Small Ant, Big Dreams

***

The ball bounced high into the air, and I jumped. I was close to the basket, but it was hard to judge distance at this height. But I had to try! I grabbed the ball as if it were a life preserver and tucked it between my hands as I fell back down. The ball bounced against my stomach and chest and I cradled it against me with all of my strength.

I landed on my feet and took off running towards the net. My arms were stretched out in front of me, and my eyes were squeezed shut so that I could concentrate more on running. The crowd roared their approval and their voices echoed inside my head. I felt the fence shake as someone jumped up to get a better look at me. It might have been Mr. Lee, who owned the garden; he was a big fan of basketball, even though he didn't know much about the game.

My feet pounded on the grass, and soon I heard someone yell "Ball!" But they had missed their chance! As I neared the basket, I jumped upwards again, knowing that this was going to be close. If this shot went in, we would win the championship!

I felt the ball hit something hard behind me, but there wasn't time to think about that now! The ball had flown through the hoop! The crowd exploded with cheers, and I opened my eyes just in time to see everyone leap onto each other's shoulders. Our team had won! We were going to be champions of not just our garden but all of Seoul!

We rushed back towards our bench where our coach already stood ready with flowers for each player's hair. He put one in mine too before we turned around together and bowed towards our audience. When we rose from our bow, everyone started cheering again, asking for an encore performance from us on their side of the fence.

"Well done!" said Mr. Lee as we climbed down from our bench and approached him near his office. "Congratulations on winning your match! This is quite an achievement." He smiled broadly at us before turning towards Coach Park to discuss payment for us playing here again sometime in the future.

***