Esther knew there was no way she was going to win the match but she still wanted to put her all, just like her Dad used to encourage her before he passed away.
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She let out a deep but satisfying breath with her eyes focused on the finish line.
“Set!” it echoed in her ears and almost took her far away from the field. Her mind was gone and her thoughts were blurred.
“Dad, this is for you,” she whispered as her eyes were still focused on the finish line. Her breath was rising as the seconds passed.
But, the pistol that signifies ‘go’ was taking too long to sound. Her heartbeat was increasing but the spectator's noises wouldn’t let her focus on her thoughts.
“Esther, go!!! Fucking go!!” she heard from nowhere and only then did she realize that she had zoned out and other runners had begun to run.
As she accelerated forward and moved with the wind, she prayed in her mind, running as fast as her legs could let her.
“Daddy,” she called in her mind as she ran even faster with the harsh wind hitting her face and her sweat drooling into her eyes.
First, she ran past one of the runners. Her eyes were still focused while she passed the second runner. Now, her sole thought was to beat the three other runners who were almost approaching the finish line.
“You can do this, Esther!!” she heard again, the same voice that pushed her to start running.
Again, she passed the third runner and was just a few feet away from the two leading runners who were as well almost reaching the finish line.
“Daddy!!” She yelled out loud out of nowhere as she passed one of the two leading runners and now she had almost met up with the leading runner when they hit the finish line.
Esther fell to the ground, breathing heavily as though her heart was about to throb out of her chest. She shut her eyes, breathing heavily, crying and laughing all at the same time.
“Jeez!!” she laughed hysterically before opening her eyes and someone was looking down at her with a broad smile on his face.
“Esther!” She heard her dad’s voice and she could swear it was him looking down at her but as she sat up, there was no one standing above her anymore.
She was still trying to catch her breath, looking around to find who she had just seen when Mark, her crush, walked up to her.
He touched her shoulder from the back and she hurriedly turned around. Before she could take in the sight of him standing before her, he hugged her tightly, holding her so close to his chest.
“You did good,” he said, stroking her hair gently.
She was still trying to catch her breath but the shock from him hugging her wasn’t helping at all.
“Ma…Mark?” she finally managed to call his name but he only held her tighter.
“You did really good!” he repeated and a chuckle escaped Esther’s lips as tears rolled down her cheeks effortlessly.
Esther slowly wrapped her hands around him, crying really loud now and this prompted Mark to hold her tighter than before.
Mark kissed her forehead and stroked her hair, earning a chuckle from her.
“I thought no one cared about my race. I have no one to watch me and no one to cheer me up. I had no one to encourage and push me. I was sad, so sad because the only person who would have never missed my race or failed to cheer me was my dad and now, he’s gone!”
“I cheered you,” Mark retorted.
Esther slowly pulled from the hug and with a tear-stained face, she stared at him. “You did what?”
“I cheered you!”
“It was you?” Esther asked and Mark nodded.
“Why?”
“You are asking why I cheered you?” Mark asked almost unbelievably than she expected.
“Am I supposed to know?” she asked as they both walked away from the field. Mark wiped the tears off her face as they walked away.
“I mean, I have always liked you for God knows when”
“You’re kidding, right?” Esther said as they got to a chair where Mark’s bag was. He handed her a bottle of water and she took a large gulp, washing her face and pouring the rest on her hair.
“That looks dangerous,” Mark teased and Esther furrowed her eyebrow.
“What is?” she asked with a clueless stare.
“Drenching your hair like that, you look dangerously sexy!” Mark replied and Esther hit his shoulder playfully but the look on Mark’s face remained serious. As Esther noticed this, the big grin on her face faded before she spoke.
“Hold on, you’re not kidding?”
“Do you want me to prove that to you?” Mark asked and Esther nodded.
Mark closed the gap between them and claimed her lips hungrily, unleashing all the feelings he had bottled in for five years.
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