SPIDER'S SILK (Part 2)

I served. He returned it with a perfect swing. All I could manage was a drop. He hit that one easily, hitting the shuttle-cock to land somewhere near the periphery of the court, right at the serve line. In reflex, I stretched myself to the fullest and hit it. But all I did was to touch it with rim of my racquet. the shuttle-cock went dangling through the air to land on the tip of the net. It sat there for a second, as if Fate was deciding whose court it should fall in, whom to favor, whose day to make. And then as if having made a firm decision, it fell in the other court, never faltering from its path, the work of gravity.
  A wave of immense pleasure washed through me. It filled me in and out with a sense of freedom, of independence. I felt light, as if a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders. But it still was not enough to distract me from the task at hand, for without its completion this point wouldn't mean a thing.
  One more point. The shuttle-cock was in my hand. I turned my gaze to look at the trophy, where it sat beside the huge cheque from the Korean Government to be given to the winner. I looked at the crowd and in them where my coach and family sat. I looked at the court, the dust on it, which was more precious to me than gold. And I instantly knew what this last point would be for.
  I had always played to prove myself to others. This last point would be an attestation to me, to prove to myself that I had always been capable of walking the path that I had chosen....
I knew that my opponent would try every bit as hard as I would. And so all that mattered now was- Who was more desperate to win?
I served. He hit it perfectly. I returned with a very low smash, very hard to lift. But he managed to return. He fired a back-shot. I returned it hard too. And so it was decided that this game would be won not just by sinew alone, but tact. We both fought for many minutes. Exertion had us sweating and hyperventilating. But none of us faltered., none of us gave even one chance to the other.
It was becoming unbearable for me. I lost track of all my thought, letting desperation take care of them. That did it. I hit a smash shot so hard that he simply could not return it. The racquet fell from his hand.
I had one it. I had proved myself, made my promise to myself stand good. An immense feeling of joy swept through me-my heart-coursing through my veins-to the rest of my body. It felt so huge that it seemed as if it would explode through my heart and lungs, consuming all in its way.
I sank to the ground, unable to hold myself up anymore. The joy in my chest instantly became a searing pain, and I knew what it was. All my limbs started to throb and ache. It became unbearable. I fell on my stomach to the ground, my cheek against the rough court, the smell of dirt in my nostrils.
"Call an ambulance. He's having an asthma attack, " somebody shouted. But I was too absorbed in myself to notice who it was, for once, I was whole. I was content, complete. Not even the unnerving pain in my body could overshadow the colossal happiness that had deeply rooted itself in me in that one moment, when all I knew was that I had made my point; nothing else mattered now. And then I let darkness close on me forever.....