Is This the Sports Channel?

The boxing channel was gone. But Bread was smart. While sifting through an assortment of entertainment channels, he eventually landed on a sports news program. And finally, he saw her again—Valkyrie. She was being interviewed by a reporter.

“What motivated you to start boxing?” the reporter asked.

“I just… wanted to find purpose.” She smiled.

“And what was this purpose that you were trying to find? Was it specifically boxing?”

“No, it honestly could’ve been anything. Boxing just happened to be there at the right time. It was… kind of my escape. Just wanted to do something different. My way.”

My way… Bread understood the intonation behind those last words. If she wanted to do things her way, she was most likely lacking control in her life. And somehow, boxing happened to be the way she could take over the reins. 

“I see,” the reporter continued. “Well, I’d like to thank you for your courteous responses thus far. We have a final question that we wish to ask.”

Valkyrie nodded.

“You surely seem to be creating your own, well-deserved reality with the undefeated record you’re holding at the moment. We’ve heard from an anonymous source that your next fight will be against the undefeated champion, Daddy Long Arms. Do you believe you have what it takes to become number one?”

She hesitated for a moment but finally answered, “Yeah. I have to. Gotta prove to Coach that he made the right choice.” Her smile was faint, but it was still there. A sad, nostalgic but satisfied smile. “I want to be proud of myself. And I want to show my lil’ bro who’s out there somewhere that I’m still here… I’m still alive and kicking…”

Her eyes burned with a fiery intensity. Bread could feel the strength behind that look. He had never seen someone exude such fierce emotions. That determination and resolve to reach her goals… To his confined and helpless self, it was, without a single doubt, inspiring.

And even after the interview had ended, she never stopped smiling. She never stopped exuding that confidence. Even after they had started rolling the highlights of her fights, she was still there in the background quietly beaming that sad but tenacious grin.

If he had to choose a hero, he wanted it to be her…

Somebody suddenly knocked, startling Bread out of his captivation. He looked up. A head poked in through the door, but it wasn’t the same person from before.

“Hey.” A pastel pink suited man walked in. “Name’s Azan. Bread, was it? Nice to meet you. I’ll be taking over for my friend today. You’ve probably met him already, yeah?”

“Mister?” Bread asked.

“Yeah… sure. Mister. That’s what he goes by?” He shook his head. “He didn’t even give you his name? Well, I’m just glad you can understand me.” He smiled a little too wide for it to look natural.

Bread kind of liked this person. Was his name Azan? He didn’t seem as threatening. He seemed… nicer? He didn’t dislike that.

Azan looked over at the screen. “Ah, boxing.”

He suddenly felt chills run down his spine. Was this man also going to yell at him for watching?

“Oh, you’re a fan of Valkyrie.”

Bread started to fidget uncomfortably. Was he not angry at him?

“I enjoy boxing too. Once in a while at least.” Azan grinned. It looked uncomfortably broad. “So I heard you like this kind of thing, yeah?”

He hesitantly nodded.

“But it’s quite a shame what happened.”

A shame? What did he mean?

“Poor girl… That last fight of hers really didn’t go the way she’d planned.”

Planned? The way Azan said it… It made the back of his hair tingle. “Something happened… to Valkyrie?”

“Yeah, flew too high. Became the newest candidate”—he extravagantly gestured towards the sky—“of the nickname, Fallen Icarus. They were just too far apart.”

Icarus. He knew where that name came from. There was a Greek myth in his records about a boy who flew too close to the sun and perished… But what did that have to do with Valkyrie? How did she fly too high when she never had wings in the first place?

“Should’ve stayed clear of the champion. She didn’t need to go that far to prove that she was a great boxer. I mean, with that last performance, she might not even come back.”

Stayed clear? Flew too high? The thoughts swirled around in Bread’s mind. Was the nickname not in the literal sense? An exaggeration? Was the champion too high for her to reach? Too far apart? In what? If the meaning wasn’t to be taken literally…

Then it dawned on him—

Skill. They were too far apart in skill. And that only meant one thing. She had lost. And if there was a chance of her not returning, she was most likely injured. Badly. Maybe even hospitalized. He didn’t like how the image of his perfect hero was slowly being sullied by his own mind, but he started to understand…

The reference—Fallen Icarus. It was a fall from grace.

She had probably lost her championship match. Had gotten hurt. And she was given that title because they’d probably never believed that she was ever going to win in the first place. Because in their eyes, she wasn’t ready. The champion was like the sun. He was too high for her to ever reach. This loss, in everyone’s eyes, was inevitable. And yet—

She still tried to fight.

Bread unexpectedly started to feel a newfound respect for her. Even in the face of inevitable doom and opposition, she’d still decided to fight. To Bread, she was admirable. In his eyes, her loss was defensible. She had tried. That should amount to something, right?

“Yes,” Bread said aloud.

“Hmm?”

“She had to fight. She needed to prove to herself!”

Azan raised a brow.

“She doesn’t deserve that name!” he cried. “How could—how could everyone who failed be condemned for trying? She was just working towards her goal! How could they disrespect her like that?”

“Unfortunately, the world is unfair like that.” Azan smirked. “Perceptive. You figured all that out from just the interview, yeah? I don’t understand why he had so much trouble with you if you were always this insightful. Well done. You did splendidly for what you are.”

Bread felt a little embarrassed. He’d never had someone compliment him so much. But as embarrassing as it was, oddly, he didn’t hate it. He actually kind of liked the feeling. Was this what the other man had meant for him to feel? Like what he had felt during his dreams?

This was different from his experience with the tree or the desert. It was different from the emptiness he’d always felt before. Now, when he thought of boxing, he felt something new. Feelings of excitement and thrills. It sent tingles down his entire body.

When he thought of clouds, he felt longing. When he thought of snow, he started to feel shivers run down his spine. And when he thought of Valkyrie, he felt… happy. Just knowing that there was somebody else out there who was struggling to do things their own way. And Bread believed deep down that, like her, he’d never give up on his dreams.

But what really were his dreams?