Tomorrow at 6:00 AM, the brick wall would have its rhythm back.

To a stranger, they were just heavy spheres. To Leo, they were a second chance.

He remembered the "thwack-pop" of the pocket catching the ball—a rhythmic heartbeat that had kept him steady through his parents' divorce and the long months of physical therapy after the ACL tear.

The fluorescent lights of the Mega-Sport hummed, a low-frequency buzz that matched the vibration in Leo’s chest. He didn’t need much—just one thing. He bypassed the aisles of neon jerseys and the wall of overpriced sneakers, heading straight for the back corner where the mesh bags hung like heavy fruit.

Leo walked to the register, the ball heavy and solid in his palm. He didn’t need a bag. As he stepped out into the crisp autumn air, he gave the ball a short, sharp toss into the air. It spun against the blue sky, a perfect white circle. He caught it without looking.

He looked at the price tag: $4.50. A small price to buy back his morning ritual.

He stood before the bin of lacrosse balls. They were piled high, a mountain of vulcanized rubber in white, yellow, and neon orange.