Fever Dream ~ Neymar Jr

Epilogue (1)

It's epilogue time!  Just in time for Neymar's 31st birthday! It was so large, I had to split it into two! (You'll see that for the first time, I've taken some creative liberties and have not followed footballing events as they happened in real life... You'll see why!

If you've made it this far into the story drop me a flag of where you're reading this from! 

~*~

December 2022

"Hey Livs! Didn't expect to see you here. Aren't you supposed to be flying to Qatar today?" Priya asked me coming out of the stable as soon as she heard my car.

"I am, I am." I said getting out of my car. "I just wanted to come by and see you guys." I added when I reached her and gave her a hug. She was dressed in riding clothes, about to take one of the horses out for a ride.

"Michael has a class." Priya informed me, "but he should be done soon."

Three years ago, when after months and months of physical therapy it was made clear to my brother that a return to professional football was just not possible, it had been pretty hell at first. His contract with Everton was dissolved and he went from playing professionally in the Premier League to having to figure out what to do with his life once again. It took him months to be able to take himself out of the bad spot he was in and start to feel optimistic about the future again but he managed to do it and he came out the other side stronger.

And a certain raven-haired doctor had helped with that. Priya and Michael were friends, or so they claimed, for two years before they became more than that. And now they were the co-owners of a farm and a very large adjacent piece of land where Michael taught kids about horses and other animals and Priya worked at the local hospital nearby.

"I'll wait. I've got some news and a proposal for you."

~*~

"Of course he got us first class tickets. Again. After I specifically told him not to. Again."

"You've been married to the guy for 2 years and known him for almost a decade now. I'd say it's your fault for even asking." Peter said, settling into his cubicle next to mine with a satisfied look on his face. He started playing with the controllers and inspecting all the amenities.

I settled on my seat too, sending a text to Neymar to inform him we had boarded and would be leaving soon. From the corner of my eye I saw a teenage girl tug her sister's sleeve excitedly and discreetly point to me. When she noticed me noticing her she blushed but I smiled at her. Ever since I started playing for PSG all these years ago, it was a common to sometimes be recognized by people when I was out and about. Of course, these occurrences increased exponentially when I became Neymar's fiancée and even more so when we got married. The amount of attention, especially online was something that still made me somewhat uncomfortable. The fact that Neymar was a huge lover of social media, posting me every chance he got did not help.

But now it was World Cup time and that meant business. There was nothing in Neymar's feed that wasn't green, blue and yellow, that was the only thing that mattered. But for me, there was nothing I could do in that regard except try to think positively and be as encouraging and supportive as possible for Neymar and all my Brazilian friends that were in the squad like Thiago, Marquinhos and Dani. Once again, they went to the World Cup as favorites but we all know that football can be unpredictable.

Thinking about Neymar and the World Cup brought me back to 2019 and me winning it with the US Women's National Team. It was one of the most amazing moments of my life, an incredible honor and a feeling unlike any other. Who could have ever told that girl, 8 years ago, the one who was almost afraid of her favorite sport that she would go on to win multiple Championships, play for the men's team and even win the World Cup?