Episode 200: Two and a Half Years -1
Clang-!
After pulling the door handle to check if it was locked tight, I turn around and slip out of the alley completely filled with orange bricks.
Even in an ordinary alleyway, this neighborhood feels imbued with traces of decades, perhaps even centuries of history. The walls in front of this house, or the brick houses I face every day, may perhaps boast ages of hundreds of years. During those long hundreds of years, how many people must these buildings, standing guard in this spot, have witnessed? New people arrive, and someday they leave again. And after that, new people come once more.
“···.”
Though it’s a mere two and a half years, the thought that someone like me also existed within those hundreds of years feels strange. Surely my mark must remain on at least one of those hundreds of bricks? For over two years, coming and going every day, my exhaled breath must have reached every corner. And that mark, just like the traces left by people who were here before I came—no, even before I was born—will remain in this spot. They might fade a little as time goes on, but as long as these buildings stand here, they will not be erased. Most certainly.
“Huuup—ha.”
I take a deep breath of the air, which carries quite a bit of warmth. Florence in June feels a bit hot, going beyond simply warm. Until not long ago, there had definitely been a feeling that spring had arrived. Why is spring so busy? It already seems to be yielding its place to summer like a player substitution.
Seen this way, Florence truly is a strange city. On one hand, it’s like a neighborhood where time has stopped; on the other hand, it’s like a neighborhood where time rushes by. Perhaps it’s like looking out the window from a moving car—when you look far away, it seems to be moving slowly, but when you look close, it seems fast.
Anyway, today’s weather is quite good.
Booooong—
As I exit the alley and pass through a small square, the sound of church bells rings out from afar. Walking while listening to those bells, before I know it, the smell of earth begins to tickle my nose. Mixed faintly into that scent is the smell of grapes.
“Oof.”
I crouch down and retie my shoelaces tight. From here, I’m running. The distance to my destination is roughly 2km. If I run while facing the cool wind, it’s a distance I can cover in no time.
Tadadak-!
I press the timer on my phone and begin to run slowly. Dazzling sunlight and cool wind, the scenery and scent of the endlessly spreading vineyards brush past my whole body. It feels like every worry disappears. Completely free. Perhaps it’s the feeling of becoming my true self.
“Huu, huu—”
Running like that, feeling utterly free, in the distance, I begin to see the training ground, indistinguishable at a glance from the surrounding vineyards. I subtly slow my pace and check the timer on my phone. Compared to the times I measured every day two years ago, it has decreased by several minutes. I was struck anew by how much has changed.
*
“···It seems like there are a lot more?”
“There are a lot more. A whole lot more.”
“You must be tired.”
“Don’t even mention it. As the kids increase, we need to hire more coaches and expand the training grounds too. It’s not just the kids multiplying, so it’s incredibly tiring.”
A snort of laughter bursts out of me at the sight of Coach Luca shaking his head as if it were throbbing. It was the U17 team’s training ground, which I hadn’t visited in a long time. From the outside, I thought it looked unchanged, but the moment I opened the iron gate and stepped inside, the changes were noticeable. There were an incredible number of kids training hard. Even when I was here, the number of kids wasn’t exactly small, but now, at a rough glance, it seemed to have grown by about 1.5 times compared to back then. The sound of kids kicking balls here and there made it noisy, and the place was brimming with energy. The training ground that had once seemed spacious now looked almost cramped. Indeed, when several groups did ball-kicking drills, several other groups of kids would step aside to do individual exercises, or so I heard.
“Seems word has gotten out about how well you coach, Coach.”
“Hmm? Haha. That’s right. The rumors have spread like wildfire, so they come from all over the country. No, not just that. They come from all over the world, not just the country.”
“As expected.”
“Rumors really do travel fast. The name Luca Caparoni is now recognized as a famous coach, so everyone and their mother······”
Despite saying he was tired because there were too many kids, when I subtly played along, Coach Luca got excited and started talking a mile a minute, which made me laugh. However, his boasting couldn’t last long. Because a sharp bark came from behind him.
“Cut the crap.”
“Ah, you startled me. No, Manager! What do you mean ‘crap’ in front of the kids?”
“What do I mean? What you’re doing right now is crap.”
“Hey, tsk! Watch your filthy mouth... ack!”
Manager Tony, who had jabbed Coach Luca in the hip with his knee, changed his expression as if nothing had happened and opened his arms toward me.
“Ah, my pupil. Come here for a hug.”
“Ah, yes···”
Leaving Coach Luca fuming behind us, I share a happy hug with the Manager. Come to think of it, it really has been a long time. I couldn’t visit even once, using being busy as an excuse all this time. I pull the Manager into an even tighter embrace, filled with apologetic feelings.
“How’s your body? Are you recovering well?”
“Ah, yes. Well, it’s not like I have any injuries or anything. I’m just resting well.”
“Good. Your face looks good too.”
“You look a bit tired, Manager.”
When I toss him a joke that isn’t entirely a joke, the Manager breaks into a grin.
“Don’t even mention it. Now we’ve even got a D Team. I asked them to hire more coaches ages ago, but there’s still no word. They keep saying they’ll expand the training ground, but it’s been dead silence. Still, it’s better, I suppose. Much better than having no kids.”
“Word seems to have gotten out about how well you teach too, Manager.”
“Hoo, look at this guy. You’ve learned way too much about social life since I last saw you. What do you mean, word got out, you punk? It’s all thanks to you. Every kid over there came because they want to become like you.”
I wave my hands sheepishly at the Manager, who says this while patting my shoulder. Still, I had been feeling it since earlier. The gazes of the kids who kept glancing this way while pretending to train hard.
···It was burdensome.
“Sigh, really. I’d love to sit you down and tell you everything I’ve been meaning to say, but I can’t. Let’s gather the kids first. Is that okay?”
“Ah, yes.”
I nod and take off my top. I should start loosening up my body too. A few days ago, right after the season ended, I had called Manager Tony. And while we were talking about this and that, when I said I’d come visit, the Manager cautiously brought something up. He asked if I could spare some time to talk with the kids, even if just for a moment. I said of course. When it came to teaching, the coaches and Manager were far better suited for it, so rather than that... it wasn’t as if I didn’t have things I wanted to say.
Looking back, the reason I had been able to come this far without losing my way was thanks to the words—each and every one—that those around me had tossed my way. Rather than some grand lesson... those words became signposts and torches that helped me move forward. Through various experiences and meeting various people, I became someone different from who I was before. If not for that great help, perhaps... I might still be holed up in my room, looking at the world with a crooked gaze. So if I could, I just wanted to give it back. I might not be able to return as much as I received, but even a little. I simply thought it would be nice if I could pass down exactly what I had been given.
Therefore, I didn’t feel much pressure. It wasn’t like I came because I was so great and wanted to teach something. I was simply passing on the help that had been poured out to me, exactly as it was.
“Line up, everyone, line up.”
At the Manager’s order, the kids line up in formation. Kids... well, honestly, they’re probably around my age. But seeing kids like that made me think even more about the past. Especially... in some of the kids’ faces, I thought I could see my former self. The thought that if I could be of help to kids like that, it would be something to be incredibly grateful for.
*
“You need to keep your head up. Focusing on the ball is good, but checking your surroundings is important too. To continue your next play, you always have to read the situation around you.”
Watching the kids gazing with sparkling eyes at a lecture they couldn’t buy with money, and the young instructor giving an impassioned lecture to those kids—
“···”
“···”
Manager Tony and Coach Luca smile with satisfaction.
Truly, the emotions feel anew. It feels like just yesterday that child, whom everyone now looks up to, was treated as a problem child. Before anyone knew it, he had become something like a hero to the kids, enough to make one feel a tinge of wistfulness. It could only be called the changing of the times.
“Did you ever imagine it, Manager?”
“Imagine what?”
To Coach Luca’s question, asked with a strange sigh, Manager Tony answers.
“That anxious, fragile child who seemed like he’d shatter at the slightest touch—did you ever imagine he’d grow up like that?”
“Hmm.”
Though he didn’t physically shake his head, Manager Tony shook his head internally. He had known from the first time he laid eyes on him that his soccer talent was at an extraordinary level. But whether that talent could fully bloom... honestly, he had been half-and-half. That was because there were far too many things he had to overcome to do so. Is not the most difficult fight in the world the battle against oneself? What Jian needed was a battle against himself. He was a child who could only show his talent to the world after overcoming himself.
“How hard must he have worked where no one could see?”
This time, Manager Tony nods as well. One could only imagine that he had put in tremendous effort; it was difficult to even dare guess how much. The child who had found even a small bit of attention uncomfortable, who would avoid eye contact even if gazes merely crossed in passing. Now able to talk about himself in front of so many kids, and to stand proudly before tens of thousands of spectators—how much effort must that have taken. Trying to measure that effort would itself be disrespectful. So, one could only look upon him with awe.
He goes around saying wherever he goes, “That’s my pupil, that’s the kid I taught.” But in truth, he has learned much more in return. He may be his pupil in soccer, but in life, he could be his teacher.
“I’ve changed a bit thanks to Jian too. Honestly, I used to think that way. That people don’t change, that those destined to make it will, and those who aren’t, won’t.”
“That was complete garbage.”
“···But watching Jian, my thinking changed. People can change as much as anything. So I thought I shouldn’t give up easily and should teach them until the end.”
“Seeing a punk like you changing into something resembling a human, I suppose it’s not wrong.”
“Ah, come on.”
Manager Tony snickers at Coach Luca’s reaction.
“Anyway. Well, thinking differently, one could say Jian was destined to make it from the start. That it was possible because of that. That might actually be right. But we are people who shouldn’t think in terms of results, aren’t we? Since we are people who teach children.”
“···”
“In the end, isn’t it about trying our best? Without jumping to conclusions. No one knows if a second Jian will emerge among those kids. Just like no one knew that frail little kid from two years ago would turn out like that.”
Coach Luca takes a deep breath and gazes at Yi Jian with satisfaction, and Manager Tony nods as well. Then Manager Tony, who quickly stops nodding, speaks.
“But I knew?”
“···Ah, yes. You did.”
“And stop acting like you’ve attained enlightenment. It’s disgusting. You think you’re some sage?”
“Yes, yes. I won’t.”
“Don’t get cocky just because you’re becoming a manager soon. Try to measure up to me just because we’re both managers, and you’ll be dead.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, definitely.”
“U17 is clearly above U15.”
“Geez, I said I got it, so stop already.”
“Look at this. Already trying to measure up to me. You’ve still got months left, punk!”
As Manager Tony’s knee comes up, Coach Luca leaps to avoid it, giggling. At this, Manager Tony shakes his head and lets out a sigh. To think a guy like that was becoming the U15 team manager... he was already worried about it.
Well, anyway.
“···”
Manager Tony looks up at the sky. In many ways, he seemed struck anew by how fast time truly passes.