Football match

Today, my sister looked disturbed when she woke up early in the morning. Her silence nettled me a lot. She woke up with a setto on my face and slept with slap on her face supplied by me but today she was engrossed in her own affairs. I must ask her— this thought had entered in my brain several times but her habit of keeping things in dark stitched my lips.

I crossed my fingers and prayed to help her in passing her bad day. God listened my pleadings. Sun set down early than we expected but everything was same as previous day.

She climbed upstairs to give a little exercise to her belly fat but returned to her steps without losing a drop of sweat. I thought she would be different today and ignored my pensive nature.

But I was wrong. I felt something suspicious at upstairs as her favorite spot secured itself a matter of fear in her heart. She was enemy of mine but I needed to ebb it as quickly as possible.

Next day, I woke up early before her and fixed my eyes on her path to roof whose door was flung open—unusual to daily. Anyway, I determined to steal her sadness. As usual, she went upstairs with the same fear walking on her forehead. If she was tensed too much, then why didn’t she miss her routine to upstairs?

She looked around, missing me, and ran into the roof. Her actions puzzled me. If she was frightened by someone or frightening others. I dropped the idea of guessing. I found my comfortable hold on the door and peeped inside. What I saw must be a betrayal of my eyes. I must be revering. She could not do this.

I tried to peruse the scene but nothing gained profitable. So, I asked my sharp eyes to note important things. I let my sister do what she was doing without our parents’ permission.

Few hours later, after shower, when she sat beside me, I demanded the exposition of my puzzle. She was shocked and surprised simultaneously. I was undoubtedly my father’s blue-eyed, and would not hide anything from him.

“The person you saw with me today was the vice-captain of the football team and was practicing on our roof from many days and I used to give them keys to use dad’s football and his tools. The players were six in number and a mishappening took in their lives. Their team was sold to the other team with whom they will confront this Sunday, but these players were against this and their thought was ignored by their astute captain. There were some honest players in the matches but needed to fix forcefully by their own players and these people decided to leave the team after winning this match. Giving a deep shock to the buyers of the other team.”

I understood what she was trying me to say. Dad, being a known football player, left his team when he came to know that his team was getting bought by someone. He left his passion, career for his motherland. And, I am proud of him but from the day, he locked his football practice room upstairs and hated the football matches as like ice-cream in the hot soup.

I supported her for next three days without increasing Dad’s erudite. But last day, those six men made mistake, and in a flutter, whistled to their last day of practice. Father’s ears were weak but stronger enough to recognize old sounds. He hurried upstairs, shouting my and sis’s name. She sat in corner with her head down, praying to God. I ensconced the players, took their whistle, and presented myself before the dad as the owner of the whistle.

He accepted my reason with a dubious look and went back to his place.

Finally, Sunday arrived. I and my sister had packed our bags to spend our whole day at the stadium and asked the dad to join us. He refused several times and deterrent to our decision. But then, our sweet-eyes gazed to our kind-hearted mother. She could not hep herself to stop us and even convinced dad to go for a match for once.

Our mission was on its way to become successful. We all together hands in hands entered into stadium with our eyes on our players waving towards us. Dad frowned and checked people at our back if the player waved to the back seaters but we giggled.

Match started with the countdown. Players of opposite team were very confident for their victory but our men were no less. The ball was kicked left to right, front to back, eye to eye, leg to leg and final kicks to goal. As decided, first match was won by team of our state and another match by rival team.

The decision match was left upon our players. They were capable to win but their morals had sold it. My father had lost his interest in football few years ago, so, he stood to his feet and made the way towards canteen where he heard the whisperings informing him the selling of our team.

He laughed at his past and became furious to the present. He came back to his seat where last goal was remained with few seconds left. The rival team knew the result. Their arms and muscles relaxed and the same happened to the other team members of ours except a few. The father asked us to leave the match but we pleaded him to wait till end and knew the reality.

A few seconds was passing. Last ball was under the foot of our men. He kicked the ball hard, knowing his kick would make their team win but might be standing outside the team after the victory in the name of traitorship. But he did. The goalkeeper was dreaming trophy in his hands but got smashed by the ball and we and people around us shouted, “It’s a goal.”

My father and everyone in the field were shocked. Our team won the match, lost the fresh notes of money but cheering audience uplifted their spirits. They felt the happiness on the faces of every person who came to cheer them, playing for these people.

The day changed the people of our team. They convinced their minds that their victory was not personal to them. They play a match but it was a hope of thousands of people praying for them and they didn’t try to sell them but to the prayers of their well-wishers.

They stood against the team and presented the recordings to the board of football match about the betrayal.

The same team for which my dad left his team, his passion was berated by the board and got the suspension letter for two years. My father got his justice and was asked to assist his experience to the team.