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DaftRaincloud · 03-15-2020, 08:09 PM

“I met a traveler from an antique land,
Who said - “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert…. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that collosal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
- Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Jonas Larsen sat at his locker. His feet hurt. His ankles hurt. His body hurt. Worst of all, his heart hurt. He had come so close but just fallen short. The cheering, clapping, and chanting of the raucous Manhattan home crowd could faintly be heard in the away locker room. The room was eerily silent apart from that; the players sharing sidelong glances at one another, but without much else to say. Bags were packed and players made their way one by one to the podium to answer questions from the media and conduct their exit interviews.

The team boarded the team branded plane and the silence continued as they took to the skies and started the long flight towards San Francisco. Jonas sat in his plush leather seat embroidered with the logo of the Pride and contemplated his life and career to this point. He had been a hot prospect growing up in his small village in Norway, but even at the minor league level the cracks had started to show. Jonas did have his shot, yes, but he was slow to develop other aspects of his game and as the quality of the competition had increased he hadn’t been able to keep up. A few training injuries here and there and missing a handful of games throughout the seasons had also taken their toll and slowed down his development in other ways.

Jonas disembarked from the flight along with his teammates and got behind the wheel of his car in the team parking lot at the airport. It was an introspective drive home as he continued to contemplate the past, present, and future of his hockey career. It was just past midnight as he pulled into the parking garage for his apartment building. After getting off the elevator for the 29th floor Jonas slowly and as quietly as he could unlocked the door to his apartment as to not wake Svetlana, his fiancee.

As he tip toed through the entryway and into the kitchen Jonas noticed a small little present, the size of which you would expect a small piece of jewelry to be in. The sticker label just had a small little red heart written on it, nothing else. Jonas slowly unwrapped the ribbon that was holding the box closed and separated the top from the bottom. Contained within was a small folded up piece of paper. Jonas quickly unwrapped the paper. Taped to the paper was a polaroid of a positive pregnancy test and the words “Baby Larsen – Coming Soon.”

A big smile broke out across Jonas’ face and he felt tears start to well up in his eyes. He covered his mouth with his hands as his lips began to tremble. He set down the paper and wiped the water from his eyes.
“Baby..” the soft voice came from the hallway leading out of the kitchen.
Jonas looked up to see Svetlana standing there, beaming at him. He ran to her and embraced her in a deep, tight hug. The two began to cry. In that moment Jonas’ future came into a level of clarity he was unable to attain before this moment.

The next morning Larsen sat nervously in the chair in front of Jeff Kirkstone’s desk. He twiddled his thumbs in his lap waiting for the general manager to walk in.
“Jonas!” Kirkstone belted out as he walked through the open glass door into his office. “How the hell are ya?”
Kirkstone walked behind his large mahogany desk and sat in his plush leather chair.
“Well, sir, I have something important to tell you..” Jonas fumbled nervously over his words.
“Out with it Larsen! Nothing you can tell me that will upset me.”
“Sir I have some bittersweet news to tell you. My fiancee Svetlana is pregnant and we have made the decision together that after the conclusion of this season we are going to go back home to Norway.”
“I see..” Kirkstone sat in silence for a few moments, processing the information. “Well I appreciate you coming and talking to me about this right away. Best of luck to you, Jonas.”
Jonas and Kirkstone both rose to their feet and the two men shook hands before Jonas turned and departed Kirkstone’s office. A single solitary tear began to roll down Jonas’ cheek as he descended the staircase and walked out to the street. He would miss this life, but he had already accomplished more in hockey than most people ever would. He had played professionally and even gotten the chance to compete for the largest prize in the SHL, but he knew it was time to hang up his skates and move on to the next stage in his life, being a father.