&Run

Eijun’s breath comes out in rapid puffs of air. His quiet panting is the only thing that can be heard in the field as the sun slowly breaches the horizon, the early morning light casting soft shadows of wheat as Eijun runs by. His feet throb and his lungs burn from the cool air, but he’s past the point of caring. His baseball career ended just as soon as it began, and now he has nothing left. 

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Following the game, Eijun’s friends had found him and gotten him help, but he couldn’t bring himself to look them in the eye for over a week. It wasn't until Wakana and the rest of his team stormed into his room and forced an intervention that Eijun was able to face his friends and, in turn, the reality of the situation.

Eijun’s left shoulder had been badly dislocated, causing damage to the surrounding tissue and joint. This alone would make it almost impossible to play, but his wrist had also been shattered, the damage too severe for a full recovery to ever be a possibility, even with surgery.

To say Eijun was depressed would be an understatement. The minute he got home from the hospital, arm in a sling and hand stabilized by a thick plaster, Eijun went straight to his room, head bowed. He gently closed his door and collapsed on his bed. He doesn’t think he’s ever cried more, the tears wouldn’t stop, all of his sadness and frustration poured out of him. Although, he had to admit it was kind of liberating. 

His parents were understanding and gave him space, but eventually, he started to let people in. He would take a detour through the living room after his bath or go to the kitchen for food and bring dishes back to his mother.

After he was allowed out of his sling and his wrist in a brace, Eijun started to hang out with his friends more often. It was hard at first, seeing them continue to play neighborhood matches while he was relegated to the bench or umpire duty. It wasn't all bad though. Wakana, knowing she wouldn't be able to continue playing baseball, sat with him, filling the silence with quiet mindless chatter. It served to remind Eijun just how perceptive and caring she was. 

It was Nobu, however, that surprised Eijun the most, his former catcher noticed the incessant bouncing of Eijun’s leg. Eijun just couldn’t control it; he had so much energy now that he was unable to play baseball and could only watch from the sidelines. Nobu suggested running. Sure Eijun had run before, it was excellent conditioning, and he thinks he read somewhere that running with a tire helped to stabilize the core for pitching, but would it really help? It just seemed so boring. Running all alone? No thank you. 

Despite this thinking, however, Eijun decided to give it a try. At first, it was long and arduous and his legs shook after each and every run. His resentment towards himself and his own mental and physical weakness is what pushed him forward until he slowly began to enjoy it. He started looking forward to his morning and evening runs, watching the sunrise and set, the dew glimmering on the grass and spider webs. The first light and airy songs of birds and the hoots of nearby barn owls. 

It was calming in a way nothing ever was before, just Eijun and the world. 

That’s how Eijun found himself now, on the final stretch of his five-mile morning run. The song “For A Better Day” by Avicii flowed through his earbuds and into his ears as he breathily sang along in between pants. Eijun slowed down to a light jog as his home came into view. He collapsed onto the steps, chest heaving, but didn’t allow himself too long of a break, knowing he needed to do some cooldown stretches while his body was still warm to avoid injury. Eijun doesn’t know what he would do if he lost running too. It's become his lifeline.   

Eijun makes his way into the house, entering through the kitchen to grab some water and breakfast. 

“Good morning Oka-san!” Eijun says to his mom, helping her bring the food out to the table where his dad and grandfather were already sitting. 

Breakfast was a quiet affair, the usually loud Sawamura Eitoku only interrupting the comforting silence between the adults, with shouts directed at Eijun to keep it down so early in the morning. Eijun continued his morning by bathing then sitting down to study for his upcoming entrance exams. Without baseball, Eijun had to try to study and get into the same school as his friends.

After a few hours of not so productive studying which devolved into Eijun reading a shoujo manga on his bed, he was interrupted by a loud “EIJUN!” shouted from down the stairs by his grandfather. Knowing that if he made the old man wait he would get a good smack, Eijun scurried off the bed and down the stairs quickly, only to halt in the entrance of the living room. Sitting in front of his family was a young woman dressed in business attire and a young teen dressed in a school uniform. The woman had a soft smile and bright eyes, in contrast to the boy, who Eijun noted had sad eyes that, paired with hunched shoulders and a slightly bowed head made the muscled boy look so much smaller. 

“Hello Sawamura Eijun, I’m Takashima Rei the baseball recruiter and assistant coach for Seido’s baseball team. This is Takigawa Chris, a second-string member of the team” being suddenly addressed, Eijun broke out of his frozen stupor, forcing himself to stop staring at the older boy, Chris? And sit with his parents across from the woman after performing a perfect 90-degree bow. 

Eijun’s thoughts are racing, wait what? A recruiter for a baseball team, I’ve never heard of Seido, huh, I wonder if they’re any good? And the boy, he looks so-so sad. He looks like me after my injury. With that final realization Eijun was pulled from his thoughts - not having realized he had been gaping at the woman and older teen - by his grandpa smacking him upside the head.

“Eijun, don’t be rude! This woman has come all the way from Tokyo, the least you can do is listen to what she has to say” Eitoku scolded his grandson, apologizing profusely to Rei and Chris.

“It’s really no problem Sawamura-San, I understand how confusing and overwhelming this must be for Sawamura-Kun” Rei responded, smiling softly towards Eijun. 

“Let me start from the beginning yes?” Rei asked, continuing when she got a nod from Eijun. “I’m Takashima Rei and this is Takigawa Chris, we’re from Seido’s baseball team. I was present at your last game a few weeks ago. I had been hoping to recruit you, but unfortunately, it looks like that will not be a possibility.” Rei paused and gave Eijun a sympathetic smile. “However when I was mentioning your commendable stamina and athletic abilities to a coworker, we had another idea.” Eijun’s ears perked up, maybe there’s hope after all. “My fellow teacher Nakamura sensei is the track and field coach at Seido. The program is relatively new, the dorms having just been built within the past year, and the amenities for the students boarding on campus having been recently expanded. He is looking for new talent, students willing to come and run for him. He expressed interest in you after I mentioned your game. Chris and I came on his behalf to offer you a scholarship and position on Seido’s track and field team.”