*”Fox Theme” by Scott Schreer plays*

“Weeeelcome on September 24, 2015 to this beautiful matchup between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals here at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois”, the reporter bellows.

The camera pans in a wide angle from afar, yet still isn’t able to encapsulate the whole crowd, a flood of blue and red dots, in one frame.

The first fateful five innings of the Cubs-Cards game went off without many disturbances. Well, major disturbances; there were, of course the inevitable, clumsy and quite uncoordinated drunken arguments between rivals.

Jon Lester, the Chicago starting pitcher was having the game of his life. The Cubbies were up 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning.

As soon as the crowd heard the upbeat and powerful rhythm of “Good Vibrations”, all those blue and red dots seemed to move in harmony to the music and grow in size. Anthony Rizzo, the crowd favorite, heartthrob, and member of the bromance “Brizzo” was sauntering up to bat. The funky and repetitive beat pulsed through the stadium and paralleled the crowds emotions, bubbling with excitement.

Mike Leake, the Cardinals starting pitcher played all through the first six innings, and naturally was tiring from 90 miles per hour and north pitches. He could feel the strain in his muscles deepen, ripping with each vigorous pitch. Rizzo knew of this and was ready to take advantage of Leake’s growing fatigue.

Leake throws his first pitch-THUD. That 90 mph pitch Leake was striving for struck Rizzo above the right elbow thrusting him to the ground writhing in pain. Unlikely enough, the catcher couldn’t find the baseball that had hit Rizzo.

After Rizzo was assessed and tended to by the multiple athletic trainers, the ball was located and brought out from Rizzo’s shirt. Rizzo made his way to first base in accordance with Major League Baseball Rules that allow a free walk to first base when struck with a pitch.

The ball returned to Leake’s glove in a surprisingly new way. It traveled exponentially faster. The unseen journey with Rizzo must have changed the ball to become a celestial and heavenly body, morphing into the same thing that the crowd felt that Rizzo was, a literal superstar.

Leake saw before his eyes the shape of a familiar baseball that has engulfed his life for the past twenty years was transformed into a star. Not like the star he had become through his pitching career but a solar system shining wonder.

He embraced the star and through its guidance, he struck out the next two Cubs that came to bat. Two whole outs, six straight set strikes with Rizzo still on first base. Each athlete meandered with confidence towards home plate, soaking in the atmospheric glow of the crowds commentary, more eager than the previous and progressively more frustrated than the last. The strikes-outs came as easy to Leake as it would be if he was playing against five year olds in Little League. Each swiftly met the catcher's glove with an intimidating snap, menacingly mimicking the batter’s increasingly sorrowful stature.

‘Just one more out, pretty easy’ Leake thought. He was becoming more accustomed to the benefits that the yellow blinding star brought to his baseball game. He felt his shoulder loosen up, all the muscles he has strained where he felt pain throughout the year became numb. Even though they were losing, Leake felt positive and assured that they would come out on top, like he had already seen the end of the game, assured that everything will end up okay.

Yet, with Kris Bryant up to bat, the star remained luminous and glowing, peering into Leake’s eyes, so bright that the star could see it’s self reflection.

For the first time, the star spoke to Leake, yet not aloud just inside his thoughts, like telepathy. The star gave Leake advice to combat Bryant. He complimented Leake on his achievements thus far, reassuring that he could continue to play the full game without any relief pitchers and Leake listened. Leake was hungry for more fame and excited for what the star could bring him, most importantly more success. Leake was obsessed and addicted to the ideas that the star brought to him. When the star whispered wispy words into Leake’s open ears, Leake trusted in the star without hesitation.

The star could sense Leake’s faith and became content that he was wanted, giving the star hope for the future.

-ZZP-went the star excitingly and explosively exiting Leake’s hand once again. This pitch was different from all of the others because as the star was nearing home plate, it stopped and hovered, talking to Kris Bryant first slyly, shyly, and quietly stating “Your eyes are beautiful”. Kris Bryant heard this but confusingly found himself unable to respond as he wanted to humbly thank the star. The star’s existence was dumbfoundingly delightful all the while puzzling for Kris Bryant because it seemed to him as they were the only two spirits in the stadium despite being amongst a million people. The star had it’s own way of communicating,similar to Leake, through thoughts

‘This is going right down Broadway’, the star signaled his direction to end in the middle of the plate.

But the star knew that the pitch wasn’t ending right down Broadway because he was in control. The star enjoyed talking to both Bryant and Leake but most importantly, he found meaning in this game by shaping the decisions of these players.

Kris Bryant felt that the star was specially created for him and therefore listened, swinging right in the middle of the plate without any doubt.

Anger and doubt filled Bryant’s feelings as he did not hit the ball and heard the umpire belch, “STRIIKE” intimidatingly.

Back on the mound, Leake felt relieved that he could rely on the star’s guidance. This certainty led Leake to follow the star’s next instructions.

Power surged through the star making him more ambitious.

“Throw a slider”, demanded the star authoritatively.

The star felt like it belonged finally and was gaining respect, propelling and motivating him to travel even faster at the speed of light like other stars.

-FSST-went the next pitch from Leake traveling again rapidly up until the plate.

This time, Kris Bryant was in his ready position, mentally exasperated, with a touch of attitude towards the star. Since the star could read his thoughts, the star addressed this with Bryant, smiling innocently, empathetically stating, ‘The first time was to test not trick you, this time it will truly be a slider. Be ready for it, you can do it. I believe in you’.

Bryant still felt unique with his encounter of the star and gave him a second chance. Bryant tracked the ball and didn’t swing where it first entered the plate but where it was projected to go, as a slider.

The star had no intention to remain as a slider and underestimated Bryant’s skill having to move at the last second further away from Bryant’s bat to avoid being hit.

The star started to fear that his power on the pitch was slipping and he was starting to be devoid of significance in the game.

Nevertheless, the umpire howled “STRIIKE” once again pleasing Leake while disgusting Bryant.

Bryant took a step back from the plate, adjusting his blue Under Armour glove and his Cubs baseball hat, buying himself time to collect himself together before the next pitch. It was then that Bryant decided to ignore the star and focus on instead knocking the star out of the manipulative, retrograde orbit around his life.

Leake hungrily felt assured that he could get the last strike, ending the inning without the star because he had built up so much confidence in his abilities. The star told him to throw a drop curve for the last strike. Leake nodded and wound up, swinging his left leg high and exploding forward with his pitch.

WHOOSH-the pitch lurched forward differently, in slow motion from the vantage point of the star. The star didn’t have enough control to slow down or even speed up in the slightest bit. The star’s path pre-existed because Leake blatantly disregarded the star’s wishes and chose his own.

The star saw the dark brown dirt particles jump as the sweat from Leake’s forehead, each drop racing to meet the ground. The star didn’t anticipate the slow motion atmosphere that created a fuzzy blur of Wrigley field as he was spinning amidst smaller than before spots of blue and red.

When the star made it’s way slowly to Bryant, he wanted to stop, hover, and aid him. Instead, he found himself unable and inadequate to do what he felt was vital for Bryant and Leake.

CLOCK-went the ball. Bursts of fire and color, ten times the luminosity that the star ever was.

“And that’s 2 run home run from number 17, his fourth just this year, second of the game. Wow that’s gone, way gone. That’s a good way to come back from starting 0-6 this game. What a dazzling performance from Kris Bryant.”

“I agree Brian, I think it also really attests to his character and being able to really take the game out of your head and just focus on playing the game you know.”

It is crazy to think, that in a blink

our lives could be in sync.

That one day, you could stray

and leave, directed in the wrong way.

Without a doubt, day in and day out

you could be left, alone, without the one you care for the most.

Live now!

Allow yourself to be happy, and take a bow

to all the nonsense this world offers.