Weeks passed.
The pain faded.The cast was gone.The walking turned to controlled jogs.
But something else was changing —the headlines.
Forgotten by the Spotlight
The world had moved on.
Mateo no played no matches.No new highlights.No assists. No goals.
Meanwhile, others rose—
Yamal, dazzling for Barcelona, becoming a global sensation.
Valentín Cabrera, Mateo's former Argentine teammate, scoring goals in La Liga.
Even players younger than him were appearing in "Next 100" lists.
Mateo watched silently from his room, phone in hand, rehab band by his side.
The news didn't hurt his pride.
It hurt his heart.
The fear whispered:
"They've forgotten you."
Klara's Plan
Klara noticed.
She always did.
That afternoon, she walked in with a mischievous smile and two movie tickets.
"Come on. No arguments."
"What about rehab?" Mateo asked.
"You'll recover better if your soul gets some therapy too."
A Day Without Football
They went to the cinema.
They watched a dumb comedy.Mateo laughed until his sides hurt.
They got ice cream — two scoops each.Klara teased him for picking lemon.He made fun of her for spilling chocolate on her sweater.
They wandered through stores with no purpose.Tried on sunglasses they'd never wear.He bought her a silly hat.She made him pose in it.
And for a few hours…
Mateo forgot about football.Forgot the silence in the headlines.Forgot the weight.
He just… was.
Under the Moonlight
As the evening fell, they sat on a bench by the Isar River.
The city lights flickered in the water.
Klara leaned against him.
"I know it's been hard."
Mateo nodded. "Harder than I expected."
"You're still Mateo González," she whispered."The world hasn't forgotten. And even if it had…"
She looked into his eyes.
"I haven't."
He smiled.
Then kissed her —deep, slow, full of fire that had nothing to do with football.
A Promise
As they pulled apart, he took her hands gently.
"I won't let this get to me again," he said.
Klara raised a brow.
"Promise?"
Mateo nodded.
"Promise.If I have you…I have more than enough to keep going."