nevertheless || yuzuru hanyu

thirty-five - to the ground (2)

It's a battle of means and purpose. Whoever's passion burns brighter than the other wins.

Their eyes speak the words they couldn't say. Their every return expresses the actions that they wished were possible rather than the extremes.

This was the end of something. Whether they were truly friends, or maybe even rivals in secret.

The tension between their match was as tight as the way they once held each other's hand as they walked to school. The force against them was as strong as an outside smash.

To those who viewed every step of this game, it was the most silent yet deafening match they had ever witnessed.

As the shuttle cock flies from one side of the court to the other, it feels as though the two of them are conversing... maybe even arguing.

In the long sense of things, this was an argument that only the two of them understood.

Every calm moment was a calm talk, and every time a rally ended someone seemed to understand the other.

Even so, they both seemed angry. They had their reasons and sometimes it was beyond understanding.

I have to win.

Those were the words that kept repeating in their minds. One longed for discernment while one simply longed to prevail.

At this point, the match was in a tie. For the first set, Gabriella won, however, Jung won the second set. One more point and they'll finally get what they longed for.

This was by far the longest rally. The longest surge of emotions. The longest release of endless messages and heartbreaks.

As the shuttle cock was coming in her direction, Gabriella stepped back, she knew exactly what to do.

It was that same sequence from the last time she won against Jung. It was the same. It felt the same. The hit and the rally were the same, but now she was fighting for a different cause, a completely different nature. At that time, she thought she knew who she was to Jung, but now it was all blurred lines.

The only thing that was clear at this very moment was the returning shot.

She knew what to do.

It was that same opening. The one that made her win the Olympics.

As Gabriella lifted herself off the ground, preparing to hit the shuttle cock back in a position she knew she'd win, there was that moment of hesitation.

Nevertheless, she went ahead. There are some things in life that you have to let go of in order to take hold of something else.

Perhaps in this lifetime, she had to let go of a friendship she thought to be special in order to find that inner peace that was robbed of her for the past few months.

As she let go of everything else, as she let go of that relationship she called a friendship, the shuttle cock landed perfectly on top of the line before sliding out because of the force carried by the smash.

She was so tired. They both were.

Gabriella fell to the ground as she was granted the winning point. It was just a small match being viewed by her teammates and her coach. It was just a match between her and her so-called friend, but for some reason, winning it felt more important than winning any competition she ever and would ever join.