I can see now

The car parked exactly at the same spot, exactly at the same time as last Saturday. You could set your watch by it so precise the timing was; and there was the Column, coming out of the car with his full gear. This time he launched a short compliment upon passing me by, compliment I didn't answer, but it didn't seem to concern him anyway.

After the practice with the team had already finished, they went upstairs for a shower. All went away after wishing Figueira and the Column a good practice. Rodrigo came to talk to me.
"The two are studying each other", he said as if he thought it was novelty to me, "it's more than likely that they are going to face each other at the State Tournament."
I added some fuel, see what I could get from the young coach.
"Based upon yor experience, what will happen if they do?"
"In case he wins, it'll be Figueira's baptism", he said with a grave expression, "remember the meet at Tumiarú?"
"Yes, but..."
"It was Zangrandi's baptism. First time he ever really overwhelmed his opponent. You saw it happen, but you might think it was something more than natural to him. It wasn't. Don't you remember the others, including Figueira, complimenting him in the van in the end? You think they always do it, but they don't. Especially because the kid he defeated so completely was firstly an old rival of him and lastly because the kid was a terror for many experienced wrestlers in this region. The kid is gunning for him now, he wants a rematch, if possible at the Regional. But he can't change the outcome of that day anymore; had he won, he would have put off Zangrandi's baptism to a later date. He just couldn't stop Zangrandi, it was his night. Zangrandi pinned him so fiercely and so definitely for everyone to see he'll take a while to be in the picture again."

Here, Rodrigo paused and studied very calmly the effect his words might have caused on me. I was stunned, really had seen the joy of the kids in the van, the way Zangrandi seemed to be the order of the day, however amazing the moves and matches of the others had been. Figueira seemed to be happy in spite of his meager results. Now I see I didn't see anything. I lost the moment forever, a moment that would never be repeated in this lifetime. A moment that was so important in the life of a kid I've been trying so hard to help. I have nothing to do with fighting, except the fighting for everyday survival. But a moment so important should never come short of celebration, I think. Not knowing then what I know now, being told by Rodrigo, I didn't live the entirety of the moment. I remember congratulating him, but didn't have the faintest idea of the depth of it how deep it had been to him to live through that. I saw it through my eyes when I should have seen it through theirs. Theirs is the world I should be in.
"Did he hurt the boy?", I ended up concerned.
"Not his body", and Rodrigo giggled, "if you know what I mean."

Figueira and the Column finally came down from the shower. We went to the practice room and for the first time my profile started going higher. The Column looked me in the eye and asked the other two why I was coming to the practices. Rodrigo told him why. He beamed at Figueira and the latter went red.
"All that care because of poor me? It's an honor, master."
He shook Figueira's hand so strongly the kid went redder still. It's an uncanny mood, situation. The kids started working out and sooner than I could expect were wrestling. Figueira attacked all the time, making the Column whistle out of sheer admiration; they looked each other in the eye, in an open, fierce and honest combat that made the young coach's smile range from one ear to the other. The Column captured him. He almost pinned the Column in another attempt. Rodrigo looked at the watch and said it was the end. A horn was heard from the outside, probably the Column's mother coming to pick him up. It was not the end. Not for the wrestlers. They didn't seem to want to stop. Rodrigo repeated the command two more times and had to pull them apart in the end. Told them to learn how to obey. Said the work out on the other Saturday would be running around the block for the indiscipline. Deeper, he knew what caused the indiscipline, but preferred to simply act the rule-abiding one to cut the discussion short. He looked at me and said the heat was on. On and on.

When the masonry is coming down | There but for the grace of God

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