Chapter 37 – The Pause Before the Leap
The decision sat in Jota's chest like a pebble in a shoe—small, but impossible to ignore.
Train with the U15s this summer?
Or return home for the first time in nearly a year?
Neither path was wrong.
But neither came without a cost.
---
Coach Nuno hadn't asked again. He gave Jota space. But that silence felt louder than questions.
Each day, Jota trained as always—sharp, thoughtful, exacting—but his mind wandered in quiet moments.
During stretches. Between drills. Before sleep.
Would Ana's drawings still smell like crayons? Would Miguel run faster now? Would the bakery still open early, with dust floating like ghosts above the flour?
Or… would the U15s move on without him if he didn't show?
---
That Friday, Coach Sofia pulled him aside after agility training.
"You haven't decided," she said.
"No," Jota admitted.
"Why?"
He hesitated. "Because… I'm afraid of choosing wrong."
