Little Do They Know

Chapter 23 - Rose Gold

I hadn't properly travelled Lyon since that day. Since that day when my parents died and I was taken from Europe. I knew I had unfinished business. I knew that if I went to Lyon, with Emily, maybe it would solve all the issues I had that were embedded into me. Maybe it would help me find peace in what happened, and would give me a chance to move on. I wasn't too sure what I would be looking for, but closure would be a good place to start.

However, before we could go to Lyon, we still had the Olympics to compete in. We were up against Canada in the semi final, and we knew it was going to be a tough game. Canada were the underdogs but they had been getting through the tournament strongly. They were converting their penalties and defending their line. They were going to be a hard team to get the breakthrough against, but I knew we had a fighting chance.

"I'm tired," I said to Tierna as we lay in our beds before the game against Canada.

"Me too," she replied, her eyes closing slightly.

"We have a big game tomorrow, and I for sure need my beauty sleep," I said, turning off the light, and falling asleep.

While asleep, I dreamt that I was eight again. I was playing football, on a cold winter's morning in November, a few weeks before my parents died. My long, brown hair was tied up and I had a ball at my feet. Crowds of people were watching this game, so in awe of my young, developing talent. I didn't notice the people when I was playing, but rather I was focused on getting the ball in the back of the net. As I dribbled around the defenders, I took a shot. It slid past the keeper, and I had scored.

When I looked over at my parents, they were smiling and clapping, so proud of me and how well I was progressing. I looked beside them. I saw a little girl, only a few years older than me. She had blonde hair, and a wide smile.

Then I woke up.

"That was Jackie," I mumbled to myself, under my breath. It was three in the morning, and I did not want to wake Tierna up. I had forgotten so much about those few years, that whenever I remember new bits of information, it takes me a while to piece them all together. But, what I can say now, is that I remembered Jackie. I remembered her watching my games. I remembered her standing on the sidelines. I remembered Jackie Groenen.

The next morning, I sat beside Sam on the bus to the game.

"Sam," I said to her.

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember your whole childhood?"

"What do you mean?" Sam questioned.

"Do you remember growing up?"

"I guess," she replied, "why do you ask?"

"I just don't think I do," I answered.

"I mean," Sam started to say, "you went through a lot as a kid. Your parents passed away, and sometimes it's hard to deal with those emotions when you're young so you ignore them, and try to forget."

"Yeah, that is true."

"Don't beat yourself up about it," she answered, "Brads, you're not defined by your past or your future. It's only what you do now that shows your true character." I looked at my best friend, and smiled.

"Sammy Bananas," I said to her, "when did you get so smart?"

We lost the game against Canada. Jessie Fleming scored a PK in the second half, and we weren't able to respond. I came on in the 70th minute, but nothing could be done. We weren't meshing and the team was a mess. When the final whistle sounded, we were all devastated to not have a chance at Olympic gold. I fell to the ground, and my head rested against the grass. I was a striker. I was meant to score and I couldn't. I couldn't do it for my team.