.....(THE ADVENTURES OF POTATO AND POTITO).....

Before we begin, I'd like you to learn a little about the true story of these two funny reporters, "Potato and Potito"...

These two friendly old men were famous newspaper reporters in the post-war era who were already retired.

One day, a friend of both wanted to hire them to host one of those online soccer manager games...

The truth is, they had to think long and hard about the decision to participate in the game, since they are

both elderly and were enjoying a well-deserved retirement after many years of suffering as war reporters.

...But there were two things that suddenly lit up their minds: one was refusing to help the son of an old

friend from Tenerife whom they met in their work environment, and the other was not ending their lives

having done such serious work all their lives, such as having been serious war reporters for so many years...

Then, one day, as the two friends often got together on the weekend, in the middle of a stall playing cards

under the pine trees, they heard their grandchildren discussing the signing they had just made and the

important cup match the three of them were preparing for, which they saw were very excited about! It turned

out that even their grandchildren were playing their friend Artemi's famous online game.

That's when a light bulb went off in Potato's head, and he decided to tell Potito about the offer to host the

forums for that game, Artemi's soccer manager, his old friend's son...

 

-Potato***Hey, Potito, do you know I've been thinking a lot about that offer to host the forums for that

manager game?

-Potato***Are you serious?! What do you think I've forgotten about her? I can't stop thinking about not

ending our lives with so many bad memories of the war, and at least the last thing we do is something funny

and fun!

-Potato***...Well, yeah, don't think it's a bad idea. And if we also help Artemi improve that game of his, at least

I'd feel very fulfilled.

-Potato***Well, don't think about it anymore, Potato. Count me in too, because besides having a good time,

we'll be doing a favor to a friend! ...And that's how these two old friends teamed up again, but this time

without gunfire, or grief, just joy and sympathy... And wow, if they played it right, it took them just a few

months to become famous on the forums of that curious game, which practically gave them back their youth

again! Everything was going fantastically well until one day they received a letter in a private message from

one of the managers who enjoyed that game. Let's read that letter because it's priceless:

 

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LETTER FROM JONAY

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Hello friends, I'm a former manager and a fan of this wonderful soccer manager game. To start, I want to

tell you that if you're reading this letter, it's because I'm in a better life or about to travel toward it...

Thank you in advance, to whomever it may concern, for sharing my story and to the creator of this

fantastic game, as it appeared in my life when I needed it most, and this helped make it a little less terrible

than it was!

...It all started at the end of 2019 when we were all beginning to be surprised by the pandemic looming in

China, but at the same time, we all also thought it was very far from our islands and that it would never

affect us...

I don't need to say what country I'm from because at the end of the day, we're all human and equal,

regardless of race, religion, country, or skin color. What's clear is that we're not as intelligent or

invulnerable as we thought before or after the Covid pandemic hit...

I know, you're probably wondering, what does this game have to do with anything? Well, it has a lot to do

with it, but it's necessary to tell you everything to put it in context!

I'm going to move up the date so it won't take so long for you to assimilate; It was already March 2020, when a

mild flu was starting to spread through our house, but hey, nothing a couple of pills couldn't cure... (Or so

we thought, or so the whole family wanted to think)

Well, yes, that damn bug came through the door determined not to come out again and destroy everything

in its path...

 

Since it's impossible for me to detail name by name the destruction this damn pandemic caused in my home, I'll

tell you in summary that it only left my little brother and me in this suffering, the only thing we wanted

was to be together and try to breathe because there was something in our lungs that wouldn't let us

breathe normally. But I promised my brother that we would get through this, even without him knowing

that we would be alone forever because the pandemic took everything from us.

 

Forbidden to say it! I had to show strength so my little brother would be strong too.

After so much suffering and so much struggle to stay alive...damn it!!...Why didn't you choose me and leave

him?...

 

Someone decided I should continue this bumpy road alone, but no, whoever and wherever you are, you are

very wrong because I'm not going to stay here alone!...

I needed to go with them because I no longer had any incentive to keep living, until a small light appeared in

my hospital room, in the bed across from me! Our parents once told us that there's always a reason in life to

keep going...

And how right they were! There was "Armand," a French boy my age, but he spoke my language because he'd

been living on the island for 14 years (he was 12), in the bed across from me, also with the damn bug inside him,

but I was surprised by his zest for life, with his laptop. Always with a cheerful expression, he taught me a life

lesson...

 

We became very good friends because we were together all day... every day... every month...!

One day, I got curious and asked him what football he watched on his PC, because every now and then he

would shout "GOOOOOOLLLL!" And while he was telling me about that football manager game, I would

momentarily forget about my damn life. From that day on, I began to live again because the nurses saw me so

happy watching Armand that they raised money from all their colleagues at the hospital and gave me a

laptop like Armand's, and I started playing that football manager game. Everything was different from that

day on.

It's not that I completely forgot about my family because that would never be possible, but at least the days

passed with some encouragement, and that game, along with Armand's friendship, managed to keep me from

thinking about the bad things I had experienced, drawing strength from where I hadn't had any.

 

...What days and nights Armand and I spent playing in those cup finals!

I remember that day I faced the league leaders,I had to beat them, and by a two-goal margin. It was the 82nd

minute. I remember it perfectly. I was winning 1-0 when my full-back, John McGregor, crossed the ball, and my

newest signing headed it into the back of the net...

I also remember the nurses having to silence Armand and me because we couldn't contain our excitement.

We lived through many more great adventures later, like the championship Armand won or the day the scout

brought me Franklin Piaio, who brought me so much joy in his sporting career, especially when he was

selected by his country's National Team to play in the World Cup.

...But in the end, it wasn't to be. Everything vanished that day when he started coughing an couldn'T  

breathe...

...Damn cough, please leave me alone! ...

The doctors and nurses kept coming, until they had to take him away...

...And I never heard from Armand again!

 

...Yes, I know, I was a coward and never dared to ask about him.

I didn't want to relive so much pain again.

Silence reigned supreme in that cold room 666.

I don't say cold because there was a drastic change in temperature, but because of the internal chill you feel

when everything is suddenly silent and you find yourself incredibly alone again!

...Now, the only thing left for me to do was remember those moments spent with my friend "Armand" with

that PC game and in real life, and the need I felt to read this letter to you, which I wrote from the depths of

my silence as a way of letting out my feelings.

Since I don't know how he really ended, I will always hope that one day he will read it and appear in my life

again.

At least I take with me the fact that we were very happy together, and I have learned that friendship can move

boundaries and break down walls, no matter how hard they may be.

Thank you, Potato and Potito, for sharing my story.

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The moment I finished reading this letter, Potito and I met privately to make a decision that would change

our life priorities at that time because we both decided to dedicate ourselves body and soul to trying to

improve the lives of all those young people and somehow try to make their lives as pleasant as possible.

-Potito***I'm very proud of you, my friend Potato.

Count on me for everything, so get ready, I'll start the bike and we'll be going from hospital to hospital

right now...