Final Congratulations

“As the captain of the winner of the World Championship, is there anyone you want to thank?”

He swallowed, looking back over his shoulder, the rest of his team with smiles and gentle nods.

“Caitlyn, Caitlyn Crystal.”

The words, softly spoken, flooded the arena, cranked up by the microphone. Wild cheering of moments prior stilled as murmurs broke out, seemingly everyone turning to their neighbour, some getting out their phones and tablets.

“My fiancée, who died a year ago from a heart condition she'd been fighting for a couple of years.”

Silence followed.

“She has helped me become the person I am today, someone I am proud to be. I cannot put into words how happy I am to have met her, to have fallen in love with her, to have been loved by her. The world looks much bleaker without her, but it's still so much more vibrant than it looked before I met her.”

Taking the golden cup, he held it up and tilted his head back, gazing up at the ceiling.

“Thank you.”

For a few seconds, silence. Then, on the screen above the stage, the image changed to that of a lady. He jerked around, staring up at it, arms and mouth drooping.

Smiled, it tugged at the corner of her eyes.

“Well, there's not much for me to say, is there?” she said, brushing aside a bit of hair from her face. “Congratulations on becoming the best of the best. I knew you could do it, that you would do it. That's probably what I love most about you, some strange dedication to your goals that nothing can get in the way of.”

Pausing, she laughed under her breath and scratched the tip of her nose.

“I feel so blessed to be a part of your life. There's something amazing about you, something that I can't help but admire. I can't count how many hours I've watched you play, completely entranced. It's beautiful, you know? I can't help but watch. You work so hard to make it look so natural, and along the way you discovered how to make it beautiful.”

A tear ran down her cheek, clinging to her chin until she brushed it off.

“I hope that, today, you've shown the world what I mean. Likewise, I hope the world has seen that some things are bigger than the labels we give them. Today, we didn't watch a video game, we watched a battle of strategy and wit, of skill and determination.”

She took in a deep breath and eased it back out.

“Most importantly of all though, we watched two groups of people express themselves in one of the purest ways imaginable. Today, they put everything they had on the line and let that determine who is the strongest. They threw away every label society has given them and fought with their essence.”

Again, she laughed.

“Ah, perhaps I'm getting a bit too deep into all of this. I guess, what I want to say, is that we saw ten people enter the final match and only five people walked out. Nothing more, nothing less.”

She brought up a hand, saluting.

“Congratulations to you and your Summoners-in-Arms,”

The edges of the screen darkened, the fade out inching across the screen.

Yet, when near nothing remained, a final softly spoken sentence carried over the speakers.

“I love you.”