Chapter 54 – The Roar of the Pitch
The air in Penedono carried the smell of wet soil after last night's rain. The village was still half-asleep, but the small dirt pitch near the old church was already alive. Boys with torn jerseys and patched-up shorts gathered with a single worn-out ball that had lost most of its shine. It wasn't much, but to them it was everything.
Jota—though the world now knew him as Tiago—stood silently at the edge of the field. He was taller than most of the kids now, his body finally beginning to catch up with the fierce determination burning inside him. His boots, though still second-hand, were laced tightly. He always treated them like sacred armor.
"Tiago, come play with us!" one of the boys shouted, waving.
