked over and saw it was Christina and James. She was completely puzzled, unable to understand why they were at her school’s gym watching the game.
But there was no time for Olivia to dwell on this mystery—the game began. Karl won the jump ball and scored a layup to open with 2 points. In the next play, he caught the ball beyond the three-point line, jumped, and scored. The opposing team kept up, keeping the score close. As the offensive core of his team, Karl needed to make frequent attempts, and soon fatigue began to set in. Though not tall and slightly chubby, he managed to dribble at a rhythm that allowed him to take the shot and score. By halftime, Karl had scored 16 points, the highest of any player on the court. Olivia and her friends cheered non-stop for Karl.
But a twist came just one minute into the second half. Karl twisted his ankle while fighting for a rebound, collapsing to the floor in pain. His teammates gathered around to check on him. Karl couldn’t stand, and his teammates had to carry him to the bench. He gritted his teeth, sweat pouring from his forehead as he tried to endure the intense pain.
Seeing Karl injured, Olivia and her friends hurried down from the bleachers. But before reaching him, Olivia noticed that Christina and James were already at Karl’s side. James, in particular, looked unusually anxious, examining Karl’s ankle while frantically asking how he felt. After taking off his shoe, everyone could see that Karl’s ankle was swollen, looking as puffy as a loaf of bread.
“I’m okay, Dad,” Karl said, looking up at James with a strained smile.
Olivia clearly heard him say this. In her understanding, there was no connection between these two, much less a father-son relationship. But the world itself was absurd, and now Olivia was utterly confused about how to face Karl. She was at a loss.