Twenty-Eight: Silent Night in Oklahoma

From Houston to Oklahoma, the straight-line distance is 665 kilometers. It takes a day to drive, but less than a few hours to fly. After all, both places are subordinate to the west.

But because the NBA game ended very late, and Link was still in the rental house and had some unpleasantness with his garbage manager. So it was three in the morning when Link arrived in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City isn't like New York or Los Angeles, where there's not a lot of festivities in the early hours. As soon as he got off the plane, Link felt that the surroundings were quiet, and the whole city seemed to be shrouded in silence.

When I walked out of the airport, there was no one on the street, only my shadow under the street lamp.

It's December, and the average temperature in Oklahoma City is just 2.8°C. Although compared to Minnesota and Toronto, which are more than ten degrees below zero, Oklahoma's climate is very comfortable. But in this quiet early morning, looking at his lonely figure, Link, who was standing on the street, couldn't help zipping his coat.

Tonight, it may be the worst night he has had since he crossed over.

"University of Oklahoma Medical School." After stopping a taxi, Link told the driver his destination in a low voice.

From time to time, Taxi Tim watched Link in the back row through the rearview mirror. If he remembered correctly, the driver had seen the Chinese-American player on TV a few hours earlier fighting for the Houston Rockets. It stands to reason that he shouldn't be in Oklahoma.

Originally, the driver wanted to talk to Link about a lot of things, but seeing that Link seemed to be in a bad mood, the driver didn't bother to disturb him. He believed that the shocking incident must have something to do with Link's return.

At the same time, Link also picked up his phone and started to read the news. Pages about basketball news are occupied by Zeke Upshaw. It may have been the most famous night for the Blues and Upshaw, but the way they became famous was heart-wrenching.

And according to these news reports, Link probably figured out what happened.

Today, the last 40 seconds of the fourth quarter of the Oklahoma Blues' home game against the Long Island Nets. Zeke Upshaw was just as diligently chasing down his counterpoint as before.

At this moment, Upshaw suddenly put his hand on his chest and fell to the ground face down, motionless.

At first, no one knew what was going on. Some people think Upshaw is injured, but there is absolutely no way that an injury will cause a player to faint.

After the referee and the players called Upshaw many times and did not respond, Upshaw was immediately sent to the hospital for treatment. Then, Link got a call from Upshaw's mother, Martha.

After reading the news again, Link covered his head sadly. He didn't know if a guy named Zeke Upshaw had a sudden cardiac arrest on the basketball court in the world before he crossed over.

Maybe there is, maybe not. But what Link is sure of is that, whether or not Upshaw survives the storm in the end, he is nothing but a cloud of the past in this world. Because as a traveler, Link can never remember that in December 2010, he heard of a player named Zeke Upshaw.

No one knew that there was a 26-year-old professional player who worked hard for his NBA dream and fell on the basketball court. No one knows what a good guy Zeke Upshaw is...

Link turned off the phone screen and stopped watching the news about Upshaw. He didn't want his emotions to collapse the moment he saw the Upshaw family.

※※※

"Link, my boy, I don't know what Zeke did wrong and why he was punished like this."

The moment Link saw Upshaw's mother,

The helpless black woman threw herself into Link's arms.

Link had two big dark circles under his eyes. He hadn't slept all night, and he had just been kicked out by the NBA and fired his manager.

But at this time, looking at Upshaw who was lying on the hospital bed all the time wearing a ventilator, Link suddenly felt that his business was not worth mentioning at all.

"It's okay, Martha. Zeke will be fine, the medical level is very developed now. You don't have to worry, I'm willing to bear all his medical expenses."

Upshaw had done a lot for Link, but at this time Link didn't know what he could do for Upshaw. The only thing he can do is to share some financial pressure for this already difficult enough family.

"Zik... has he had a heart attack since he was a child?" Link asked cautiously, remembering the small pillbox that Upshaw used to carry at all times.

"No, he only occasionally said he had chest discomfort, but he didn't tell us anything else. After the doctors checked, they didn't find the cause of his cardiac arrest... Now Zeke is still in the rescue. , he's not even out of danger."

Facing Link's questioning, Martha burst into tears again.

Seeing this, Link didn't ask any more questions. The blow to this well-meaning lady has been big enough.

In this way, Link has been waiting with Upshaw's family. They all believed that this strong guy would definitely wake up.

However, just like Link fantasizes that he can make a difference in the NBA, he fantasizes that his manager must think about himself wholeheartedly. His illusion that Upshaw would be free from danger was also shattered.

Ten hours, twelve hours, fifteen hours, twenty-four hours... Upshaw still lay there quietly, not even blinking.

At four o'clock in the morning on December 13, 48 hours after Link rushed to the hospital, the doctor involved in the rescue walked out of the ward sweating profusely, looked at Link and Upshaw's family beside him, and said the sentence The TV series has been rotten on the street, but when I actually heard it, it was extremely cruel.

"Sorry, we tried our best."

After two days of continuous treatment, everyone tried to pull him back from the line of life and death. Death held a scythe at the other end, watching the young man's body tugging in it.

It succeeded, and advanced medicine was defeated in front of it. Sudden cardiac arrest, Upshaw will not have the next chapter in his life.

cry? faint? Tearing? None, at that moment, there was only silence around Link.

It felt like the moment he returned to Oklahoma City in the early hours of the day before yesterday. Dark, helpless, lonely.

Upshaw's mother froze for a few minutes, then gradually looked up at Link. She took out an envelope from her handbag and handed it to the Chinese man in front of her, "This is what Zeke wrote to you, and his teammates found it in his locker. I originally wanted him to hand it to you. But now …”

Link hurriedly took the envelope. In this age where the Internet is so developed, the communication method of writing letters has almost disappeared. But it's clear that Upshaw wants some words to be preserved, not just strings of codes in a vast database.

After handing the envelope to Link, Martha walked into the ward and burst into tears. This strong woman can't take it anymore.

※※※

my brother Link,

Wishing you all the best in Houston, and seeing you in the NBA makes me happy for you from the bottom of my heart. Why write a letter? At first I also thought it was a stupid idea. But I still can't express my inner joy through a few text messages. I still feel that I can express my joy and pride by writing something by hand.

I knew from the beginning that your hard work will definitely pay off. I also played in Europe a few years ago, and honestly the wages there are much higher than the G League. But I still come back, why? Not all for the NBA. Congratulations, you have achieved what we all aspire to.

Of course, this is just the beginning, and the days after that will be difficult. You could be fighting for the next 10-day contract, and you could have to fight your teammates on the practice court for minutes. Possibly, hahahaha, may worry about your rent. But no matter what happens, you can't give up.

Because you are also my dream and spiritual support for entering the NBA. When you fall, my dream is shattered.

That's it, the game is about to start and I'm going to play. Hopefully tomorrow morning, I can see the news of your second ten-day contract.

Go ahead, man.

Zeke.