"I don't know for how long I was in there, I just ran and ran, and then when I finally got tired, I stopped and sat on a rock. I realized that I was lost. I did not know what to do or where to go, so I just started roaming around the woods to find my way out."
"Wow... you were really brave for a five-year-old, not sitting in the corner and crying when you got lost in the woods," Lea commented.
"If you say so," Liam replied with a small laugh.
"So then after walking around for god knows how long, I caught sight of a road. I ran towards it, but as soon as I stepped onto the road, I saw a racing car coming towards me, and I froze, not knowing what to do."
"The racer tried to stop his car, but the distance was not enough to stop it from hitting me. I just closed my eyes, scared, expecting an impact, when someone caught hold of my hand and pulled me to the side, then rolled down the mounting a bit."
He let out a large sigh.
"Once I felt safe, I opened my eyes to see what happened, and I saw my uncle's face covered in blood, coming out of a cut on his forehead. Looking at him like that, I was so scared that I hugged him tightly and cried uncontrollably as he consoled me, even in his pain."
"Then my father rushed to where we were and lifted me, helping my uncle stand up. He had bruises all over his body, and one of his shoulders was sprained, but he had protected me so well that I did not have a single scratch on my body."
Liam stayed silent for some time. His hand, which had taken hold of Lea's hand at some point, tightened, and his eyebrows furrowed a little bit. Seeing him like this and hearing his story hurt her a little bit, so she squeezed his hand back, as if consoling him. Sensing it, he turned towards her and started talking again.
"I did not leave his side the whole time he was being treated, no matter what anyone told me. The next day when he woke up, I hugged him and started saying sorry, and I would never go near any car again."
"As if sensing my emotions and fear, he brought me near that floor-to-ceiling window over there," he lifted his hand, pointing towards the direction of the medical block.
Memory from the past
"Look at the tracks below. Do you know why I love coming here so often? This is where I met your aunt for the first time. She was here with her boyfriend then, who was a really good racer."
"His recorded time for one lap was 9 minutes 2 seconds, which was great back then. It was just slightly behind the world record time."
"So I wanted to break that record set by him to impress your aunty, and I did after a lot of training. I got your aunty as well. And I got selected to participate in an international race as well."
"But due to my carelessness, after a few days after the race, I met with an accident and developed a health issue due to which I am not eligible to race anymore," Liam's uncle said sadly.
"So I come here whenever I get time to see other young racers, hoping one day I can find someone who might break that record set by me."
"What is your recorded time, uncle?" Young Liam asked.
"It's one lap in 8 minutes 55.2 seconds in the Ferrari 156 'Sharknose' Formula One car. To date, no one has been able to beat that," Liam's uncle said.
"Then he looked at me and asked, will you try to beat my record?" Liam's uncle asked.
"Yes, I promise," Young Liam said.