The Race Before the Race
A young runner is torn between family and a dream.
Yuto had finally agreed to join the relay team for the district meet.
For three weeks, the five of them had been training from dawn until dark.
They have been improving so quickly that even Karen could hardly believe it.
On the morning of the race, however, Yuto did not .
Karen found him alone behind the stadium, staring at the distant mountains.
He told her quietly that he could not run in the race today.
He said that his grandmother had been taken to the that night.
He explained that he had been sitting by her bed until early morning.
He whispered that he had no right to think about running or winning.
Karen had been searching for the right words for the whole team.
But now, facing this boy, every prepared sentence suddenly felt empty.
She asked him gently whether his grandmother was resting comfortably now.
He replied that she was , and that his aunt was staying with her.
Karen told him that no one would ever him for choosing his family.
She said that being a good person mattered far more than any medal.
But she also reminded him that his teammates had been believing in him.
She explained that they had been running for weeks, dreaming of this one race.
Yuto looked at the ground, between two heavy responsibilities.
Then his phone rang, and it was his aunt calling from the .
He listened, went , and then slowly a small smile appeared.
His grandmother had woken up and had asked him one simple question.
The aunt said that the old woman wanted to know if he was racing today.
Yuto closed his eyes, took a long breath, and looked up at Karen.
"She has been waiting all her life," he said, "to watch me run."