CHAPTER 9 THE PROMISE TO WAIT

Four years passed.

Four years since Moises Laurent disappeared.

Four years since Miyaka had received his letter.

Four years since she had made a promise beneath the old tree.

But somehow, the promise still lived inside her.

Miyaka was no longer the little girl who waited by the school gate every morning.

She had grown taller.

Her hair was longer.

Her personality had become even more fearless.

And if anything, she had become more stubborn.

Especially when someone told her she couldn't do something.

That was exactly what Jason had discovered that Saturday afternoon.

“Miyaka!”

She turned around.

“What?”

Jason pointed toward the motorcycle.

“No.”

She blinked.

“I haven't even said anything.”

“You don't need to.”

“Why?”

“Because I know that look.”

“What look?”

“The look that says you're about to do something incredibly stupid.”

Miyaka smiled.

“I was just going to ask if I could borrow your cousin's motorcycle.”

Jason stared at her.

“See?”

“What?”

“Incredibly stupid.”

She laughed.

“I'm not going to die.”

“You said that last week before you almost crashed your bicycle into a wall.”

“That was different.”

“How?”

“The wall moved.”

Jason stared at her.

“Miyaka…”

She laughed.

“I'm kidding!”

Jason shook his head.

“You really haven't changed.”

She looked at him.

“That's good.”

“Is it?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because Moises knew me like this.”

The smile disappeared from her face.

Jason became quiet.

He knew that name would eventually enter every conversation.

No matter how many years passed.

No matter how much Miyaka changed.

Moises was still there.

Somewhere inside her.

---

Later that afternoon, Miyaka sat underneath their old tree.

She had returned to it countless times over the years.

The tree had grown.

Its branches were thicker.

Its roots had pushed farther into the ground.

But the small spot where she had buried her letters remained untouched.

She leaned against the trunk.

“Hey.”

The wind moved through the leaves.

“I came back.”

She smiled.

“I know. I always do.”

She pulled a small photograph from her bag.

It was the same photograph of the three of them.

The corners were worn.

She looked at Moises.

“You'd be older now.”

She laughed softly.

“I wonder what you look like.”

She paused.

“Maybe you're taller.”

She looked at Jason in the picture.

“Actually, everyone is probably taller than you.”

She laughed.

Then her smile faded.

“Do you still remember me?”

Silence.

Miyaka looked toward the road.

“What if you don't?”

That question had become more difficult with every passing year.

She wasn't afraid that Moises had forgotten the promise.

She was afraid that life had simply moved on without her.

Maybe he had new friends.

Maybe he had a new favorite place.

Maybe he had fallen in love.

Maybe somewhere far away, Moises was living a completely different life.

And maybe Miyaka existed only as a childhood memory.

She swallowed.

“What if I'm the only one still waiting?”

Her eyes filled with tears.

She quickly wiped them.

“No.”

She shook her head.

“I won't think like that.”

She looked at the photograph.

“You said you'd come back.”

Her fingers touched his face.

“So I'll believe you.”

---

That evening, Jason found her at the tree.

“You're still doing that?”

Miyaka looked over her shoulder.

“Doing what?”

“Talking to a tree.”

“I'm talking to Moises.”

“He's not here.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you talking?”

She smiled.

“Because maybe somewhere, he's talking to me too.”

Jason sat beside her.

“You really believe that?”

“Yes.”

He looked down.

There were things Jason wanted to tell her.

Things he had carried for years.

Things Moises had asked him to keep secret.

Jason remembered the day Moises left.

He remembered the fear in his friend's eyes.

He remembered how Moises had grabbed his arm before getting into the car.

“Jason, promise me.”

“Promise what?”

“Don't let Miyaka look for me.”

“Why?”

Moises had looked toward the school.

Toward Miyaka.

“Because if she starts looking, they might find her too.”

Jason had been too young to understand.

But he understood one thing.

Moises was afraid.

Not for himself.

For Miyaka.

Jason looked at her now.

She was smiling at the sky.

He wondered if he was doing the right thing by keeping the secret.

“Miyaka.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you still love him?”

She became quiet.

For a few seconds, she didn't answer.

Then she smiled.

“I don't know.”

Jason raised an eyebrow.

“You don't know?”

“I know I care about him.”

“That's not what I asked.”

Miyaka looked at the photograph.

“I was just a kid.”

“So?”

“So maybe what I felt wasn't really love.”

Jason watched her carefully.

“And now?”

Miyaka took a deep breath.

“Now…”

She looked at the photograph again.

“I still think about him.”

Jason smiled faintly.

“That answers my question.”

Miyaka laughed.

“Maybe.”

“What if he comes back?”

She looked at him.

“I don't know.”

“Would you forgive him?”

“I don't know.”

“Would you be angry?”

“Yes.”

“Would you hug him?”

Miyaka smiled.

“Probably.”

Jason laughed.

“You'd forgive him that easily?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“I'd make him explain everything first.”

“Good.”

“And then I'd probably punch him.”

Jason laughed harder.

“That sounds more like you.”

Miyaka smiled.

“But after that…”

She looked down.

“I'd hug him.”

---

The following year, Miyaka entered her first official racing competition.

Her father was furious.

“No.”

Miyaka crossed her arms.

“Dad.”

“I said no.”

“Why?”

“Because racing is dangerous.”

“So is crossing the street.”

“This isn't a joke.”

“I know.”

“You could get hurt.”

“I could get hurt doing anything.”

Her father stared at her.

“Why do you want to race so badly?”

Miyaka hesitated.

She could have said she loved speed.

She could have said she loved the adrenaline.

She could have said she wanted to prove herself.

But the truth was more complicated.

“When I'm racing…”

She looked down.

“I don't think about anything.”

Her father softened.

“Anything?”

She nodded.

“For those few minutes, everything becomes quiet.”

He understood that she was talking about something else.

“Are you trying to run away from something?”

Miyaka looked at him.

“No.”

Then she smiled.

“I'm trying to run toward something.”

“What?”

“I don't know yet.”

Her father sighed.

“You're just like your mother.”

Miyaka smiled.

“Is that good?”

“Depends who you ask.”

She laughed.

Eventually, he agreed.

With conditions.

Safety equipment.

Training.

Supervision.

No reckless street racing.

Miyaka accepted everything.

And that was how her passion for racing truly began.

---

Her first race was small.

Only a few dozen people watched.

Jason stood behind the barrier, looking terrified.

“Miyaka!”

She turned.

“What?”

“Please don't do anything crazy!”

She grinned.

“I'll try!”

“That wasn't reassuring!”

She laughed.

Then she put on her helmet.

The engine roared.

The moment the race began, everything changed.

Miyaka accelerated.

Wind rushed past her.

The world blurred.

The noise disappeared.

For those few minutes, she was free.

No empty chair.

No unanswered questions.

No waiting.

No heartbreak.

Just speed.

She crossed the finish line first.

Jason screamed.

“You won!”

Miyaka pulled off her helmet.

“I won!”

Jason ran toward her.

“You're insane!”

“I know!”

“You could've crashed!”

“But I didn't!”

He shook his head.

“I'm never watching you race again.”

“You'll be there next week.”

“I hate that you're right.”

Miyaka laughed.

Then she looked toward the track.

Something inside her had awakened.

She wanted more.

She wanted to race faster.

She wanted to ride motorcycles.

She wanted to try horse racing.

She wanted adventure.

She wanted to live.

Maybe because she had spent too many years waiting.

Maybe because she was afraid that if she stopped moving, the memories would catch up with her.

---

That night, Miyaka sat beneath the old tree again.

She held the photograph.

“I won my first race.”

She smiled.

“You would've been proud.”

She looked toward the stars.

“I think you would've laughed at me.”

She paused.

“Or maybe you would've told me to slow down.”

She laughed softly.

“Like you always did.”

Then her expression softened.

“I wish you were here.”

She closed her eyes.

“I really do.”

A tear slipped down her cheek.

“But I'm okay.”

She took a deep breath.

“I promise.”

She looked up.

“I'll keep living.”

She smiled.

“And I'll keep chasing my dreams.”

She touched the tree.

“But…”

Her voice became a whisper.

“If you ever come back…”

She swallowed.

“I'll still be here.”

---

Across the country, a young man stood in front of a large window.

He was no longer the boy Miyaka remembered.

He was taller.

His shoulders were broader.

His expression was more serious.

His eyes carried years of things he couldn't explain.

Moises Laurent.

He held a familiar photograph.

The same photograph.

The three children beneath the old tree.

His assistant stood behind him.

“Sir.”

Moises didn't turn.

“Yes?”

“Your father wants you to attend tomorrow's meeting.”

“I'll attend.”

“And after that, there's a business dinner.”

“Cancel it.”

“Your father won't like that.”

“I don't care.”

The assistant hesitated.

“There's something else.”

Moises finally turned.

“What?”

“We found another trace.”

His expression changed.

“Of what?”

The assistant handed him a file.

“Her.”

Moises stared at the photograph inside.

Miyaka.

Older now.

Confident.

Standing beside a racing car.

His fingers tightened around the file.

“She races?”

“Yes.”

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

“She always wanted to try.”

The assistant watched him.

“You still remember everything.”

Moises looked at the photograph.

“I never forgot anything.”

“Then why haven't you gone back?”

Moises' smile disappeared.

“Because I promised to protect her.”

“You've been away for years.”

“I know.”

“She might have moved on.”

Moises lowered his eyes.

“That would be better.”

“For her?”

“Yes.”

“And for you?”

He didn't answer.

The assistant understood.

“You still love her.”

Moises looked toward the city lights.

“I don't know if I'm allowed to.”

---

That night, in two different places, two people looked at the same sky.

Miyaka whispered,

“I hope you're okay.”

Moises whispered,

“I hope you're happy.”

Neither knew the other was thinking about them.

Neither knew how close their worlds were becoming.

And neither knew that the promise made beneath an old tree was slowly pulling them toward the day they would meet again.

Miyaka had stopped waiting in one place.

She was chasing speed.

Dreams.

Adventure.

Life.

But deep inside her heart, there was still one door she had never closed.

The door marked Moises.

And if he ever came back…

she knew exactly what she would ask him first.

“Why did you leave me?”

She didn't know that when that day finally came, his answer would change everything.