American Football: Domination

"…I don't want you to remember me after I die."

The words cut through the silence, calm yet shocking. Every gaze turned toward her, unsettled—even Lance's.

Annie smiled faintly and nodded.

"I'm serious. I don't want anyone to remember me."

"Felix, you know? Someone once told my mom she should start preparing. She should face the fact I might not make it. That she couldn't cling to false hope forever. That eventually, she'd have to keep living. Maybe—maybe after I'm gone, she should try for another child. Start over."

Too cruel.

Kelce couldn't hold back. "Annie…"

Her smile bloomed brighter.

"I know—it's cruel. Like I never existed. Like I was never important at all."

"I got angry. I got sad. I hurt. But my mom said no. She said I was her treasure, not some Barbie doll you replace. She threw those people out of the house."

"I know they love me. And we all like to believe love can save the world. But now… we know that's just a fairy tale."

"So I thought about it. And I decided—I hope they forget me. I hope they keep living. I hope they don't waste away in an empty kitchen, nothing left to say, until one day they can't bear it anymore and split apart. I'm scared of that. I'm scared my memory could trap them forever."

"I love them. I want them happy. I want them to live their own lives. To still be Chiefs fans. To keep going without me."

She breathed deeply, then smiled wide.

"So I want them to forget me. And I want you to forget me, too. Don't worry—I won't be sad. Because instead, I'll cling to every second now. While I can still run. While I can still laugh. I'll live."

She turned to Felix. "Hey. What happens after death doesn't matter. Now is all that matters."

The little eleven-year-old's soul shone with a force that lit the whole church.

Kelce tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling, refusing to bow. Bowing would give him away.

Lance smiled at her. "Oh, dear Annie, you'd really go to prom with a muscle-bound, dim-witted football player? I thought you preferred someone like Harry Styles."

"Hahaha!" Felix burst into laughter.

Annie clutched her chest, eyes wide in mock outrage. "Lance, I can't believe you! Harry Styles? Never. But… if it were Robert Pattinson, I might hesitate a second."

Gasp.

Lance's exaggerated inhale made the others crack up. "And then?"

Her grin nearly split her face, but she kept her composure. "Then I'd still choose you. Always you. Not just because you're right here—not at all. Absolutely not."

The more she insisted, the stranger it sounded. Lance blinked, looked helplessly at Mahomes, at Kelce, then at Felix—who roared with laughter. Mahomes and Kelce joined in, and soon Lance was smiling too.

If this really was a funeral, it was surely the happiest one ever held.

Lance sobered, eyes sincere.

"I respect your choice. No matter what, I'll be here. Your forever backup prom partner. I don't mind being second string. And… Annie, believe me. We'll keep moving forward. But we won't forget you. Who could forget the ray of light that lit their life?"

Annie froze, smile still on her lips, eyes suddenly brimming. She turned away, wiping her cheeks fast.

"And more importantly," Lance added, "we still have time."

Annie. Felix. They shouldn't let the ending erase the beauty of the story. No one chooses how it ends, but they can choose how they walk there.

He breathed deep, turned to Felix again.

"Hey, Felix. We never know what comes first—death, or tomorrow. Not just you. All of us. Life is fragile. Accidents wait around every corner."

"That's life. But until the end, we get to choose how we spend each day. Yesterday, today, tomorrow—one step at a time."

"We pray for more time for Felix Gray. More and more time. Even if we don't know if He's listening…"

Lance looked up at the statue at the altar, his words easing the air until laughter stirred again.

"But Felix… and Annie…" His voice softened.

Felix looked back at him, eyes wet but blazing, smile flashing like stars. His heart surged.

"I can't say how lucky I am to have met you. Every time—at Arrowhead, in the hospital—you lit a spark. Guided us forward. You are a Chief, and you always will be. So let's keep fighting. The game isn't over."

Quiet. Honest. Not fiery, but it set hearts burning.

In that moment, they felt the true warmth of the soul. That even at the end of time, you burn without regret. That life's glow isn't in its length but in its depth.

Felix straightened his back, smiling wide.

And though the tears still spilled, he didn't wipe them away. His grin only grew brighter through them.

He clenched his fist and shouted with all he had:

"Fly!"