BOY

Boy
Huff, huff. Today, climbing the slope, I was a little out of breath.
A boy in a football uniform passes me, running on ahead.
Ah. Right. I used to play football too, once.
Over the boy, a younger me in that same uniform overlaps, running on.
The me who played football is the past. The me in the uniform overtakes me, running alongside the boy.
The me who's ahead of me - is that the past? Or the future?
Thinking about that, I watch his back as he goes, and it disappears.
I can't catch up to him. So I decide it must be the future.
Right now, a little out of breath, I just keep walking.
The slope goes on, gently. I look back, and I'm not there.
Wearing the football uniform, I'm running up ahead.
Why is that, I wonder. It doesn't look like the past to me. Light on his feet. Fast.
Me - I'm sluggish. Slow.
The me who's ahead of me - is that the past? Or the future?
Thinking about that, I watch his back as he goes, and it disappears.
I can't catch up to him. So I decide it must be the future.
Right now, a little out of breath, I just keep walking.
I keep thinking about the boy running ahead. Overlapping with him, I can see the boy.
And that's not the past, after all - I think, I'm still a boy too.
Where is he even going? He's wearing the uniform, but he's not carrying a ball.
The ball - it's right here, with me......