They walked together toward an old tree near the field—the same place where they used to meet as children.
As they passed through the neighborhood, people whispered quietly, curious about the well-dressed boy walking beside Noah. Lucas ignored them.
He only wanted to understand what had happened.
Once they reached the tree, they sat down on the thick roots.
Lucas finally asked the question that had been weighing on his mind.
“What happened here?”
Noah took a deep breath before answering.
“Dad got really sick two years ago. He can’t fix cars anymore,” he said slowly. “So now I help Mom however I can. I sell things in the market, feed the chickens, and sometimes collect scrap metal to sell.”
He forced a small smile.
“It’s not easy… but we manage.”
Lucas felt a sharp ache in his chest.
While he had been living comfortably in another country, he had always imagined Noah still running around happily like they used to.
He had never thought his best friend might be struggling like this.
Tears filled Lucas’s eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked. “Why didn’t you ask for help?”
Noah shook his head gently.
“You weren’t here to deal with our problems,” he said. “I didn’t want to bother you.”