It was four o'clock in the afternoon and the match was about to begin. The stands were almost full of spectators, and Valery preparing to stretch, kept looking at the bleachers to see if his family was present.
"Valery, this match is very important. You've already practiced before coming here, there shouldn't be any problems, right?" the coach asked reassuringly.
"Yes, coach!"
"Alright! Cheer up! And be the best in this competition!"
"Sure!"
The race was about to begin. Valery looked around again, but her family was still nowhere to be seen. There was no more time; now, all participants were asked to get ready and stand on the starting blocks by the pool. Valery put on her glasses, taking one breath to encourage herself. She had to focus, this race was not just for her!
The Athletes stood in line at their respective positions, waiting for the signal from the referee, and the sound of the whistle. Valery stared at the pool with focus, the crowd's noise now not bothering her ears. Her family would be there, that's what she kept thinking. And when her family was there, they should be cheering proudly because Valery had won the match.
"Three... Two... One. Go!"
As the whistle blew loudly, all the participants jumped into the pool together and fought to be the fastest to the end. Valery, being one of those determined swimmers, swam faster, managing to outpace the other two swimmers who were ahead of her at the front. In the last minute before her body swam determinedly to the finish line, the image of her family smiling brightly while carrying a beautiful bouquet of flowers crossed her mind. It fired her up even more and somehow energized her quickly until she managed to touch the finish line first.
The cheers of the crowd could be heard from the friends who had come from his school specifically to watch him compete, as well as Valery who was clenching his fists and shouting triumphantly. Until the arrival of someone broke his smile.
The person had been staring at Valery until he whispered something that surprised the coach, and was now staring sadly at Valery, which made the girl suspicious.
Someone came to deliver a towel, and Valery, without delay, got out of the pool and took the towel, walking towards the coach, who was still staring at her.
"What happened?" asked Valery, looking at the two people in turn.
"I'll tell you later after you receive your trophy." The coach tried to delay as if he was about to deliver bad news.
"No! What needs to be said you can only say now!" Valery said firmly. She started to lose control of herself because, for some reason, she had a bad feeling about what the coach was going to say.
"Valery I beg you, listen to me-"
"NO! I just want to hear what really happened, not persuasion or anything!!!" Valery was angry and unconsciously raised her voice with emotion. Her eyes began to turn red, she wanted to rush to hear about what really happened.
"Your parents... No, your family... they all died in an accident during the storm, when they were all driving to this place."
At that moment, Valery, who had been talking, fell silent. He was surprised that his brain didn't immediately respond and digest what the coach had just said. When she finally realized it, her heart ached as if it had just been hit with a thousand knives. The girl clutched her chest, gripping it tightly as she felt her breath begin to get labored.
"Valery, are you alright?" the coach's voice was no longer clear, Valery's vision was now beginning to cloud over with a sense of unease that enveloped her as if binding her tightly.
"Valery, wake up! Are you okay? Valery! Valery!"
The body that was originally standing firmly slowly began to limp; the girl who could not even make a crying sound could only clutch her chest, until finally, due to unbearable shock, she felt dizzy and then fell and fainted on the floor.
"Valery... open your eyes! AMBULANS... CALL AN AMBULANCE!!!"
What can an orphan girl do without parents or even family? It's been a week since the funeral of her late sister and parents. She couldn't even make it, she just locked herself in the house like a coward. Crying and blaming herself for the death of her entire family.
"I wish I hadn't asked them to come that day. When... when I saw the weather forecast that there would be a storm that day. Why did I... why did I not call them and ask them not to come!" Valery began to cry in pain alone in her room; she looked at the pile of trophies and medals; the items now felt like they were laughing and mocking her, making Valery angry. She threw all the trophies and medals on the floor aggressively, venting all her sadness and despair on those innocent objects.
Valery finally felt exhausted and sat on the floor leaning on the edge of her bed.
The fear of being left alone, and the sadness that hugged her tightly made her curl up and imagine if her parents and sister were still there.
The days passed quickly but felt so slow to Valery. Her memory was still trapped in the warmth of that house that she could now only reminisce about. Through the books on her father's bookshelf, the kitchen apron that her mother always wore, and her sister's clothes that were still neatly arranged in the closet. Without realizing that a month had passed, dozens of letters that were slipped under the door for Valery piled up, and the girl never read them. People came and went, teachers, friends, everyone expected Valery to come out to open the door. It had even been a month since the girl skipped class and a warning letter had been sent. But she didn't care at all.
Until that mysterious knock...
On the full moon, which Valery strangely saw through the window, the moon was glowing bluish. Someone came knocking on the door, three times, but there was a silent pause between each knock. For some reason, Valery was moved; her feet seemed to pull her towards the door, with a curious heart as to who the person behind the door was.
"Good evening... Miss Valery!"