September 2018.
In the mountains of the small city of Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, there is a football club called HSK (Mostar Zlinski).
To follow in their footsteps, I founded this club.
The quality of the grass is terrible, and it's not even as good as some of the indoor school fields, with no more than 1,000 seats, and the facilities are basic and somewhat outdated.
But this is where they ran and fought hard.
As two of the highest-profile stars in football right now, their names have spread across the globe and created brilliance through their performances, yet there is no trace of their existence here, compared to the glory itself.
Rusty iron fences, grey walls, yellowish grass, and some old graffiti.
I searched every corner, but found no trace, as if they had never existed.
I walked around the field a couple of times, and the menacing coach from the training ground next to me was training with the kids.
I heard that the physical confrontation in the Bosnia and Herzegovina league is extremely fierce, and I think it must have been very difficult for them to stay lean at that time, right?
After a few laps, I still couldn't find anything meaningful and sat on the stands with a touch of frustration.
As the sun set, the dappled light and shadow shone across the field through the fence, making the already disordered field look even more worn out.
After a long time in a daze, I reluctantly stood up and prepared to leave.
At that moment, I ran into an elderly woman passing by on a bicycle. I couldn't understand what she was saying, and after opening the translation software, she said:
"You must be here for them, right? We've known for a long time that those two boys are destined to become the brightest stars in the world!"
Under the slanting sun, the elderly woman smiled, and the creases in her face deepened.
Her gaze looked toward the distant sky, as if she was reminiscing about something.
Finally, the elderly woman said something else, and I hurried to use the translation software to translate it.
"I've always felt a deep nostalgia for those years. That morning was always full of hope and sunshine, and they injected new energy into HSK!"
"After going through difficult years, facing many challenges and dangers, they did not compromise, climbed the mountains, and finally engraved their names in the stars."
"Yes! This is where it all began!"
(The prologue is in the first person, but the text begins in the third person!)
End of chapter
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