Chapter 211: Winter in Utrecht
The flight from Mombasa to Amsterdam felt like traveling between worlds. Amani watched through the window as the aircraft descended through thick cloud cover, revealing a landscape transformed by winter.
Where Kenya had been warm sunshine and vibrant colors, the Netherlands presented a monochrome canvas of gray skies and bare trees, occasionally punctuated by the warm glow of holiday lights.
"Welcome to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Local time is 7:15 AM. Current temperature is minus two degrees Celsius."
Amani smiled at the announcement. After two weeks in Mombasa’s thirty-degree heat and working on Bandari FC, the Dutch winter would require some readjustment. He pulled his FC Utrecht jacket closer as he navigated through the airport, the club’s driver waiting to take him back to Utrecht.
"Good holiday, Amani?" asked Jan, the club’s longtime driver who had been assigned to collect him.
"Perfect," Amani replied, sliding into the heated car. "But strange to leave summer and return to this."
The journey from Schiphol to Utrecht took just under an hour, the highway cutting through flat landscapes dusted with frost. Amani watched the familiar scenery pass by, feeling the curious mixture of emotions that came with returning to his adopted home after visiting his true one.
His mother’s words from their final conversation echoed in his mind: "Remember who you are and where you come from, but embrace where you are going."
The academy apartments stood quiet when he arrived.
Most players had traveled home for the holidays and wouldn’t return until training officially resumed in early January. Amani’s footsteps echoed in the empty corridor as he made his way to his room, the silence a stark contrast to the constant bustle of his mother’s neighborhood in Mombasa.
His room felt colder than he remembered, despite the heating system running.