Hope

A few days ago, my two best friends (I shall be calling them Padfoot and Prongs) were playing Champions League '06-'07 on the PS2 and I was watching.
Padfoot was playing with A.C. Milan and Prongs with Barcelona. It was a rainy evening on the San Siro in Milano.

Near the end of the game, Prongs was leading by one goal and Padfoot was very upset. When he saw the minute was 89, he put his controller aside and said that it was all over, and that Prongs had won. I told him that it wasn't over until the game ended and urged him to continue playing. He was totally out of hope, so I asked him for the controller and told him that if he wasn't going to finish the match, I was.

So, there I was, playing against Prongs, being lead by one goal in the 90'th minute of the game, trying to do whatever I could to prove to Padfoot it could be done. I had the ball in my own half of the field so I quickly passed it through to the middle and tried to make my way towards Prongs' goal. Then, my player was hit by his and the referee awarded me a free kick from about the center of the playing field. I hit the ball high, towards his box, and tried to hit it with my player's head. His goalkeeper sadly punched the ball away, back to the middle. I knew the game was about to end, so I pressed the "Shoot" button as soon as the ball came in my possession. Seedorf was the one who got the command and fiercely shot what I knew was going to be the last shot of the match. The ball went flying through the air like a torpedo...still flying, not stopping at any of our players...

Everyone was holding their breath, waiting for the end of the play.

The ball was still high in the air when it came to the place the goalkeeper stood...then, it decidedly went past him and violently hit the back of the net. It was a goal!

I couldn't believe my eyes, and neither could any of my friends. After 90 (virtual) minutes of Prongs' dominance over Padfoot, there it was, the final score : 5-5. We were all dumbfounded with the chain of events and, even though the match was supposed to be only between them, Prongs accepted to continue the match with over-time.

I gave the controller back to Padfoot and sat down beside them, patiently watching. Hope seemed to have filled Padfoot's face. They played for a while and then, near the end of the overtime, it came : a shot sent by one of Padfoot's players went past the goalkeeper and changed the score-board to 6-5 for Milan. The rest of the game was just a blur. At the end of the overtime, the score-board still read 6-5. Padfoot had won.

We can draw a lot of teachings from this one. First of all, hope only dies if you let it die. If you are able to keep a small fire of hope burning then, however dim the light gets, the flame will never fade away. That one flame that remains protected by you can, at any time, spark numerous others and turn into a real bonfire. A bonfire of hope.

Secondly, I told him that if he ever loses hope, he's always got me to lean on, standing nearby with a couple of lighters or even a torch, ready to provide him with a spark for the dying flame.

All of you have got a friend nearby, ready to do the same thing. If you think you don't, look closer at the ones around you. Some of them are just waiting to have a(nother) friend and, given time and care, become the one always there for you, ready to revive that possibly lost flame.

After all, what is a friend?