(7 years old)

“ There he goes again!”, A man sitting close to him shouted as he cheered the team he was supporting.

Player Number 54, Jacob Shepherd threw the ball so high, with a certain type of strength that stronger animals posses, that it flew straight into the waiting hands of player number 15. How that player could catch the ball and still hold on to it while running was amazing. The player wearing the Number 15 jersey ran very fast like a cheetah and within seconds, he scored another touchdown for their team, earning them an extra four points.

 They were playing a game away from home and as expected of the Vikings team, they dominated and conquered every single game they played, that was why they were the greatest of all times, the real MVPs, the six times world Superbowl champions. The team was on a winning streak and was sure to break down any obstacle blocking their path.

Silver didn’t know when it had started but he had loved the game of football for as long as he could remember. Maybe it was due to the fact that he admired number 54 like no man’s business and wanted to be like him in every way. He could remember his mother carrying him to see the football matches that number 54 was playing in when he was smaller and she would always point the man out on the field.

“ …and he passes the ball over to Michael again, Michael running towards the end zone and that’s it!, He scores another goal!”, the commentator shouted through the speakers.

“ It seems that the Vikings are in for today’s game. They have brought their A game and are more than ready to desecrate their opponent”, another commentator shouted.

The referee blew the whistle for time out and Number 54 who was Jacob Shepherd jogged out of the field and over to his coach on the sidelines. He took a water bottle from one of his teammates on the bench and started to drink it as he listened to the coach who was obviously talking to him about strategies on how to further stamp their victory.

Silver couldn’t help but follow every of his move, from the way he ran back into the field to the way he threw the ball, the way he arched his back when he wanted to throw a long range ball. Silver noticed every single detail about the man. He would always watch the large screen when his eyes hurt from squinting it too much.

“ Silver!, Look!...”, his mother who has been watching the game silently, called to him.

Silver followed the direction she was pointing at and of course he knew what he was going to see even before his eyes adjusted to the image, Jacob Shepherd, number 54. 

He wondered how it felt to be close to the man, to watch him closely without the jersey and gears he was wearing. How it felt to hear him call his name, Silver. To Pat his head when he played football well at school and told him how proud he was of him. He wondered how it felt to call Jacob Shepherd, Dad.

Right from when he could walk, his mom had always told him who his biological father was. She would always tell him that Jacob, his father loved him and was taking care of him and that the only time they were allowed to see him was when he was on the field playing. She had warned him strictly never to meet the man.  Whenever Silver asked her why he didn’t call or visit them, or why they couldn’t visit him,  she would tell him that it was because he was always very busy training and had kept them away so that they would be safe.

Over the years, the lies had stuck to his head that he no longer asked her about him again. He was contented with watching him play from afar. He was now grown up and could find whatever answers he needed online, that is if you called a seven years old, a grown up.

Silver huffed, “ Yes Mom…I can see him…number 54”, he muttered. The noises in the stands should have been able to drown out his reply but his mother was always attentive whenever Jacob Shepherd was concerned. It was as if she was obsessed about him.

She pulled her silver hair up, so it wasn’t touching her shoulders and tied it into a pony tail. Silver heard murmurs behind him and turned to see two ladies glaring at his mother’s hair. They were jealous, he noticed. He also had the same reaction anywhere he went.

She checked her watch, “ We’ll have to leave soon Silver, you know the social worker is coming to the house today”, she told him.

Silver sighed, he wasn’t ready to leave the field just yet. He wanted to watch his father for as long as he could but if his mother says that the social worker was coming, then they had better leave. Him staying with his mother depended on the results of these visits. He didn’t know why they felt that his mother was not capable of taking care of him and why he needed these regular checks. Whenever she left him alone at home, it was because she wanted to work and couldn’t bring him.

Though he knew that she would sometimes take out her aggression on him, he still understood why she did it and it was her way of loving him. She was the only person he had, excluding his father and wouldn’t want them to take him away from her.

The official blew the final whistle, signifying the end of the game and the Vikings was declared the winner of the game with a 34-14 score on the board. The cheers from the spectators were deafening.

His mother pulled his hand, “ c’mon let’s head out before the place becomes rowdy”, she shouted at him.

Silver grabbed his Vikings cap and followed his mother out of the huge stadium. They navigated their way out of the stands and Silver released a bated breath. The crowd was enormous and he had a difficult time seeing what was in front of him.

“ mom, let’s follow this way…”, he told his mother. She smiled and nodded.

Silver was happy that she had agreed to follow that other path because he got to still see the footballers entering into the back areas that led to their dressing rooms. He looked around as they walked, hoping that he would catch a glimpse of Jacob one last time before they left the stadium. He didn’t know when they would be coming to play in his city again. 

As they rounded the corner, his mother stopped walking and pulled him back immediately. He was shocked by the action.

“ Shit!,”, she cursed out.

Silver frowned, wondering why she had acted that way, he gently looked down the hallway that they were about to take and that was when he saw Jacob Shepherd walking towards them or rather their direction. 

‘ oh', he thought. That was why his mother had pulled them back. She didn’t want his father to see her. Silver didn’t understand why she needed to hide from him constantly. 

Silver was in awed of how the man was moving, in all his glory and was dumbfounded at first, not knowing what to do. He turned back to where his mother was and was surprised to find out that she was no longer there with him. She had been standing there a few seconds ago, where had she gone to. He looked around but still did not see her.

Had his mother left him alone?, Where did she go to?, He panicked feeling lost.

“ mom!” he called out walking down the hallway they had just taken and looking for her

“ Mom!” , he called again, this time frightened that she had abandoned him. He kept on calling for his mom and didn’t know which way to go. There was no way she had left him there, the social worker was visiting them and she would always want to appear responsible and nice so that there wouldn’t be any problems.

“ Mom!, Where are you?” , he shouted rounding the corner and bumping into a kid his size, the action causing him to  land on his butt. Damn, that hurts.

“ Ouch!” , the kid exclaimed falling to the floor and holding his ankle.

Silver blinked in pain looking at the kid, that was probably around his age. The boy looked uninjured except for maybe his ankle that he was still rubbing.

Silver was about to apologize to him since he was the cause of the fall when another kid ran towards where they were.

“ Lennon!”, the kid running towards them shouted.