November 3rd – Long Island, NY | Eden Hill Prep – 2:42 a.m.Kyle was tossing in his bunk. His knees throbbed beneath ice wraps. It'd been weeks since Peach Jam, and his body still hadn't fully recovered.
Then the call came.
Three vibrations.
One Montego Bay number.
Then a voicemail.
He ignored it.
Then it rang again.
This time, it was Dre.
Kyle groggily answered.
"Yo—what yuh say, mi deh—"
Dre's voice was trembling.
"Kyle… brudda… I'm sorry."
A pause.
"It's your mum. It's Miss Nichola…"
"She's gone."
Flashback: Jamaica – Mango Tree CourtKyle remembered her laugh.
He remembered her clapping from the porch as he nailed his first crate-shot jumper.
He remembered her wiping sweat from his face with the same towel she used for baking.
"You could be somebody, yuh hear me?"
"Mi know, mama."
He promised her.
And now…
News Headlines – MONTEGO BAY MADNESS"Gang Leader 'Chino' Captured After GasMart Armed Robbery. One Fatality: 45-Year-Old Woman Shot in Chest."
Victim Identified as Nichola Campbell, mother of U.S.-based basketball prodigy Kyle Wilson.
Reports suggest the robbery was part of a retaliatory act. Police investigating deeper gang affiliations.
Chino apprehended at the scene. Multiple charges pending, including murder.
Kyle ShattersHe didn't cry.
He just walked out the dorm, into the cold, barefoot.
He sat in the middle of the Eden Hill outdoor court.
Let the frost bite his feet.
Langston found him there, an hour later.
Didn't speak.
Just sat beside him.
Kyle whispered:
"Mi left her."
Langston shook his head.
"You went to save her."
Kyle clenched his jaw.
"And now she gone."
Nichola Campbell's Funeral – UnattendedHe wasn't allowed to go.
Legal paperwork. Visa complications. Too short notice.
He watched on a cracked iPad in Langston's office.
The camera was shaky.
The casket—white, with gold trim.
The cries—raw.
Nichola's body—gone.
Kyle stared in silence.
Until he whispered:
"Mi nah forgive Chino."
The CollapseThat night, he didn't eat.
He didn't ice.
He didn't sleep.
The next morning, Kyle tried to sprint drills.
Collapsed halfway through.
Clutched his knee.
Screamed into the hardwood.
Zion ran over.
"Kyle, man—stop!"
He didn't listen.
Langston had to pull him off the court himself.
Langston's InterventionCoach Langston slammed his office door shut.
"You think killing yourself will bring her back?"
Kyle didn't flinch.
"She gone because mi wasn't there."
"No. She's gone because Chino's a snake. That poison was always waiting."
Kyle's hands shook.
"She raised me alone. Fed mi. Washed mi jersey. Sold food to send me here. And I didn't even get to hug her goodbye…"
Langston's voice softened.
"Then live for her."
The Letter She LeftTwo days later, Dre sent him a picture of a handwritten letter they found in her Bible.
To: KYLE NATHANIEL WILSON
"Mi baby. If you reading this, it mean mi gone.
But don't cry too long. Mi life wasn't perfect, but you… you were my miracle.
Run from this place. Live better than this. Mi proud of you already. Keep going. Don't stop. Even when it hurt."
Kyle read it three times.
Then wept.
The Training ReturnsKyle limped back into the gym three days later.
He didn't speak.
He didn't smile.
He just trained.
3 hours a day.
Weight room.
Ice baths.
Free throws in silence.
Langston whispered to Ramos:
"He's possessed now."
But Kyle wasn't.
He was focused.
For Nichola.
For everything she gave him.
National Team Call – DecemberA letter came.
Official invite to the Jamaica U17 National Team Camp.
Kyle read the header three times.
He whispered:
"Mi coming back, Mama."
Final Scene – The PledgeHe stood alone at the Eden Hill free throw line.
No crowd.
No cameras.
No mixtapes.
He held the ball against his chest.
Eyes closed.
"I swear to God—mi not letting her die for nothing."
He shot.
Swish.