Diving at the Old Bridge is a defining characteristic of the city of Mostar.
The city's YMCA performs diving shows in the summer, but very few people dive during this season, mainly because the weather is not warm enough, and the Neretva River is fast and very cold.
It's not a great time to dive! But for Suker, who is short on money, nothing is more deadly than being "poor."
He also needs enough money to ensure his nutrition.
Before the tourists could react, Suker was already holding the iron basin and started sweeping with a sweet smile on his face.
The tourists couldn't help but feel disgusted when they saw this teenager who, naturally, gives people a sense of closeness, more out of pity and some curiosity.
Suker wandered among the crowd, capturing marks.
Some people gave 5 marks, some gave 10 marks, and some young couples gave more. Suker happily ran to collect the money, naturally gathering funds for the performance.
When he encountered some tourists still skeptical, Suker emphasized again.
"Give me money!"
"Dive!"
Soon, Suker stopped in front of a teenager, looking left and right, but he didn't notice the other person's parents.
The young man wore a hood and a zipper, covering his mouth and nose directly, and only a pair of dark eyes could be seen.
Suker scratched his head, unwilling to give up, and repeated, "Give me money!"
"Dive!"
The teenager remained unmoved.
Suker made another diving gesture, pointing beneath the bridge, and raised his voice.
"Diving show!"
The boy still didn't speak.
"Is this guy mute?" Suker muttered angrily.
At that moment, the other party suddenly scolded him: "You're stupid!"
Suker was stunned for a moment, as this person spoke in Croatian.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is located on the Balkan Peninsula, bordering several countries, and the language system within the country is also complex.
However, Bosnian, Serbian, and Croatian are the most widely spoken.
Suker couldn't grasp the context and asked, "Natives?"
The boy spoke again.
"Sick!"
Suker cursed under his breath, ignored the boy, and continued collecting money.
The boy turned to look at Suker, seemingly unwilling to leave, and his bright eyes also glimmered with a touch of curiosity.
He wanted to see if the little guy in front of him was really going to dive or was just scamming money.
If he was scamming money, he wouldn't hesitate to call the police.
In his opinion, it was closer to the second option.
After all, it wasn't a good time to dive.
Soon, under the watchful eyes of the boy, after Suker had gathered a wave of money, he folded it and put it in his pants pocket, and only then did he start undressing, leaving only a pair of underwear.
Suker, who only wore three-legged shorts, had fair skin, clear ribs on both sides of his chest, and a big head above, clearly a child who hadn't yet grown.
He folded his clothes and found a crowded spot to place them by the side of the bridge, pointing to the tourists, saying, "Watch this for me."
The tourists laughed and gave approving gestures.
At this moment, the face of the young man behind him was already filled with surprise.
Is he really jumping?
But before he could react, the atmosphere around him suddenly became lively.
He saw Suker grabbing the iron railing with both hands and skillfully climbing to the extension of the old bridge, raising his hands high and shouting to the tourists on both sides: "Follow my rhythm!"
With that, Suker began to clap slowly.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! The tourists around also smiled and clapped, enjoying the atmosphere.
Under Suker's leadership, the sound of clapping gradually became clearer and faster, like a dense drumbeat.
Some tourists even began shouting loudly.
Bang bang! Harvest!
Like a conductor of an orchestra, Suk joined his hands, and the surroundings fell silent.
At that moment, they saw the skinny young man take a deep breath, and his toes suddenly jumped, and the whole person crossed an arc in the air. In a dragon gate-jumping posture, his head and feet fell directly into the cold river.
"Ah!!"
"I jumped!!"
"Oh my God!!"
The bridge was filled with exclamations, and one by one, people ran toward the edge of the bridge.
The hooded boy also quickly advanced.
At this moment, one bad thing might happen.
Splash!
The water splashed, and Suk sank into the water.
A wave appeared in the turbulent river and quickly disappeared, along with the figure of Suker.
"Won't he make it?"
"And the people?"
"Should we call an ambulance?"
The crowd started to whisper, and the hooded boy kept shaking his head.
Just when everyone was lost, there was a commotion not far from the shore.
The crowd turned their heads to see Suker's figure reappearing on the shore.
They felt relieved by this sight.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Suker ran toward the shore with a puff, made a toned gesture toward the old bridge, then immediately spread his arms wide and shouted loudly.
"Let's go!!"
In an instant, fierce cheers and shouts erupted from the old bridge, and the thunderous applause was endless.
Hearing the applause, Suker smiled and made a gentlemanly gesture toward the old bridge, then jumped and ran.
"Awesome jump!"
"Wonderful show!"
"Well done! Youthful!"
The surrounding tourists looked at Suker, who was trotting all the way with admiration.
Some tourists, who hadn't thought much of it, took out more money for Suker to jump again.
But Suker smiled, gathered his clothes, turned around, and ran beneath the bridge, vanishing from view as soon as he slid through the smoke.
The old bridge was still filled with people, and the hooded boy looked at the alley where Suker had disappeared in the distance, his face full of excitement.
Although Suker had hidden it well, his body was still trembling from the cold, his lips were slightly blue, and he shivered as he ran.
This meant that the diving performance had caused some damage to his body.
Whether for money or not, Suker's courage to stand on a bridge and jump was enough to shake the boy.
The boy lowered his head silently, turned around, and walked away from the noisy crowd.
Walking along the stone path toward a forest trail, he arrived at a field with a sign reading 'Mostar Zlinisky Football Club.'
The teenager lowered the zipper and took off his hood.
Short brownish-yellow hair, thin lips, a straight nose, and a slender face typical of Eastern European villages.
And this teenager is the Croatian genius who caused a sensation in Mostar just weeks ago—Modric.
At that time, Modric was not yet the future midfield maestro and Ballon d'Or winner.
The pale, emaciated face with a thin figure gave people a sense of weakness.
Along the dirt path inside the club, Modric walked directly to the side of the dormitory.
FC Mostar Zlinski is highly competitive in the Bosnia and Herzegovina League, but its financial situation and stadium facilities are very old.
A long two-story townhouse, the walls were a little dry, and the white wall paint and gray concrete were mottled and intertwined, giving it a sense of decay.
Through the middle entrance, you can enter the dormitory building, and the hallways on both sides seem dark.
The first floor is mainly a team room, and you can go upstairs to the second floor.
Modric opened the first room door on the left.
It was furnished like a college dormitory, with bunk beds, and there were three bunk beds in the room, but only the bottom bed near the window showed signs of life.
The entire room seemed very clean and was apparently cleaned regularly.
Modric hung his coat on a hook on the wall.
Like all young people today, Modric had many football star posters on his walls.
Most of them were undoubtedly posters of football's current alien heartthrobs—Ronaldo.
Modric stood in front of the wall, looking at the poster, his eyes shining, and no one knew what he was thinking.
After a while, Modric gathered his toiletries, went to the nearby bathroom, turned on the faucet, and began to wash up.
He cleaned his body with a cold towel to remove the stickiness of sweat and make himself more comfortable with the breeze.
But this cold sensation always reminded Modric of the boy who had completed the dive at the old bridge.
How did that body, which seemed smaller than his own, withstand such an impact?
And then there was the courage of that guy to jump.
Modric looked at the water left in the faucet, the spring weather was still a little cool, and the well water was even colder.
Modric leaned down shyly and placed his arm under the faucet to let it wash, only to see his brows furrow slightly.
There was a bit of a chill in his arm, but not much.
Modric put the basin under the faucet again, filled it with water, and suddenly grabbed the basin and tilted it down over his head.
Whoa!!
After taking a deep breath of fresh air, Modric suddenly felt his whole body tremble from the cold.
It's hard to imagine what it feels like to be immersed in this kind of river water.
"That guy is sick, right?"
Modric shook his body, bared his teeth, and cursed.
He immediately looked at himself in the mirror and couldn't help but say, "Sick!"
After drying himself with a towel, Modric left the bathroom and returned to his room. He sat at the table by the window, took out paper and a pen, and began writing letters.
"Dear Besic, this is my fourth week in Mostar, I miss my hometown and its people, and of course, I miss you a lot."
"I'm sorry for what happened in Zagreb. After you left, they gave up on me very quickly. I understood what they wanted, so I didn't stay. I was a student, and I also believe you will definitely return to Zagreb, don't forget to take me home when the time comes!"
After a pause, Modric thought for a moment and continued writing: "The competition in the Bosnia and Herzegovina league is very high, no! It's supposed to be wild, this style works great for me. I need to run more aggressively to avoid confrontations. Fortunately, I've found some tricks, and I think you'll be happy for me."
"I don't know how long I'll be here, but it won't be much longer! As you once told me, I'm a genius, and I can do things that no one else can."
"Of course, some stupid guys here can't see through my thoughts and then ask me why I want to pass the ball, and their pig brains only know how to run forward. They have no concept of coordination and pass penetration at all."
At this point, a slight look of frivolous disdain appeared on Modric's face, but it quickly turned into frustration.
"I don't have any friends here, and I don't want to be friends with some idiots. I think this is a test that the Lord has given me, and I will definitely do well, like before, and of course, it will probably take some courage to break some of my old habits."
For some reason, at this moment, Modric's mind recalled the boy who had jumped into the old bridge.
He shook his head, crossed out the last paragraph, and said in a disdainful tone: "They are the ones who need to change!"
After clearing his mind, Modric began to summarize.
"The season is about to end, it's been a period of adaptation, and next season I'm going to perform well and show everyone how talent plays. And to the idiots who loaned me, I'll slap them hard in the face!"
"That's all for this week's report, love, Luca!"
After writing the letter, Modric carefully folded it and put it in the envelope, then turned around and lay on the bed to take a nap.
End of chapter