It's late afternoon, and Arthur is overseeing the end of his women's volleyball team's practice. He stands beside the court with his clipboard, making notes on their performance and potential corrections.
The girls are training in pairs on the beach for an upcoming competition. They're all originally from a court volleyball team, meaning they've been playing together for some time and already have great chemistry.
Arthur ends the practice, thanks the players, and starts putting away the equipment with their help. As he moves slowly with his wooden cane, a 60th birthday gift from the team, one of the students approaches him provocatively.
"Coach, have you decided on the team for the regional qualifiers at the end of the year yet? I'd like to talk to you about it. How about we go to that beachfront café nearby?"
"I have a good idea, but nothing is set in stone yet," the coach replies with a friendly smile. "As for the coffee invitation… I'd prefer to speak with all of you at once. We can do that there sometime, but I have another practice soon with the karate group. I'll let you all know through the group chat."
"Okay then. I'll wait," the girl says, walking away slightly disappointed.
"Must be a real struggle being this handsome, huh?" says his friend Gabriel, who had been watching the girls' practice beside him, as he approaches with the net in a bag.
"Not at all. She's just trying to 'secure' her spot on the team. She's a good player; she doesn't need that. But some young women believe they can buy an advantage over others by using their bodies that way. That's often the case, though. But I'm just an old man who can barely walk because of this injury. Let alone do anything with a girl like that. Haha."
"Man, you're such a drag! Let the girl be happy, Arthur. Give her what she wants," Gabriel says, winking at him.
"No way. I'm very happy with my wife and kids. I don't want to get involved in that. I'm too old for these things," Arthur replies with a smile, laughing at himself.
"See you later, coach!" one of the girls shouts, waving at Arthur.
"See you, Amanda!" he replies with a tired smile.
As he says this, Arthur finishes putting the equipment in the trunk of his car and sits on a bench by the beach to watch the sunset, resting his hands on his cane and feeling the last rays of the sun touching his face, along with the pleasant sea breeze.
"Well, see you on Monday on the bus to take the martial arts group to the karate competition," Gabriel says, suddenly breaking the silence.
"Sure. Thanks for your help, my friend. It would be really difficult to do this without you."
"Where did that come from? You know I love those kids. You really are getting old," Gabriel says, laughing.
Arthur just laughs too but remains silent, his eyes on the horizon. Gabriel says goodbye, and he sits there for a few more minutes, admiring the scenery as if it were the last time, in a mix of nostalgia and melancholy. Then he looks again at the cane, a gift from his volleyball students, remembering when they went to his house to deliver it so he "couldn't miss practice because of his leg." He chuckles to himself and remembers he needs to go, or he'll be late for the martial arts group.
When the sun finally sets, he gets up and walks to his car. An old car, but one that has never let him down.
"You need a bath, buddy," he says, admiring his car.
After that, Arthur heads to his next lesson, arriving at an old house where he teaches karate to young people from a social project.
"Good evening, everyone!" Arthur says, trying to sound enthusiastic despite his tiredness. "I hope everyone is ready for today! Since today is the last practice of the week, we're going to do our traditional kumite to end the night. Don't forget to take it easy because on Monday we have our trip to the South American competition. And we don't want anyone getting hurt at the last minute over something silly."
The students react by looking at each other excitedly, as they all enjoy kumite days. And so the practice continues without problems until the sparring sessions. Everyone forms a circle, sitting on the tatami, and the sensei walks to the center.
"Before we start, I want to remind you that today is Lídia's first kumite. So, I need someone to explain to her what it's about. Anyone volunteer?"
"It's when we kick the crap out of each other!" says a chubby and smiling boy.
"Seriously, Aldo? Sensei, I've got this," the girl says, standing up. She is small with long golden hair. Her sweet expression remains the whole time as she proudly explains to the newcomer. "Kumite is a part of the training where we put into practice the attack and defense techniques we've learned, in one-on-one fights."
"Very good, Helena. Thank you. In short, that's it. You learn and practice the movements repeatedly to master the technique, but that doesn't help much if it's not put into practice. So, this is the moment for you to test yourselves against your classmates in friendly matches," Arthur says the last part looking at a specific pair, Amanda and Sarah, along with the rest of the group, and everyone laughs.
With that, the sparring practices that the students enjoy so much begin. It's already a habit for Arthur to do this on the last day of the week because he knows they are eager to put the results of their training into practice.
"Let's start with Carlos and Luca. To the center of the circle!"
So, a tall and strong boy with long blond hair gets up and goes to the center. On the other side, another boy of average height, with dark skin and very short hair, also gets up and does the same. He is at a clear disadvantage in terms of physical build. But when Arthur authorizes the start of the fight, Luca shows impressive agility. He manages to avoid the blows of his opponent, Carlos, who has a longer reach due to his long arms. After a few exchanges, Arthur ends the fight, declaring Luca the winner. The two boys greet each other.
"Very good. Next up!" Arthur says to the two.
Then, the boys look at each other and seem to understand, even without saying a single word. Both head towards the girls. Luca takes the hand of a short girl with an athletic build and red hair. While Carlos pulls a girl with long black hair tied in a braid and of average height to the center. The two girls look at each other and smile when their eyes meet. They know that the others love it when they face each other because they are the two most promising members of the women's team. In fact, even among the boys, they would be among the best.
"It's decided then. Sarah against Amanda. Begin!" Arthur says, starting the fight.
With that, the two lunge into combat. Their fight is even more impressive than the boys'. They really wanted to win. Arthur remembers that Amanda has always done better when the two fought, but Sarah has never been far behind. Both are technically excellent and very agile. Few blows manage to get past their efficient defenses. However, as a sensei, he perceives the risk of losing one of them to an injury and decides to stop the fight. He thanks the girls and asks them to call the next pair. Thus, the kumite continues for some time until the sensei ends it.
"Thank you for today, everyone. Let's wrap it up here. On Monday, we'll have our departure from the city, heading to our competition. I hope to see you all there. It took a lot of work to prepare everything, from the logistics to you all. I hope you enjoy the experience."
Everyone applauds and starts getting ready to leave. In the end, some students gather and go to the sensei, while the others are changing to go out.
"Sensei, as you said, on Monday we'll be leaving early for the trip with the team going to the South American competition. We just wanted to confirm if everything is okay and if we'll meet here at seven o'clock?" asks the student with long black hair, still in her karate gi.
"Yes, Amanda. Everything is ready. I'll be here at seven, waiting for you with the bus."
"Great!" she says, looking at her smiling teammates. "Good night, Sensei!"
"Good night, everyone. Be careful on your way home!"
With that, Arthur locks up and gets into his beat-up red car.
"I need to wash this car when I get back," he says to himself, feeling a bit embarrassed about the state of his vehicle.
Driving home, his phone rings, and he answers it because it was his wife.
"Hi."
"Are you going to be long?"
"No, I'm already on my way. It should take me about ten minutes to get home. Why?"
"Dinner is almost ready. We'll wait for you then."
"Great. I'm starving…" He is silent for a moment, then says, "I love you!"
"I love you too," she replies.
He hears those words and smiles, imagining his wife's smile as she said that short but sincere phrase.
Then she starts talking about their daughter's upcoming birthday. But he doesn't get to hear it because at that moment, a truck coming in the opposite direction swerves into his lane and hits the side of his car. He tries to avoid it, but there isn't enough time. He is thrown off the bridge he was crossing, falling into the river below. The last thing Arthur remembers is the truck's headlights blinding him and everything starting to spin.