Broken Promises (Cristiano Ronaldo)

Part 1

Placing the tattered football down on the cobbled street in front of the make shift goal with two cans as posts, eight year old Cristiano Ronaldo imagined himself standing on the hallowed turf of the Santiago Bernabeu. He closed his eyes imagining the huge crowd of fans cheering his name as he stepped up to take the penalty. In his head he gave his own running commentary:

'And here is Cristiano Ronaldo, the new football superstar who has stolen the hearts of millions of fans not only here in Madrid but also all over the world stepping up to take this free kick which could possibly be the last kick of the game'

Standing at an angle his shoulders rigid holding his posture he looked at the ball and up to where he was going to aim which would be the top left hand corner. He held his stance, a look of un-quivering concentration. This was it, his chance to shine.

Taking a final deep breath he took a stride towards the ball and struck it as hard as he physically could.

'GOAL!!!!'was what resounded in his head but in reality a resounding 'crash'filled in the air.

Instinctively Cristiano made a run for it down the street his feet pounding the cobble stones. He hadn't reached the end of the road before he heard the shrill screams of his neighbour 'Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro! Come back here now! Just wait until I tell your mother about what you've done!'

He continued to run as Mrs. Dominguez' footsteps continued to echo behind him.

He didn't dare stop as his mother had told him that if he ever broke another window she would take away his football and so he ran as fast as he legs could carry him.

However it wasn't long before he found himself taking a wrong turn and greeted by a cul de sac with nothing but houses with gardens on either side. He was trapped.

His breathing heavy and his heart beating viciously against his chest, tears began to fall as he bent over his hands gripping his knees. The footsteps became closer and closer as were his chances of getting a beating from his mother.

'Psst. Hey, are you ok?' a little voice sounded from the garden on his left hand side.

He looked up to see a little girl around his age peering over her garden wall.

'No' he sniffed 'If she catches me I'm dead'

'Cristiano!!'filled the air once again.

'Quickly! Come and hide. She doesn't sound too happy' she gestured to a tent that was erected on the soft grass behind her.

Without hesitation he found himself hopping over the gate and scrambled into the tent just as Mrs. Dominguez turned the corner and scurried down the street towards his hide-out.

'Where is he?' he heard her as breathlessly ask.

'Where's who madam?' the little girl answered.

'Don't pretend you don't know who I am talking about! I saw him run down here. Now tell me. Where is he?'

Cristiano held his breath, this was it, she was going to reveal his location.

'I don't know, he didn't come down this far. He must have jumped into a garden further up the street'

Mrs. Dominguez stared at the little girl, her eyes boring into her attempting to retrieve the information she wanted.

A few minutes passed until she realised that she would not be getting any more information from the little girl who had gone back to playing and minding her own business.

Defeated, Mrs. Dominguez retreated and headed back the way she came from.

'Hey, it's ok she's gone now' Cristiano heard and opened the tent to find the little girl kneeling down beaming at him.

'She's quite scary' she commented as she helped him to his feet.

'Yes she is. This is the third time that I have broken her window with my football' he replied.

'I have broken a few windows too but Papa says that he doesn't care as long as I become a great player' she giggled.

'You, play football?' he asked incredulously.

'Of course! It's the best thing in the world!' she exclaimed.

'I've never met a girl who loves football before. Wow, this is so cool!' he laughed.

'I'm Clarissa Francisca Mateus' she beamed as she stuck her hand out for Cristiano to shake.

'I'm Cristiano Ronaldo' he laughed shaking her hand.

And with that a new friendship was formed. A friendship that would grow stronger and stronger with each day that they spent together. That was until the day they were torn apart...