The Traces of Destiny
Ballgame

In the weeks that followed, Garin began looking forward to meeting his son's homeroom teacher after school with an uncontrollable enthusiasm he had not experienced since adolescence.

He thought about it often and sometimes in the most bizarre situations, such as when he stood in a grocery store while picking out a pack of boiled noodles with a variety of flavor options, stopping at a traffic light, and then making his way to a restaurant, cleaning the weeds in his garden.

Once or twice, she thought about it while she was taking a shower in the morning, and she found herself wondering about the woman's morning routine.

Silly things. Does he eat cereal or toast and jelly or even Padang rice? Does he drink coffee or prefer tea? After taking a shower, does she wrap her head in a towel while applying makeup or straight-up styling?

Sometimes he tries to imagine her in class, standing in front of the students with a marker in his hand, other times he wonders how he spends his time after school.

Although they chatted every time they met, it was not enough to satisfy Garin's growing curiosity.

He did not know much about Saras's past, and though there was a time he wanted to ask, he refrained from doing it for the simple reason that he did not know how to do it.

"So I asked Raka to do the spelling today and she did well," she might say that, and what should Garin say next? That nice. And speaking of spelling, tell me, did you wrap your head in a towel after taking a shower?

Another man may know how to do these things, but be damned if he can find out.

Once, in a moment of courage gained from some Beng-beng chews, he almost called the woman.

He had no reason to call, and although he had no idea what he was going to say, he hoped something would hit him, a lightning strike from the sky that would give him intelligence and charisma.

She imagined the woman laughing at the things she said, and was completely overwhelmed by her charm.

What if the woman leaves her phone far away? He would not be able to fascinate the woman if she was not there to answer the phone, and he would certainly not record her babble in the voice note facility. He thought he could hang up if some of the ringing was unresponsive, but it was a bit too juvenile, wasn't it? And what would happen, amit-amit, if she was at home but was dating someone else?

He realized, it was a real possibility.

Garin had heard some things in his office from some single men who finally learned the fact that Saras's teacher was not married, and if they knew it, then others would have known it too. News got out, and soon enough, single men would start coming to her, using their wit and charisma, if they hadn't.

Oh, my God, he's running out of time.

The next time Garin picked up the phone, he actually pressed the tenth digit of the eleven digits before closing his phone again.

Then she went one step further by searching the woman's name on social media and found one there before her nerves got better and she closed the page.

That night, lying in bed, she wondered what was wrong with her.

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

On a Saturday morning towards the end of September, about a month after he first met Saraswati, Garin stood on the Gajakarta State Junior High School field, watching Raka play football.

Aside from fishing, Raka loves to play soccer and other sports, and she is good at it.

Maudy was always athletic, even more athletic than Garin, and from her Raka inherited agility and coordination.

From Garin, as Garin used to mention to anyone who asked, Raka inherited his speed.

As a result, Raka became a terror on the ground. At that age, Raka played no more than half the games, as everyone in the team was required to play the same amount of time. But Raka usually scores most of the team's goals.

In the first few games, he scored more than twenty goals. While half of the boys don't know which way they should kick the ball, Raka is different, he understands the direction of the game and his goal is incredible. Almost every time Raka touches the ball, he takes it all the way up the field and kicks it into the goal.

But what is ridiculous is the overflow of pride experienced by Garin when watching Raka perform. He likes it, secretly jumping for joy when Raka scores, even though he knows it is only a temporary phenomenon.

Children become adults at different levels, and some children practice more diligently. Raka is already physically ready for a children's level ball game and doesn't like to practice, it's only a matter of time before the others catch up.

But in this match, until the first quarter ended, Raka had scored four goals. In the second quarter, with Raka on the sidelines, the opposing team scored four goals to take the lead. In the third quarter, Raka kicked two more, giving him thirty more goals for the year.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Raka's team was already 8-7 down, and Garin crossed hands and observed the audience, and spontaneously thought that they were as if unaware that without Raka his team would be destroyed.

Shit, this is fun. A pleasant sense of pride.

Garin was so immersed in his daydream, it took a while for a sound coming from the side to be heard.

"You bet on this game, Mr Camat?" Saras asked as he walked towards her, grinning widely. "You look a little nervous."

"I-I don't bet. Just enjoy the game" he replied.

"Well, careful. Your fingernails are almost out. I hate to see you accidentally bite yourself."

"I don't bite my nails." denied Garin innocently.

"Now not," he said. "But that was so."

"So . . ." He pushed the edges of his baseball cap.

"I didn't expect to see you here." Garin.

Wearing shorts and sunglasses, she looked younger than usual Saras thought at the time.

"Raka told me he had a game this weekend and asked me if I wanted to come."

"He did that?" Garin asked curiously.

"On Thursday. He said I'd enjoy it, but I got the impression he wanted me to see him do something he's good at."

Blessed are you, Raka.

“Now it's almost over. You have missed most of it.”

"I can't find the right side of the field. I didn't realize there would be so many games here. From a distance, all these kids look the same."

"I knew. Even sometimes we have trouble finding what field we play."

The whistle sounded and Raka kicked the ball to her teammate. However, the ball darted past him and immediately shot out of bounds. Someone on the other team chased after him, and Raka glanced at his father. When he saw Saras, he waved and Saras responded enthusiastically.

Then, after taking a position with a face full of determination, Raka waited for the throw to return the ball to his game. A moment later, he and everyone on the field chased the ball.

"So, how's it going so far?" Saras asked.

"He played a good game."

"The coach says he's the best player here."

"Well," Garin refused, trying his best to look humble.

Saras laughs. "The coach isn't talking about you. It's Raka who's playing out there." point to Saras with her shoulder movements.

"I know that" said Garin.

"But you don't think he's too useful, do you?"

"Well..," repeated Garin floating.

Because there is no intelligent response. Saras raised his eyebrows, clearly amused.

Where is the intelligence and charisma he relies on?

"Tell me-did you play football when you were a kid?" she asked.

"We didn't have a football field when I was a kid. I played the traditional sports of football, basketball, baseball on a muddy field. Now if anyone offers football, I don't think I'll play it."

"But that's not a problem for Raka, is it?"

"Sure, as long as he likes it. Have you ever played football?"

"Ngga. I'm not a great athlete, but when I was in college, I sometimes ran marathons or lombas. My roommate took me into the activity."

"Are you still doing it?"

"Every day. I have a three-mile round that I follow. It was a good exercise and gave me a chance to unwind. I think you should try it too."

“With all the free time I have?”

"Of course, why not?"

"If I walk or run three miles, I might feel so sick that I can't get out of bed the next day. That's if I can do it."

Saras directed his gaze towards Garin to judge. "You can do it" he said. "You may have to quit smoking, but you can."

"I don't smoke" she protested.

"I knew. Nursy told me." He grinned, and after a while, Garin couldn't help but smile as well.

However, before he could say anything more, a rumbling sound rang out and the two of them turned around and saw Raka break away from the crowd, storming onto the field, and scoring again, he said, this time to score. As Raka's teammates surrounded him, Garin and Saras stood together on the sidelines, both clapping and cheering for the same boy.