Play Reflection

It was hard to breathe.

My mind was locked onto the people around me. There weren’t many left like me, obvious, given how far we were into the game.

Nova had the ball.

Without hesitation, he sprinted toward the goal, effortlessly kicking it forward and catching up in stride, breaking through the thin middle defenses like they were nothing. It stayed that way until he reached the far side, where the opposing team had finally built a solid defense, a three-man wall that brought him to a halt.

He paused, scanning the field while shielding the ball. A glance to his left, and our eyes met.

I shook my head. He gave a small nod in return.

Only one defender stood between me and the goal, and he wasn’t even close. I’d been playing like a total amateur, so the defense around me was weak.

The moment Nova nodded in my direction, one of the defenders lunged to steal the ball.

Nova, without even looking, tapped the ball backward with his heel, right into an empty space.

That is, until Omir appeared on the right and launched the ball, full power, straight toward me.

“…toward me?”

Me?!

It wasn’t a pass. It was a shot, aimed right at me. The defender marking me looked just as surprised as I was. I scrambled to predict where the ball would land.

It wasn’t exactly close, but maybe, just maybe...

I lunged, stretching my leg as far as I could. My thigh immediately screamed in protest.

The defender tried to intercept, but he was a moment too late.

Had Nova calculated the exact distance needed for the defender to overcommit, then dropped his guard to exploit the gap near me?

The ball hit the center of my foot, and that’s when I realized something troubling.

Now what?

The defender would definitely come at me harder the second the ball touched the ground. How was I supposed to get it back to Nova or Omir?

I looked up. Nova was watching, motioning what to do. He raised a leg, slid his foot under the ball, and flicked it behind him with a smooth motion.

Then gave me a thumbs-up.

“…”

There’s no way I can do that!

Still, I didn’t have time to freeze. I adjusted my foot beneath the ball, not perfect, but close enough—and swung it low, trying to avoid sending it out of bounds.

The ball arced backward, the defender caught off guard by the direction. But then came a new problem:

I overdid it. The ball was rolling away—too far from both of us.

He dove to recover. I pivoted, digging my foot into the turf to cut ahead.

I reached it first.

Now I was just inside the penalty box, diagonally from the goal. Barely in range. The goalie squared up.

I didn’t trust my shot.

“Shoot it!”

Nova’s voice cut through the air.

“You’ve got this!”

That one was Emi’s.

Damn it. How could I not take the shot now?

No fancy footwork. No tricks. Just me, the ball, and a goal.

I aimed for the upper right corner. The cleanest route.

I wound my leg back and kicked with everything I had. The world froze for a second as the ball flew through the air.

The goalie stretched—

But he wasn’t going to make it.

The ball slammed into the top corner of the goal with a loud ding.

“...”

Just when I thought it was over, the sun seemed to shine a little brighter.

“Perfect, Anon. That was better than I expected.”

Nova had appeared, right before the ball even landed. No one noticed him vanish from midfield, but one defender had tried keeping up, too little, too late.

Nova slammed the final shot home, right in front of the goalie.

Game over.

It was only a practice match, but it was the hardest I’d ever pushed myself. I collapsed onto the grass, staring up at the sky.

I think I’ll just lie here for a while.

At some point, I must’ve dozed off. I stirred when someone gently shook me awake.

My eyes fluttered open. I was leaning against a tree, bathed in sunlight. Emi stood there, offering me a bottle of water.

“You played amazingly, Anon,” she said.

“Thanks.”

I took the water and sipped slowly, watching the others clean up.

I was drenched in sweat, sticky and exhausted, but I tried to savor the breeze.

“No idea how I lasted this long,” I muttered. “Still don’t get why I was asked to play in the first place.”

Emi sat beside me, sipping her own water.

“I think Nova just wanted you to try something new.”

“…”

“And you didn’t say no, so maybe part of you wanted to try too.”

She smiled. I looked off into the distance.

“…You’re not wrong. Now that I’ve played, I’m not sure how I feel.”

“Did you have fun?”

“I guess.”

“What are you acting all shy about? You’re not some tsundere.” She ruffled my hair, fake-pouting. Then her smile returned, bright as ever. “But that’s good to hear. You’ve changed, you know?”

“I’ve changed?”

“I’d say so.”

Nova walked over, wiping sweat from his brow, and plopped down next to Emi.

“You always looked tired at school,” he said, “but today, you had this spark. The look on your face when you almost missed that shot? Priceless. Someone who’s bored wouldn’t have cared that much.”

“Didn’t help that you two yelled at me to shoot,” I chuckled.

“It’s called believing in your friend,” Nova grinned.

“He says that,” Emi added, “but he gets so competitive.”

Nova leaned forward, smiling right at me.

“So? Did you like playing?”

“…” I looked away, shrugging. A small smile tugged at my lips. “Guess I didn’t hate it.”

“With some practice, you’ll catch up fast,” Emi said. “Nova and I can help train you when you’re ready.”

“You know it. Maybe you’ll go pro with me,” Nova joked.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s aim for just one goal next time,” I laughed.

We all cracked up before the two of them went to help with cleanup. I think Wacian said something about a shooting star, and Nova and Omir laughed at his nonsense.

I sat there, letting myself breathe, letting myself feel.

Friday.
February 7th.
The Beginning of the End.

…Or at least, I hope so.

I want to see you. To be there for you. But for now, I chose to trust you. I know you’re stronger than this. Viveka won’t stop you.

Soon.

I swear I’ll see you when the time is right, when we need each other most.

“Wonder if I should ask her to be my Valentine for the Festival.”

Cheesy.

But hey, what’s love without a little cheese?