Chapter 204: Going Ho
Niels stood still for a mont, his phone pressed to his ear, as he waited for the voice on the other end.
"Hello?" His mother’s voice ca through, warm and familiar, though there was a slight hesitation, as if she hadn’t spoken to him in days.
"Hey, Mom," Niels said, his voice softer than he intended.
"Oh my goodness, you’re actually picking up! How are you, love? We watched your match last night, Crawley played great! That goal at the end? It was amazing!" Her voice carried an excitent that made him smile, though a knot of guilt twisted in his chest.
"I’m good, Mom. Thanks," Niels replied, his voice hiding the mix of emotions he felt. He’d seen her na pop up on the screen, but each ti they spoke, it still felt a little surreal.
It was like there was a gap between the mories he held of his real life and the reality of the body he now lived in.
"You’ve co such a long way, Niels. I’m so proud of you. It’s been over a year now, and to see how much you’ve grown... it’s honestly amazing," she continued, her voice full of pride. "You’ve really embraced all of this, haven’t you? The coaching, the team... the ga. I rember when you were just a kid, kicking a ball around in the backyard, dreaming big. And now here you are, leading Crawley Town to the Round of 16. Your dad and I are just so proud."
He could almost feel her beaming through the phone, her warmth wrapping around him like a blanket. It made him pause, the weight of her words sinking in.
He’d been avoiding this mont the call, the conversations.
The more he settled into this new life, the more he began to forget that there was soone else in all of this.
Soone who had once held their real son as a baby, who had watched him grow now, he was a stranger in their son’s body. And that was why he’d been avoiding them.
"You’ve really made your mark, Niels. It’s not easy, but you’re doing it. We’ve been following every match, cheering you on from here. Every ti I see you on that field, I think about how far you’ve co.
I know you couldn’t achieve your dream of playing at the top level because of the injury, but you didn’t give up. Now, you’re living that dream in a different way, as a manager, leading the team."
Niels hesitated, his fingers tightening around the phone, trying to steady himself. "Thanks, Mom. It ans a lot."
There was a pause on the other end. Then, his mother’s voice softened, a hint of longing slipping through. "It’s been more than a year, Niels. We’ve barely seen you, and we’re really missing you here.
I know you’ve been busy, and I get it, I really do, but it’s been too long. Your father keeps asking when you’ll co ho for a proper visit.
Why don’t you co over? Just for dinner? I’ll make your favorite your dad’s been asking for it too."
The words hit him harder than he expected.
Ho.
It had been a year, yet even with the ti that had passed, Niels had kept himself at a distance from the idea of truly returning to the life he had left behind.
A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, each one harder to sort out than the last. He stood still, staring at the darkening streets, the silence pressing in around him. His mother’s words lingered, heavy in his chest.
He could almost picture her in the kitchen, making a al she’d made a thousand tis—comforting and familiar. A part of the life he hadn’t let himself co back to.
"Mom..." he started, his voice softer this ti, little hesitant, "Tomorrow. I’ll be there for dinner."
Her voice brightened instantly, full of relief and joy. "Oh, Niels, really? That’s wonderful! I’ll make your favorite, and I’ll make extra, of course. Your dad will be thrilled."
"Yeah. Tomorrow," Niels repeated, the words coming out almost automatically.
There was a brief pause before his mother spoke again, her voice carrying a feeling he couldn’t quite identify. "I’ll be waiting for you, sweetheart."
"I’ll see you then, Mom," he said, his words barely breaking through the distance between the call and the reality of what he’d just agreed to.
After a final goodbye, he ended the call, his thumb lingering over the screen for a mont before slowly lowering it.
For a mont, Niels just stood there, staring at the phone in his hand. The night air outside the restaurant was cool, and the streetlights stretched long shadows across the pavent.
A year.
He had spent a year living this new life this body, this identity and it always felt like he was caught between two worlds.
On one hand, he had grown used to the responsibilities of being Niels the coach, the leader, the man who had learned to manage a football team and face every high and low that ca with it.
He had found purpose in this life, aning in the work, the victories, and even in the quiet monts.
But on the other hand, there was a part of him that struggled to reconcile it all the mories, the life that had once been his. He had been reborn in this body, yet the ties to his past remained, as thin and fragile as a dream you could barely hold onto.
He took a slow breath, then exhaled, feeling the weight of the mont.
Maybe it was ti to stop running from it, ti to face the reality of his new identity and accept that so things, like his relationship with his mother, couldn’t be ignored forever.
With a soft sigh, Niels stepped out into the quiet evening streets. The town was peaceful now, the hustle of the day fading into a calm stillness.
As he walked slowly toward his ho, he let his thoughts drift, allowing the streets, the evening sky, and the cool breeze to clear his mind.
When Niels arrived at his apartnt, he didn’t bother with the TV or his laptop.
Instead, he walked into the kitchen, brewed a fresh cup of coffee, and sank into the silence. It wasn’t the sharp focus of ga prep or the hum of tactical analysis. It was just quiet simple, calming.
He took slow sips of the coffee, enjoying the warmth of the mug in his hands, as the night remained quiet. For the first ti in a long while, he allowed himself to just be without thinking about the past or worrying about the future.
Tomorrow would co soon enough.
But for tonight, he could just be Niels. Just a man, with a coffee in hand, alone in a quiet apartnt, allowing the world to spin without him needing to be at the center of it.
It was ti to embrace the new life he had.
Ti to step into his future, no longer clinging to his past life, and to accept this body’s identity and the relationships that ca with it.
In his previous life, he’d been just another guy obsessed with FIFA late-night matches, endless tactics, dreaming of sothing more.
Now, he was living that dream as the coach of Crawley Town, an EFL League One team. The tactics and strategies he’d studied for years were no longer just theory, they were his reality.
The ga he had always loved was no longer just a screen now, it was his life.
There was so much more to achieve, so many challenges ahead.
And this ti, he wasn’t playing for a win on a console, he was playing for real.
And tomorrow... tomorrow, he would go ho.
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