NUTMEG, CHAPTER 10: SANDS OF TIME

13^th JANUARY 2019, 11:00 PM

Struggling to get his t-shirt on, Parth switched on the TV just in time to catch a glimpse of the starting line-up. The timing of Barcelona’s next match against Eibar had almost skipped his mind, realizing it while riding back from the delightful dinner with his childhood friends – Zayn and Asmita. Almost inseparable in school, the trio were at the heart of every mischievous prank in the classroom. Laughing and enjoying childhood without a care in the world, little had they imagined that adulthood would force them to undertake separate paths. On completion of the twelfth grade, Zayn had moved to London while being the most studious of the three, Asmita had shifted to Bangalore to pursue her degree from Indian Institute of Science. The tight bond of promises they had made to be in contact with each and meet as often as possible, seemed to wither against the tide of time. Though Parth had tried hard to keep in touch with his earliest friends, dropping a message occasionally, he accepted the growing distance between them as part of getting older, pretty much like he understood Coach Valverde’s decision to rest many of his regular players and start the fringe players, such as the young defenders Chumi and Miranda, in the 2-1 loss to Levante in the mid-week cup game, despite the flak he had been receiving. Barcelona had been winning the Spanish Cup for last four years but this year the priority was winning the League and relinquishing Real’s hold over the Champions league and squad rotation was important to keep the players fresh for more difficult challenges. Moreover, such rotations also allowed the players with lesser game time to stake their claim for a starting spot in the team. Despite the loss, Parth was confident Barcelona to reverse the result in the second leg the following week but for tonight the focus was on the league clash against Eibar.

The starting lineup for Barcelona did spring a surprise with Phillipe Coutinho preferred alongside Messi and Suarez in attack in place of the in-form Dembele. Almost a year since he joined from Liverpool, things have been looking grim for the Brazilian as the weight of expectations and his heavy price tag have been burdening his below par performances. Rumors of an impending transfer to Manchester United refused to die down, but Parth still felt Coutinho had lot to offer to Barcelona and was content to see him handed today’s start to regain his form. He was also excited to view the Eibar starting XI for it featured Marc Cucurella, who has been a revelation this season in the league after being loaned out by Barcelona’s B squad. He hoped Cucurella to impress today and secure a long-term future at Barcelona as Alba’s deputy. Like many fans across the world, Parth belonged to the group who opposed the recent trend to buy players for every position rather than trust the talents nurtured in its own academy and it was disheartening to see Barcelona move away from a philosophy that made it ‘more than a club’. He remembered feeling the same anxiousness, waiting for his friends to arrive as he reached their decided venue right on time. He chuckled that their habit of being late still hasn’t changed with time. Zayn was the first to arrive, still flamboyant like in school with hair gelled and spiked to perfection, complimenting his fair and handsome face, the colour-combined clothes fitting perfectly over his lean frame and tattooed wrist – truly like a Rockstar in making. They were just exclaiming how both hadn’t changed at all, when they were tapped on their shoulders. They turned to find the ever effervescent Asmita standing there with a wide grin pasted over her face. The childish Asmita from childhood sported a matured look now, dressed in long kurta and jeans, complimented with those round glasses over her beautiful face. Parth noticed a faint change in Zayn demeanor as Asmita hugged him, as he remembered that Zayn adored her but guessed he never acted on it and Asmita always remained oblivious to his feelings.

As they settled down in their chairs and placed their order, the minutes passed by with stories from their lives since leaving school. Though they were catching up on the old times, Parth felt a tinge of unfamiliarity, an awkwardness that was never present between the three. He realized that six years, indeed, is a long time apart but he could never fathom at the effect it was having on their 10 years of childhood memories. Though each of them was opening about their lives, he felt the connection as superficial, as though each has been wearing a mask to cloud their true self, as we all so often do on turning adults, and are just continuing to play the role we have chosen for ourselves. Quite like their interaction, the first half of the game was a shadow of the occasion it was meant to be. Barcelona were dominating the early possessions but weren’t creating any goal-scoring chances of note as it seemed like a nervous start from both teams. The first real chance came in the ninth minute as Pique headed Messi’s incoming free-kick just wide of the goal. The next one was also via Messi as he collected a misplaced pass from Cucurella in the midfield but squandered the chance on trying to dribble past too many defenders. However, going back to basics did the trick as Coutinho, vindicating his selection, received the ball from midfield and needed only one touch to pass to Suarez who returned it back with a single touch and Coutinho set the ball up in Suarez’s path who curled the ball in the back of the net. One touch football at its best. Minutes later, Suarez was through for a second goal but was ruled offside by the linesman. Instead of dampening their spirits, Eibar were spurred on by Barcelona’s goal as they outmatched the energy of their superior opponents and but hardly caused much trouble with their high pressing in the midfield, thanks to their misfiring forwards.

As the second half rolled on, the challenge from Eibar looked intent but were thwarted by offside calls or good defending from Barcelona’s match. The whole stadium erupted in unison when in the 53^rd minute when the Suarez-Coutinho passing combination allowed Messi to be in position to get a slick pass from Suarez and then push the ball past defenders to shoot from his favorite left leg to score his historic 400^th goal in the league. For the next ten minutes, Barcelona were rejuvenated, looking to score almost every time they got the ball, with the commentator even exclaiming, “This is the quality you expect to see when Barcelona play the likes of Eibar”. Messi missed his chance to grab his second as his shot his parried away by the Eibar goalkeeper coming a long way ahead off his line. A quick throw-in by Sergi Roberto caught the defence napping and Suarez obliges with a smart finish to hand the team a 3-goal lead. Though Barcelona substituted players to keep everyone fit for the mid-week encounter, they never relinquished the control of the game and in the end, saw off a comfortable victory to maintain their 5 points advantage on top. 

Going back few hours earlier, the conversation of Zayn, Asmita and Parth too got the impetus it desired, when Parth remembered an incident from the past. While Zayn was gulping his drink from the glass, Parth winked toward Asmita and pointed his eyes towards Zayn. She understood in a second and while Zayn still had the drink in his mouth, they tickled him from both sides like they so often used to do in school, only for Zayn to spill out the drink from his nose like earlier. While Zayn was cleaning up, frantically searching for a tissue, a smile came over his lips as he watched his friends laughing hysterically. This was probably the moment that broke the ice between them and flooded their minds with waves of the lovable memories they had together. Their invisible masks ere finally off and Parth was finally able to sense the old vibe he used to get with these two, his best friends – that no matter what happened, these two will always have his back and make life beautiful for him. The hours slipped away like moments as they talked about their first introduction, lazy exam preparations, their mischief and their punishments together. They parted ways again as Zayn was only in the city for a day, but with resolve to be in contact more often and meet as often as possible.

The dogs howled outside his window as Parth settled down following his bedtime ritual. The day which has started with anxiousness has had pleasant ending, leaving a sweet imprint on his mind – the jubilation of witnessing Messi’s 400^th league goal and rediscovering his comfort zone in the company of his friends.