Basketballer's Lightning

• Zara Ford, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2016

Basketballer’s lightning
There was a boy. About ten, although he looked much older. Tall, shortish hair, a spectacular colour. This particular boy was smiling ear to ear, having just spotted friends playing basketball. All of the basketballers looking much older than he, the boy joined them.
“Ten to Four, class 5A taking the lead.” Cheered the boy. “There goes Sam ‘Lightning’ Johnston, sprinting down the court, not much of a surprise”. Sam was very athletic. Indeed one of the kids who are good at everything. The game was getting rough, and Daniel came off for a while. Finally Tom and Marty.
Sam continued, however, until the ball rapidly rolled onto the road. Emergency struck, and the boy stared in horror as his friend was brutally squashed by a Taxi with an oblivious driver inside. All the boys ran over. Lightning lay in place, silent and breathless.
Blue flashing lights caught their attention. The boy’s eyes wandered between the paramedics and a weeping mother.

Hours, days, weeks had passed. Word was that Sam was on the road to recovery, and his expression lit up the room when a boy came to visit. He didn’t much like hospitals, but the boy could not stop worrying about his friend. “The doctor said my legs have lost their function. I wish to prove them wrong.” Croaked Sam. He then pulled out a crumpled paper, much like a receipt, yet it had a very large sum of money on it.
He couldn’t pay it. His mother did not have a job. They had never been well-off. Lightning and his mother lived in poverty.
With no words, the boy had felt a deep sadness, for Sam since they had become friends. He was not particularly rich himself, but managed to find all Nine of his Hundred Dollar bills he’d brought for this occasion especially. Silently, Sam accepted them. He was thankful beyond words.
Oddly enough, they never saw each other again.

There was a man, sandy blonde hair with a distressed expression. He knew the same pipe would be leaking; the same dog would be eyeing his lunch, the same tramp begging with her child. But even so, the man fixed the leaking pipe; he gave the dog his food, donated to the beggar and her child. He went home to his tiny bungalow and hardly enjoyed canned soup.
When the man went to play basketball, he saw something on the court. An unmistakable figure a Sam ‘Lightning’ Johnston in a wheelchair. Sam took a shot. The ball went in the basket. A now grown up Sam turned his head. A wave of emotions crashed over the pair.
That made his day.
On the way home, the man saw the mother and child beggars in beautiful clothes for the first time in their lives. The dog licked him and wagged its tail. The leaking pipe had stopped dripping.
These things made him forever joyful, no matter how bad his situation was.
The best reward is happiness.