Before Maria, before the ACL, before betrayal and systems and rewinds—there was Ana.
I hadn't thought about her in years. But time isn't linear when you're living two lives at once. Some memories lie dormant until the wind shifts just right.
It was the day before the big match with Randy's team. I stayed late to run sprints. My body ached, but my mind raced faster. I needed something—some kind of edge. A boost. A spark.
That's when I heard her voice again.
"You still run like a giraffe, James."
I stopped mid-sprint, chest heaving.
She was standing by the side gate, arms crossed, hair tied up in a messy ponytail. She wore glasses now, but the eyes behind them were unmistakable.
"Ana?"
[Memory Anchor Detected: Ana Dela Cruz – Status: Dormant Bond | Origin: Pre-Trauma Era]
Ana had been my first teammate, even before I knew what football really meant. We grew up on the same street. Played every game together. She had the sharpest left foot I'd ever seen on a kid.
Then she moved away in fifth grade. Laguna. I never saw her again. Until now.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, almost breathless.
"My family moved back," she said. "Dad retired. I'm transferring to your class starting Monday."
She looked down at the cracked concrete, then back up at me. "Still chasing the dream?"
"It's different now," I said. "It's more than just a dream."
She walked over and picked up my ball, balanced it on her knee, and flicked it to me without breaking eye contact.
"I heard about the match tomorrow. You'll win. But only if you stop overthinking everything."
I blinked. "You don't even know the team."
"I know you."
[New Bond Detected: Ana Dela Cruz | Trait: Stabilizer | Effect: +1 Focus, +2 Calm During Pressure Scenarios]
The moment she said it, something settled inside me. Like I could finally breathe. Like the noise of Maria, the betrayal, the pressure—they all faded into background static.
We sat on the low bench and caught up. She told me about Laguna. Her battles with being one of the only girls who wanted to play football seriously. How she gave up for a while. How she missed the game.
"Maybe this is our restart too," she said, nudging me. "I'm joining the team next week. If Coach lets me."
[System Alert: Potential Squad Member – Position: Left Wing | Skill Tier: Above Average]
As the sun dipped low, Ana stood up, stretched, and grinned.
"Go beat Randy. Then we'll talk tactics."
And just like that, a ghost from before the pain came back—not to haunt me, but to help rebuild me.
Stat Boost: Morale +2 | Calmness Under Fire +1 | Team Chemistry (Potential) +2
Tomorrow was the match.
But tonight, I remembered who I was before everything broke.
And I knew now—I wasn't rebuilding alone anymore.