Greatness

Volume 1; Part 10

We find ourselves at the park, there were other people there. Night is young in this country, everyone usually starts partying at 1 or 2 in the morning . I hold on to the helmet, as she guides me to the open bench. I had learned her name along the way, Valeria. She was born in Alicante, but she came here to be closer to her friends.

"Quiero saber de tí" (I want to know about you) she tells me as she sits on her side to face me, her arm was bent to hold her head as she looked at me.

"Que quieres saber?" (What do you want to know?)I ask her, I wondered if she knew who I was. I know my name was pretty popular in my country, especially more recently as I came back.
"¿Por qué no me has dicho que acababa de conocer a la mejor futbolista del mundo?" (Why didn't you tell me I just met the greatet footballer in the world?) She raises her right eyebrow, with a titled smirk. That answers my question, she knows who I am. Truthfully, I never wanted to explore dating outside of my sport, for the reason of others intentions. No one else understood the pressure of being in my position, other than one other person in this sport.
"No siempre me gusta que me conozcan sólo como futbolista." (I don't always want to be known as a footballer) I say truthfully to her, which draws curiosity to her. "¿Puedo hacer una pregunta personal?"(Can I ask a personal question?) She questions me just after her expression. I nod at her to give her the okay. She purses her lips together before she thought about her question thoroughly. "¿Cómo es tu mentalidad?... ¿Con toda esa presión añadida? Debe ser agotador." (How is you're mentality? With all that pressure? It must be exhausting)

"Voy a sonar tan arrogante" (I'm going to sound arrogant)

She smiles, quickly reassuring me that's it okay if I do. "Creo que tienes una buena razón para estarlo." (I think you have a good reason to be) She tells me aiding me to keep going. She gives me an encouraging smile, that convinced me enough to tell this stranger what I really think.

"En mi mente, siempre soy la mejor. No puedo permitirme pensar lo contrario. Si no lo hago bien en el fútbol, ​​lo pierdo todo. Ahora que estoy en lo alto del escenario de este deporte, tengo que permanecer ahí pase lo que pase. Puedo ser egoísta de esa manera, porque quiero tenerlo más que nadie." (In my mind, I'm always the best. I can't allow myself to think otherwise. If I don't do well in football, I lose everything. Now that I'm on top of the sport's stage, I have to stay there no matter what. I can be selfish that way, because I want to have it more than anyone else.) I stare at the open grass in front of me, looking back at those satisfying moments of being the best. It has arguably been a crazy obsession all my life, because you have to be obsessed. You have to want it badly enough, you can't 'somewhat' want it. "Eso suena arrogante..." (That sounds arrogant..) she chuckles, putting her hand on my arm like she had before. "pero tiene sentido" (But it makes sense) she tells me before I could shut off after she barely got me to open up.

"Si no soy La mejor del mundo entonces todo lo que este deporte te hace sacrificar, ha sido en vano. El éxito es un camino solitario, el dolor que enfrentas recae sobre ti." (If I am not the best in the world then everything that this sport makes you sacrifice has been in vain. Success is a lonely road, the pain you face falls on you) I felt the need to talk about it all, even if it was through a stranger. I have to carry this around by myself, and it's quite exhausting. Futbol is my 25/8, and if I get behind just one day, then everyone else beats me by a year. It all falls down to my obsession to be the best I can be.

"Ostras ,eso suena agotador" (wow, that sounds exhausting)

She makes me chuckle, I look up at the night sky. The stars were shinning bright, and even though there's a million reasons to appreciate them for how bright and beautiful they are— they couldn't even compete with Alexia Putellas. I felt guilty for wondering what she could be doing right now, how she's feeling with knowing the truth.