It's Always Been You

Chapter 9

October 2021  - Dublin, Ireland and Paisley, Scotland

Soon enough, it was time for the international break. Due to my injury, it would be my first time rejoining the squad since the Olympics, so I was both excited and nervous. The atmosphere of a national team match, no matter the importance, would always have a specific feeling, an almost uncertainty to it, which could be unsettling at times. We performed well in the previous World Cup qualifiers which I had missed, achieving wins against Georgia and Slovakia, placing us top of our group. Our upcoming matches were a qualifier against the Republic of Ireland, shortly followed by a friendly against Scotland. Although it would be nice to be back in the squad, I wished we were playing back in Sweden, as I longed to see my family. It had been so long since when I last saw them in August, and due to my mother and grandmothers lack of proficiency in technology, it was difficult to organise FaceTime calls and such. With my siblings it was easier, but due to both mine and their busy schedules, we didn't have as much time to talk.

"Frido!" I shouted, excited for my friend's arrival. We would be rooming together in Ireland, and I was so happy to see her again.

"Val!" She replied, engulfing me in one of her classic hugs. "It's been too long!" Fridolina and I went way back, our friendship starting during our time at Linköping, and then together again at Bayern. Like with my family, I hadn't had much time to speak to her over the past couple of weeks, because I'd been so preoccupied with my injury, and well, Daan. We had started to get coffee more frequently after training, and by the time I got home I was shattered from the long day and just wanted to sleep.

"You don't call me enough." She scolded, like a mother to her child after they'd done something wrong.

"And is it my responsibility?" I responded, laughing. "You don't call me either."

"Well I guess you're having too much fun in Lyon to talk to your dear, old friend." She said sarcastically, "Young people these days."

"You're literally younger than her." I answered, continuing to laugh. Oh how much I had missed Frido and her silly remarks.

"Than who?" She asked, slightly confused. I noticed I had subconsciously mentioned Daan, just coming out my mouth like it had been on the tip of my tongue the whole time.

"No one. Sorry, I don't know why I said that." Frido looked at me suspiciously, but moved on. I asked, "How's Barça? Enjoying the weather? Much better than the cold."

"You know I will never understand why you hate the snow and cold, considering you're Scandinavian."

"Don't know, it's just freezing and puts everyone in a bad mood."

"Bad mood? Never gone sledding as soon as it's bright enough outside, with the sun shining down, threatening to melt the snowmen that the little children had made? Savouring those few hours of light, in the midst of the winter, with gloves and hats and scarves. Laughing and screaming, making snow angels or having a snowball fight. Oh how much I miss Sweden." She rambled on, sighing. She had nearly proven me wrong, as I did enjoy all the things that she mentioned. Growing up, winter was my whole family's favourite season, apart from Julie, who preferred the warmth of summer, but maybe I just associated winter with death, and that was the true reason why I didn't like it. To be honest, if anyone was to ask me why I disliked winter, I would just say it's too cold, when in fact, I loved the crisp Swedish mornings, wearing multiple layers of clothing, and the crunch of the snow underneath my boots.