It was hideous, I stood in dismay as I saw my pupil writhing in pain. His ankle colored a nasty shade of purple as the bandage was removed.
What was once thought to be a simple dislocation was proven to be a lot more.
I looked at the doctor's face as he reexamined the leg. His eyes shifted to the face of young Brian, asleep now due to the anesthesia prescribed for the pain, those eyes then looked at me and inside me, my spirit broke.
His eyes were full of pity and pain, he shook his head to the side, signalling we go outside to talk in private.
"So when would he be back in action doctor? He has a meet in the next 4 months, so I would like him to be in tip-top shape." I said immediately we were alone.
Putting out that line of hope that maybe I was over reading his expressions during the examination.
The taut line of the doctor's mouth slackened the line though, then the next 6 words the doctor said immediately cut the line.
"He should quit being an athlete."
"Ha Ha Ha Ha" I began laughing, but stopped again as he didn't admit it to be a joke.
"I'm not joking sir, it wasn't a dislocation as we thought. A complicated fracture, one such that the bone fragments have been embedded into the nerves and muscles."
"He has no chance of running ever again."
I sat beside the bed when Brian slept, thinking of the words the doctor told me. Thinking how Brian would take it.
As though he heard his name in my head I saw him stir and wake up.
He first looked at his surroundings, then his leg that was in a cast and propped up in a sling.
He then looked at me and smiled.
"Guess there's no early morning training for me.." He joked as he groggily sat up.
I immediately went to support him, feeling the guilt in my heart as I did so.
"So.. what did the doctor say?" He asked suddenly.
"When would I be able to run again?" He asked another.
I ground my teeth as I looked at the floor, unable to tell him the truth and destroy his dreams.
"Sir?" Brian asked again.
"You should take this time to just heal." I say, avoiding the question.
"Don't think of anything else."
The next morning, the doctor came to check on him.
Brian was as active as ever, already looking at different races on the TV, sketching and jotting stances.
The doctor's and my eyes locked and immediately I knew the cover was blown.
She stood up and turned off the television.
"Why?" Brian complained
"So you didn't tell him?" Doctor Myers asked me. I stayed silent while I looked down.
"Tell me what?..." Brian asked, confusion reverberating through his voice.
"Tell me WHAT?!" He asked again, surely annoyed at being kept in the dark.
"Either you tell him now Lee, or I will." Myers gave the ultimatum.
I looked at my dearest pupil as he sat on the hospital bed pouting, his leg propped up.
I tried opening my mouth but my voice betrayed me.
"Brian, your leg is messed up way more than anticipated." Myers started without warning.
"What do you mean 'way more'?" Brian asked
"I'll be blunt with you. You can't run ever again." Myers gave it straight to him.
I watched as Brian eyes widened. His pupils dilated as his eyes slowly looked at his leg.
Myers still continued. "Your bone was broken into multiple pieces, but that's not the bad part, multiple bone fragments have been embedded into your nerves and muscles, thus making them unreachable. Normally..."
My head swung up at the mention of the word 'Normally..'
"So there is hope?" I asked, a smile creeping up my face.
"There is a surgery that can be performed to try and remove the bone fragments, but it's a high risk procedure." Myers explained
Brian who has been quiet all this while finally asked. "How high are the risks?"
Myers took a breath first then replied..
"It has a 50% percentage success rate. If the surgery isn't a success... You'll Die."
I felt the smile wash away from my face and the feeling of hope she had given me sunk.
"So without the surgery, I won't be able to run, and even when given the surgery, I might die." Bryan asked, his face getting darker.
"Yes. I recommend you to forget about races now. It's best to have your life rather than-"
"Please can we have a bit of privacy doctor?" I asked cutting her off.
She simply nodded and exited the room.
I sat on the bed. Stealing glances at my grieving student.
I watched in pain as tears flowed silently from his cheeks dropping on the white bedsheet.
I tried to imagine what he might be going through. His dreams of being the first black skinned man to win the 100 meter dash in the Prolympics.
It had been his dream since he was a kid.
"Lee Sensei." I heard him call amidst sobs.
"When I first entered a track race in my school, you were there."
"Hmm" I sounded, remembering that day.
"Right there, before the race started, I revealed my dream, my aspiration."
I remembered it clearly and how he said it.
'I'm going to be the fastest man alive and win the Prolympics 100m dash.'
"My classmates laughed at me then because I was chubby and slow, but I meant what I said." He continued.
"I came last in the race we held. Yet that day, you told me. If you act with gusto, compete with rivals, and train with all your might, you'll become a fine runner, and in order to do that, you'll need 'effort'"
I clenched my fist in pain as I looked at his broken leg again.
An effect of his overwhelming training, an effect of me.
"Brian..." I tried speaking but he didn't stop.
"I was happy to hear that." He continued
"It was the first time that someone actually believed in me and gave me advice. My classmates, friends, past teachers and even family members always laughed my dream off but you alone encouraged me.
You put me at ease. You opened a path just when I was unsure of myself.
I realized, all I had to do was try my best."
I nodded as I remembered all the hard work he had put through. All the effort put into his training, discipline and dream.
"And when I complained that all my efforts couldn't match the others' natural talents, you encouraged me and told me that I had a natural talent for effort.
That was when I learned the importance of believing in my own strength."
His tears began flowing again, slowly but steadily. My heart ached for the young boy as he had come against the seemingly immovable boundary.
While crying, he continued talking...
"Yet... this is one time... even if I try my best...!
And even if I believe in myself and put in effort, there's nothing I can do."
"Lee Sensei.. Please tell me...!"
"Why did this kind of thing happen to only me?!" He asked while shaking the sling.
"What should I do?"
I was silent.
"Please tell me!"
I remained silent, his pleading and pain having touched my heart.
I looked at the sobbing boy on the bed, the boy that was always ready to fight for his dream, always ready to train more than everybody to win.
With his pain flowing deep into my heart I opened my mouth and willed my words not to fail me.
"You tried to become the fastest runner despite being incredibly unfit. You dreamed of being the winner of a competition that no one of your race has won before."
"It must be so painful for you... Now it seems that your dreams and all your wishes have been cruelly taken away."
I stood up from the bed and looked him straight in the eye.
"Brian... If you want to be free of that pain. If you want to break this boundary, you have to prepare yourself!"
He looked up at me, with teary eyes daring to hope.
"Do you mean... to prepare to give up my dreams?" He asked
"If you lose your dreams, you will undergo an even greater pain than what you're experiencing now." I replied back to him.
"Neither you nor I would be able to go on living if we lose our dreams." I laughed
"What sturdy fools we are..." I said laughing.
"Brian! Take the surgery! Chase your dreams!"
He looked at me, uncertainty and fear practically painted in his eyes.
I sat down on the chair next to the bed and asked him.
"Do you remember the training I gave you on self rules and their conditions?"
"Hmmm" he answered.
"They're rules you apply on yourself to motivate you to do a certain task, and if you fail the task, you'll have to do another task that is of the same or an even higher difficulty." He explained to me, as always a scholar pupil.
"That's right." I nod in confirmation.
"When I saw your first race, I decided to take you under my wing and train you exclusively to be the best runner."
"Due to your effort and training, your speed exploded and now you've been whitelisted for the preliminaries for the Prolympics."
"Your dream is within sight Brian. You can't afford to waste time here, thinking if this risk is worth it."
"But what if the surgery isn't a success?" He asked.
"Brian, luck is also a part of an athlete's skillset." I replied simply.
"This is just another training, another boundary to scale through."
I stood up again, unable to sit down and talk with him again.
"Brian, take this surgery. And on the off chance that it isn't successful. I will die with you. That is a promise."
He looked at me then, reassurance and determination filled his mind.
"We are going to win?" He asked bringing in his fist
"We are going to win." I replied, returning his fist bump.
While going to call Doctor Myer's, I could feel my heartbeat, surely this was a sound I wouldn't want to miss.
This story was written using the Inkwell Monthly Prompt: Boundary
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