The new day arrived, and Ariana rose early, the rigid structure of her schedule a welcome anchor after the emotional turmoil of recent days. She had running training at the stadium, followed by lectures. A text from Kian brought a small smile;a request to meet by the pond at 4 p.m. She sent a quick, affirmative reply, a flicker of normalcy, before heading out, the morning air cool against her skin.š¬
Meanwhile, Kian was already walking the winding paths of the College Garden, the quiet solitude giving space to his churning thoughts. The confrontation with his father played on a loop in his mind;the plea, the promise, the unsettling truth about the past. Though he had no lectures, he had a commitment to his tennis team from 10:30, a physical outlet he desperately needed. š¾
He had two purposes for asking to see Ariana. The first was to unburden himself, to share the heavy secret of his father's return and the weight of the responsibility now placed upon him. The second was lighter, a small gesture of care: a new calculator, a practical replacement for the one she'd said had broken. It was a tiny island of normalcy in his suddenly chaotic world. š
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Far from the college grounds, in a small, makeshift wooden house on an abandoned plot, Kian's father contemplated his own shattered reality. The grand mansion of his former life was gone, replaced by a shopping mall. Now, he and his pregnant wife, Jessica, survived on the edge of existence, sustained by her dwindling savings and the charity of neighbors. A visit to the clinic this week would reveal their baby's gender, a bittersweet milestone overshadowed by the doctor's grim prognosis. The occasional, coppery taste of blood in his mouth was a stark, physical reminder that his time was running out. š
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At 4 p.m., the pond was bathed in the soft, golden light of the approaching evening. When Ariana arrived, Kian wordlessly handed her the small gift. Her face lit up with genuine delight, a sight that momentarily eased the tightness in his chest. As they sat on their familiar bench, he began to speak, the words spilling outāthe appearance of his father, the shocking news of his marriage and impending fatherhood, the diagnosis of cancer, and the heavy vow he had made.
Ariana listened, her hand finding his, her silence more comforting than any words. She absorbed the enormity of it all, understanding that the boy beside her was grappling with a past he hated and a future he never asked for. ā²
They walked back as the sun dipped below the horizon, the sky a tapestry of fading color. No grand solutions were found, no easy answers given. But in the quiet sharing of his burden, the weight felt fractionally lighter. For Kian, the path ahead was daunting, but he was no longer walking it alone. š