"Watch yourself."
Malik grinned.
Richard looked toward the hoop.
"Your father taught you?"
"Some."
"He taught me something too."
Malik stopped.
"What?"
Richard looked across the street.
"That people aren't problems to solve."
Malik considered the words.
Then he tossed him the ball.
Richard fumbled it.
Malik laughed.
"Terrible."
"I warned you."
They stood there for a moment.
Then Malik took the shot.
Swish.
Richard shook his head.
"Show-off."
"Twenty-nine."
On Marcus's birthday, Angela gave Malik the last letter.
"I found it in his old desk."
Malik sat on the porch.
The sunset turned the sky orange.
He unfolded the paper.
**My son,**
**There will be days when you wonder what kind of man I was.**
**Don't believe anyone who tells you a man is defined by the uniform he wears, the job he has, the money he earns, or the mistakes he makes.**
**A man is defined by what he does when nobody is watching.**
Malik swallowed.
He continued.
**You may not remember every conversation we had. That's okay. I don't need you to carry every memory.**
**Carry the lessons instead.**
**Protect the people you love.**
**Stand up when someone is being treated unfairly.**
**And when you make a mistake, don't let pride stop you from admitting it.**
There was one final paragraph.
**Most importantly, don't spend your life trying to become me. Become yourself.**
Malik lowered the letter.
His eyes were wet.
Angela sat beside him.
"He would have been proud."
"You think so?"
"I know so."
Malik looked toward the driveway.
The basketball was resting beneath the hoop.
He smiled.
"I think I finally understand him."
Angela leaned against his shoulder.
"What do you understand?"
"Why he stayed quiet."
"Why?"
"Because he wasn't trying to prove anything."
One year later, Brier View Court held its first community basketball tournament.
Richard organized it.
Malik complained about the rules.
Angela brought food.
Children ran between the houses.
David and Reed came back for the weekend.
They stood near the court watching Malik play.
He had grown taller.
Stronger.
More confident.
But he still had the same quiet focus.
The final shot came with seconds remaining.