A whistle blows.

It’s over.

A whistle blows.

In a few short moments, everything that we fought for, would be over.

A whistle blows.

These bright, yellow courts would be vacant in a few minutes, with our hopes and aspirations crushed.

A whistle blows.

After this, my team will disband, and all the bonds that we grew throughout the season, good and bad, will be forgotten, as if they never happened.

A whistle blows.

Eyes from the spectators avert as the match draws to its disheartening end.

A whistle blows.

There’s nothing I can do now.

A whistle blows.

It’s over.

A whistle blows.

This was during the quarter-finals at nationals last year, and we devastatingly lost by a wide margin. My teammates were already considering leaving to play for bigger and better teams and this match solidified their decision. And there was nothing I could do to stop them. This is similar to the ending of Spirited Away, where all of the spirits Chihiro befriended, happily waved her goodbye as she left for her world. 

Except in my case, there was no waving or goodbyes, only the pain that came from abandonment.

However, life moves on, and the only thing we can do is to move forward. 

No matter what I do, I can’t bring my team back. The only thing that I can do is try to adapt to my situation. Like in Scavengers, the astronauts overcame all of their obstacles by adapting to the world around them to survive and dominate. I needed to adopt this mindset and move on from the past. 

From the dawn of the new season, things were immediately different. I had an entirely new team, composed of beginners and veterans alike. I would be lying if I said I had no doubts about the team, but in the end, it all worked out. I was very lucky that people were willing to join the team, regardless that we lost almost all of our original team members. Our team was like the Mojave Phone Desert, worthless and deserted at face value, but regained its worth due to people giving it value and meaning. As I start this new volleyball season, I have to tell myself that there’s no time to dwell on the past. All I can do is look to the future as…

a whistle blows.

“Whistle” on Pixabay