Roubaix, June 12, 2018.A blond-haired boy ran barefoot across an empty field, chasing a ball. Not a real field, just hard, dusty ground with two stones as goalposts. But the children's ughter sounded real.

  He was Lucas, the eldest child in a small orphanage on the outskirts of Roubaix. Not just an older brother, he was a protector to them all. The only one who was the most mature among them.

  A figure who carried the little ones when they had a fever, tidied the beds when they hadn't woken up yet, and worked part-time to help the orphanage's finances, sacrificing his schooling. However, occasionally, to entertain himself, he pyed soccer with his friends.

  Their 'mother' was Kelly, a tough woman who never compined. She was the one who swept, washed, fed, and told stories before bed. Kelly was the light in the gloom of life at the orphanage. And for Lucas, Kelly was the only one who could be called family.

  One afternoon, during a soccer match between the local children where parents and residents came and cheered. Unbeknownst to them, a very influential person was present.

  Hugo Clement, a talent scout from Lille, one of the prestigious teams in France, came to watch the small match. Hugo's eyes were drawn to one child. A blond-haired boy who pyed as a left wing-back. A boy who ran the fastest when helping the attack and ran very fast chasing the opponent. That boy caught Hugo's eye.

  At the end of the match, Hugo immediately introduced himself, starting by showing his ID card and offering the boy to join the Lille academy. The boy couldn't answer, and Hugo left the Lille football academy schorship documents in the boy's hands. He then said, "Think carefully, do you want to py here and let your talent rot? Or come with me and develop your talent?" The boy, no, Lucas, could only remain silent.

  However, even after being persuaded, Lucas was still very confused. He hid the offer letter under his mattress. He couldn't bear to leave the people he loved: Kelly, the children, this small house. But Kelly then found the documents while cleaning.Then she finally called Lucas to talk to him.

  In the small, warm but shadowy kitchen, only a dim hanging mp illuminated the old wooden table. Rain gently tapped the window, as if witnessing the conversation that would change everything.

  Lucas sat with both hands clutching a cup of tea that had gone cold. Across from him, Kelly was silent. Her gaze was soft but sharp, with something hidden behind her eyes. Then, slowly, she pulled a crumpled map from inside her worn jacket and pced it on the table.Lucas froze.

  It was his schorship document that he had long hidden. The one he had buried under his mattress along with dreams he didn't dare to touch.

  Kelly looked at him. Her voice was soft, but firm.

  "Lucas, you have to go. Dreams are important."Lucas shook his head quickly, his eyes burning.

  "If I leave... who will help you here? Who will take care of this orphanage, Kelly?"Kelly smiled, but tears began to fall silently. She held Lucas's hand tightly. Her fingers were cold, but the sincerity in her grip felt burning.

  "This orphanage won't die without you, Lucas. But your dream... will.""And I won't let that happen. Not to someone I love."

  Lucas looked down, his jaw clenched to hold back tears. But Kelly wasn't finished.She rose from her chair and walked to the window. Rain was still falling outside. She slightly opened the curtains and pointed to the dark garden.

  "Look at that, Lucas. You pnted that tree when you were five. You said you wanted to see it grow big."

  "Now look... it's still growing. Even though you haven't watered it in a long time. Because it knows love doesn't always mean staying. But giving space to grow."She turned, her eyes now completely wet.

  "I can survive here, Lucas. But I can't bear to see you slowly die inside this pce. You weren't destined to take care of these old walls... but to fly further than anyone."Lucas stood up, but his body trembled. He was still holding back.

  "But if you get sick... if something happens—"Kelly cut him off. Gently, but deeply.

  "If I get sick, I want to know you're pying in your dream stadium. Not washing dishes in this kitchen while burying who you really are.""Don't live for guilt, Lucas. Live for love. That's what will save you. And me."Silence.They both stood there, looking at each other, under the dim light and the increasingly heavy rain.

  Finally, Lucas hugged Kelly. Tightly. His sobs broke, softly, wetting the woman's shoulder."I'm scared..." he mumbled."Me too," Kelly whispered."But we can't stay in a safe pce forever.""Lucas, my dream is to see you perform like a star, can you help me?" Kelly's question finally made Lucas make a decision.And Kelly, though secretly... smiled.

  Because she knew: true love is not holding someone back to stay.But letting them go... so they can grow.

  The morning was still shrouded in a thin mist.

  The sky wasn't really bright yet, but the atmosphere in the orphanage was different. Quiet. Too quiet for a morning.

  A small suitcase stood upright in front of the creaking wooden door. Lucas, wearing his worn jacket and old shoes, stood in the doorway with swollen eyes. Behind him, the orphanage children had gathered—lined up in silence, their faces downcast, some hugging their favorite dolls or bnkets.

  Suddenly, little Miko ran and hugged Lucas's leg tightly."Brother, don't go..." he mumbled, his voice hoarse and almost inaudible.

  Lucas knelt down. He looked at each of the children who had been his world. The small faces he had taught to read, draw, mend shoes, and even comfort during nightmares.

  He pulled Miko into a hug, then opened his arms to embrace all the children who now rushed to him, crying in his embrace. Their cries broke—sincere and pleading."You have to be strong, okay...""I'm not leaving forever, I'll visit you often."He raised a finger and gently touched Miko's chest."I promise... even if I'm not here, I'll keep helping you. I'll send you what you need. And when I come home... we'll have a big party."

  The children nodded through their tears. Some tried to smile, though their eyes remained wet.From behind, Kelly stood with her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes were red, but her face was calm. She knew this wasn't the end, but the beginning of something bigger.

  Lucas stood, gazing at all those small faces one st time—imprinting them in his memory. He then ran a little towards Kelly, hugging her in a deep silence. "Thank you... for everything." Kelly whispered, "Fight, my son." Hearing that, the tightness in Lucas's chest grew stronger. However, he took a deep breath, gripped his suitcase handle tightly, and stepped out of the orphanage yard.

  As he passed through the gate, he looked back once more. The children were still standing there, waving their little hands while shouting, "Brotheeer! Don't forget us!" Lucas smiled, tears falling down his cheeks. He raised his hand and shouted back, "I will come back." Then he walked away... leaving that small house for a bigger dream. But his heart, a part of it would always remain there—with the ughter, tears, and small hugs that nurtured his soul.

  Then, without realizing it, time passed. Day after day, month after month, until year after year. Letter after letter he sent to Kelly, even when he began to be known publicly as Lille's wonderkid.

  Currently, they were using telephones because Lucas diligently saved money and helped the orphanage, even sending Kelly a smartphone so they could communicate more often. Lucas, with his talent, miraculously started his professional career at Lille at the age of 17. As a debutant, he appeared in the 60th minute when Lille faced Olympics Lyon.

  Coming on as a substitute, he dispyed an extraordinary performance as the team's savior with 1 goal and 1 assist. He received many praises and eventually earned a pce as a starter. Thanks to his performance, Lille's left defensive line became truly strong, his fast runs both in defense and attack really frustrated opposing pyers.

  Coupled with his insane fighting spirit, he crashed into and overcame any pyer in his path. Even Kylian Mbappe found it difficult to face that young wing-back. Lille transformed into a superior team and managed to finish in 2nd pce in the league. He then received many awards and high-value transfer offers, making his future look very promising.

  Then, in the midst of his brilliant performances, a photo arrived. A beautiful baby girl, with bck hair and blue eyes, was born. Lucas was angry. "Kelly... married? Since when? To whom?" But Kelly never answered that question. "Just focus on your dreams, Lucas," she said every time they spoke on the phone. And Lucas obeyed. Until finally, everything changed.

  Very sudden news came and began to shatter his dreams. Panicked, he decided to take leave and go to his hometown. To make sure the terrible news wasn't real. However, when he arrived, all he saw were people gathered in bck clothes. Lucas was furious, he approached the people there and found out what had really happened to Kelly.

  Then, after finding out for himself, he finally got important information. Kelly died. Not from a common illness. But from deep wounds that had been buried for years. Wounds that were revealed from a diary hidden under her wooden cupboard. And that's where reality hit him. Kelly was never married.

  That little girl was the child of tragedy. Lucas's childhood friends, whom he once trusted and often pyed with, were the perpetrators. They raped Kelly—viciously. They beat her and humiliated her. It was out of jealousy. Out of revenge. Because they saw Lucas rise high while they were left behind. They took everything from Kelly.

  They felt they should have been in Lucas's position now. A few weeks after the incident, Kelly realized she was pregnant. The perpetrators' parents wanted to help Kelly and tried to convince her to have an abortion. However, Kelly refused because the child inside her was innocent. She decided to give birth to the child.

  However, gradually, the deep wounds Kelly suffered from the beating began to open up, especially after giving birth. Making her body unable to move anymore. Without ever leaving a will or a st message. Kelly passed away. And Lucas... found out everything too te. Kelly was gone. And all that was left was a little girl who now stood before him.

  In the midst of his anger, he almost choked the little girl who might have been one of the causes of Kelly's death. However, seeing her blue eyes as beautiful as the night sky, her bck and very fine hair. Then her very cute face.

  It reminded him of someone he missed so much. The child who had been looking at him while sucking her thumb approached him and spoke with her small mouth. "Mamaa... where? I'm hungry..." The little girl, in a small voice, hugged Lucas.

  Lucas sat down, hugging the child with a trembling body. The girl just patted his back. Knowing nothing. But that was what Lucas needed. Lucas cried hysterically and felt very sorry for the fate of this child who didn't even know that her mother was gone. That night he decided. He would take care of the little girl. Just like Kelly had taken care of him.

  He then made food and milk for the child and put her to sleep. After she fell asleep, Lucas stood up, still remembering the contents of the diary, anger took him to the pce where the perpetrators gathered while drinking alcohol.

  He didn't care anymore. Lucas beat them one by one. He beat them just like what they did to Kelly. One against four, with his trained physique, no one could match him in a physical duel. But even though his physique was strong, revenge came at a price. One of the defeated perpetrators grabbed a wooden block.

  When Lucas was off guard, the wooden block hit his leg repeatedly, causing deep pain. However, he endured it, he brushed aside the block and returned to hitting the perpetrators with his fists. The faces that often ughed with him in the past had instead become enemies.

  In the midst of the commotion, some residents finally intervened and stopped Lucas. Lucas's blows and punches were so hard, who knows how many teeth were knocked out of the perpetrators' faces.

  After the residents managed to separate them, Lucas fainted due to the injuries to his leg. The residents then took Lucas to the nearest hospital. The next day, someone visited him at the hospital, Mr. Hanes, the owner of the shop where Lucas used to work, came to see him.

  "Fool! What were you thinking? Do you think Kelly wanted you to be like this?"

  "She endured all this time alone not to see you destroyed, but so you could fly high."

  "I know how you feel, I also really wanted to kill them with a knife. But I'm sure that child wouldn't want that."

  "She was a good girl, always working hard and throwing away her future to take care of the children."

  "Do you want to hear a story?" Mr. Hanes then spoke without waiting for Lucas's reply.

  "You know, once in this vilge, a woman with a very high IQ was born. She was very smart, throughout her schooling she always got top ranks even though she lived in poverty. That child lived with her grandmother who was an orphanage worker."

  "She studied while working to ease her grandmother's burden. Thanks to her intelligence, she tried to enroll in one of the best universities in the Faculty of Medicine."

  "When her dream was about to come true, disaster struck. In the middle of the night, her grandmother fell down the stairs and finally passed away."

  "Leaving that child with the other children in the orphanage."

  "After the funeral, that child wanted to find someone to repce her and take care of the orphanage."

  "However, on the way home, the sound of a baby crying echoed from the grass."

  "Panicked, she took the baby and ran to my shop asking for milk." "After the baby got milk, the baby smiled brightly and grasped the child's finger with its tiny hand."

  "After that day, she decided to manage the orphanage and leave her dream. She worked morning, noon, and night. Tirelessly, that child kept trying her best."

  "Then, gradually, the child she found grew up, becoming a handsome and smart teenager."

  "However, she felt deep pain seeing the child she raised decide not to go to school and instead help her work to support the orphanage."

  "Until she saw the hidden letter, once again that child tried to bury his dream to help the orphanage."

  "She felt extraordinary pain at the sacrifice of the child she cared for."

  "That's why she pushed you to leave. The child who made Kelly bury her dream was you, Lucas." Hanes's gaze shifted to Lucas, who looked surprised.

  But Mr. Hannes continued to speak, "Seeing her beloved child leave, she was actually sad. However, she tried to be strong. She didn't want her child to be like her. Failing to pursue dreams."

  "You know how happy Kelly was every time she watched your matches."

  "Even after that tragedy, she remained strong and smiled, keeping the orphanage's atmosphere positive."

  "Until the end of her life, she did her best to pursue her other dream."

  "Do you know what other dream Kelly wanted to achieve?" That question was heard and made Lucas quite confused about what Kelly's other dream was. However, as if knowing Lucas's confusion, Mr. Hannes immediately replied, "Her dream was to see the first child she loved so much succeed in pursuing his dream without any burden. That means she threw away all her pain so she could see you shine. Lucas, I warn you, don't harbor resentment, live for her. Don't betray her dream."

  With that, Mr. Hannes left and left a letter containing Kelly's dream to see the child she had raised as her own child succeed in pursuing his dream. That same day, the perpetrators' parents apologized to Lucas, they finally put their children in a rehabilitation center.

  There, they also had a new administrator for the orphanage where the costs were covered by the government. They did that as a form of responsibility for what happened to Kelly. After recovering, Lucas officially adopted Kelly's child.

  But the trauma, physical and psychological pain made him fail to perform well at Lille, this was due to the wooden block blows that lodged in his leg. He was eventually sold to the second-tier club, Caen. Even there, he failed to meet expectations.

  Caen, who brought him in hoping for promotion, instead failed due to Lucas's poor performance. So that what was initially he was praised as a talented wonderkid ended up failing. He failed to keep his promise to Kelly to achieve his dream.

  Until one day... An email from Bradford City arrived. And that name appeared—Reinhart. Lucas knew, this wasn't just about a second chance. He signed the contract. So that once again his path to pursuing his dream could be achieved.

  He returned to the field, when he first wore the Bradford jersey. In the pre-season match, Lucas performed quite well. The opponent pressed more from Mike's right sector. He was almost untouched. However, everything changed since Mike rose and scored the winning goal against Bolton.

  Since then, opposing teams began to change their attack direction. Now, it was the left sector where Lucas was that became the target. The peak was today. Facing Wimbledon with their fast wingers, Lucas could only chase shadows. He couldn't match that speed.

  Two goals went in, both from the side he was guarding. As the st ball nestled in Bradford's net, Lucas sat down on the field. His breath was heavy. Not from exhaustion, but from the guilt that burned in his chest.

  He refused to look at the stands. Refused to meet the eyes of the supporters. He covered his ears just like he had done when he performed poorly with Lille and Caen. Then, in the midst of the noisy crowd and disappointed gazes, a loud, small, spirited voice was heard. A shout that cut through all the noise.

  The voice came from the stands. Conrad pointed there. Among the sea of faces, a little girl was seen holding up a poster with Lucas's picture. Her blue eyes and bck hair soothed Lucas's heart. That child... the same child who had scolded him when he was drunk. The child who always overwhelmed him.

  The child who, in her own way, brought back the shadow of someone long gone. Kelly. Lucas froze. His eyes widened, his chest tightened. That child... looked so much like Kelly. And that's when everything became clear. He remembered.

  The dream wasn't about being a star, not about shining the brightest, not about being a hero. Since the beginning, there was only one reason why he pyed soccer: to perform well in front of the person he loved. And since Kelly was gone, he felt empty. There were no more eyes watching him.

  No more pce to call home. However, today... those small pair of eyes... that innocent and honest voice... reminded him of Kelly. Lucas slowly rose from the ground.

  Wet grass clung to his jersey, but now the burden on his shoulders felt a little lighter. "Forgive me, Kelly... I didn't—" he murmured softly. His eyes began to water. "Mom... Sorry, I didn't realize it from the start..." "From now on, I will fight again." And at that moment... in the stands, near the little girl who was shouting enthusiastically, Lucas saw her. A silhouette.

  Faint in a gentle and very peaceful smile. Lucas froze. "Mom..." he whispered, almost inaudibly. However, the silhouette slowly faded.

  Disappearing just like that, leaving the little girl still standing, holding a small poster and waving. Lucas smiled.

  For the first time in a long time, a genuine smile, not a fake one.

  Today, he would py... not for the world.

  But for one small world that meant so much to him.

  Anya Lecir The most precious gift from the woman he loved the most.