Sunrise soccer

      

         I felt my mom’s hand on my head; she was gently trying to wake me up. She had waken up to make sure that I don’t sleep in, even though she had gone to bed well after midnight. She called out my name and asked me if I still wanted to go to the soccer game. I could barely answer, because it was too early for me to speak. She gave me a gentle kiss on my cheek and went back to bed. As I picked up the smashed alarm clock everything seemed blurry to me. My eyes were getting adjusted to the dim light in the room. As I got out of bed to get ready to leave for the soccer game at the beach, I was starting to have second thoughts about going. I was debating myself to whether to go to soccer or to get back in bed.

           

While eating an energy bar, I took a quick glance at my watch and realized that it was 5:59 am. I (suddenly remembered the guy who was supposed to give me a ride) remembered a flashback of the guy who was giving me a ride telling me “ If you’re not in front of my building at 6:00 am, I will leave”. Next thing I knew I was sprinting in the middle of the street.  “Good job Mateen! Right on time,” Farid laughed out as I approached his car.

Photo Credit: Victor Daniel  

            So, as we arrived to the soccer field at the beach we started to stretch and warm up. Slowly cars started to arrive one at a time with players getting out of them. By 6:30, we had started to play and everyone had a chance to play at least once. Meanwhile, as the sun continued to rise in the sky, we could start feeling its warmth. At 7:15, the weather had changed abruptly; the sun was covered by clouds and strong winds, and the waves started to get bigger and higher. All of a sudden we heard this great roaring sound in the distance. At first we continued our game, but then I saw my friend John who looked as if he had seen a      ghost. He was looking out towards the sea with a look of horror and disbelief in his eyes. He wasn’t saying anything but his facial expressions signalled that something was terribly wrong.