Glassy Dream

Part 7

I placed the red bean bun and coffee milk on the ground.

I quietly sat next to the gravestone in silence.

The gravestone wrote, "Ayumu. An angelic dream that lives on in all our hearts."

As I sat there for a few more minutes, an older man with a large mustache came up next to me.

He stared at me for a few seconds and spoke up, "Ah, aren't you the priest's grandson?"

I was broken out of my trance and realized who was speaking to me. I immediately stood up and replied, "Oh, yes. And you are...?"

"I remember when you were so much younger. Your grandfather and you provided me that private praying session. To this day, I am truly thankful for you taking your time for me. You both truly helped at my lowest point."

"Of course. You are a close friend of grandpa and Ayumu's father. We are just grateful to hear that we were able to provide you closure."

"I heard you used to be in that big ball game four years ago? One of the biggest talks of our town. Winning such a big match for a small town like ours and then winning by a landslide. How did the victory feel?"

"Oh... Actually, I wasn't there to see it."

"Hmm, weren't you their star pitcher?"

"Well, it seems that they were pretty fine on their own."

"I see. So, are you still going to continue to help out with your grandfather's shrine?"

"Yeah, at first, I thought it was pretty boring. But being able to help out so many people with the closure they need, I think that's enough to bring me some happiness."

"That's great, but remember that a young man like you should go out once in a while."

"Now that I think about it, I haven't talked to my old baseball team captain for a while. Maybe I should visit him. He's actually at a pretty famous business college in the city, so it wouldn't hurt to have a change of pace."

The older man gave such a hearty laugh that it felt so familiar.

"Well, Eiji, I'm glad to see you grow up so fast. And thank you for visiting my son. If he was a bit more healthier, then he would have been about your age."

"Yes, he was a great person. I had one of my fondest memories just talking with him."

The man started to sniffle and wipe away his tears. "I'm glad to hear that there was someone that cared about him... After my wife died, it wasn't easy caring for the young man. He had his rebellious attitude similar to my wife, yet he was too sensitive like me. After all the horrible things that boy went through, I was so afraid that he would get so hurt that he would forget that not all people were like that..."

"I completely understand."

"But, it seems that he was also too similar to my wife and came down with the same heart condition as her. They both have such big, yet weak hearts..." The man took out a handkerchief and sat down on his knee. "After all those days of running away, he seemed to finally return on that day. I was always coming late at home, but that day, I happened to stay overtime at the office. It was finally until I came back home that I found him in bed... H-he had a horrible relapse overnight and even when he was taken to the hospital, he was in a coma for a few days..."

He tried to speak as he kept choking through his words. "My biggest regret is that I was too busy to worry about my son. I just kept assuming that he ran away, because he was ignorant, but it was because I was a horrible father. I'm so sorry, Ayumu. I wasn't enough. I wasn't able to give you the love that you deserved. You deserved more than your dumb father!"

The man started to cry even harder and wept even more in his handkerchief. I knelt down and gave him a pat on the back.

"I understand. But, I will say your son is a lot stronger than you might think. He was one of the strongest and most outspoken people I could ever met. I know if he could, he would have come back home, but I bet he just had too many amazing people he wanted to spend his youth to the fullest possible way. Because you were so supportive and worked hard, you were able to allow him to do that. He even told me himself that he thought you were an amazing father and that he regrets never telling you so."

"Ah." He wiped away his tears and gave a small laugh. "That boy. He's too prideful for his own good. That sounds exactly what my wife would have done as well... Thank you, Eiji. You really did it, again. You truly helped me in my hardest times."

"Of course."

"I am actually curious. How did you meet my son? He barely went to school and he did not seem to like mingling with kids his age."

As I was looking at the gravestone for a few seconds, the man handed me another handkerchief in his pocket and smiled. I didn't realize for a while, but there were tears that were rolling down my face.

"Well." I wiped the tears off my face and laughed through my sudden emotions. "Let's just say he wasn't always the greatest influence on me either."

We both gave out a small laugh until we were able to settle down our emotions.

The man gave me a soft smack on the back and said, "I know that he's looking down at us with a smile. Along with your parents, I know he will be watching us with all the love that we were able to give him."

I nodded back to him. "I believe they are all watching over us."

The man eventually stood up and left with his usual aggressive bow.

Standing in front of the gravestone alone, I took out a small metal wing earring piece along with a tattered baseball and placed it down next to the red bean bun.

For a split second, I had a thought. Perhaps, all those shadows I saw weren't really bad. Maybe they were trying to protect me. Maybe, they were watching over me in my hardest times as well.

With a smile, I looked back up at the sky for a few more minutes...