Chapter 6: A Normal Day
Rafael woke before his alarm.
For a few seconds, he stared at the ceiling without moving. The room was quiet except for the electric fan turning slowly in the corner, and for one brief moment, his mind expected to see the ceiling of the house he had lived in for twenty years after retirement.
Then the memories returned: Davao, the Santos house, and the body of a seventeen-year-old named Rafael Santos.
Alex Sterling sat up and rubbed his face. He still wasn’t completely used to waking up like this. Some mornings, his mind expected a different room and a different life, only for him to look at his hands and remember that the man who had spent twenty seasons playing professional baseball was gone.
Whatever he was now, everyone around him believed he was Rafael.
A knock came from the door.
"Rafa?"
It was Elena.
"Yeah, Ma?"
"Breakfast."
"I’ll be there."
Her footsteps moved away, and Rafael got out of bed. He changed into his school uniform, fixed his hair, and stopped in front of the cracked mirror.
It was the same dark hair and the same dark eyes, the same face he had already spent several days trying to understand.
He ran a hand through his hair.
"You’ll have to do."
A small smile appeared before he left the room.
Breakfast was already on the table when Rafael entered the kitchen.
Manuel was drinking coffee while checking something on his phone. Lia sat across from him, scrolling through her own phone while eating. Elena placed another plate on the table as soon as she saw Rafael.
"Sit. You need to eat."
Rafael sat down.
Lia looked at him. "So you’re really playing baseball now?"
Rafael glanced at her. "Apparently."
She laughed. "You were supposed to be a basketball player."
"I wasn’t very good."
"That never stopped you before."
Manuel lowered his phone.
"How was practice yesterday?"
"Fine."
"Just fine?"
Rafael nodded. "Coach said I made the team."
Lia stopped eating.
"Wait. Seriously?"
"Yeah."
She grinned. "You actually made it?"
Rafael gave her a look. "Thanks for the confidence."
"I’m just surprised."
Elena smiled from across the table.
"I’m happy for you."
Rafael looked at her.
The words were simple, but they stayed with him.
In Alex’s old life, making a professional team had been expected of him. Winning had become expected. Championships had become expected. Even greatness had eventually become something people assumed would happen.
Here, making a school team was enough to make his family proud.
It felt strangely good.
Manuel nodded. "Just don’t push yourself too hard."
"I’m fine."
Elena pointed at him with her spoon.
"You always say that."
Rafael smiled.
"Maybe I need a new answer."
Lia laughed. "See? He’s already changing."
Rafael shook his head and continued eating. For the first time that morning, he didn’t feel like Alex Sterling pretending to be Rafael Santos.
He simply felt like part of the family.
School felt different after joining the baseball team.
Not because the building had changed, but because people had started noticing him.
Rafael had barely made it through the hallway when one of his classmates called out.
"Rafa!"
He turned.
Jared approached with two other students behind him.
"So it’s true?"
Rafael raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"You joined baseball."
"Yeah."
"Since when?"
"Yesterday."
Jared laughed. "You really switched sports that fast?"
Rafael shrugged. "I wanted to try."
"You didn’t even tell us."
"I didn’t know I was joining until yesterday."
One of the other students smiled.
"Are you actually playing?"
"Apparently."
Jared looked unconvinced.
"You’re not going back to basketball?"
Rafael thought about it.
The old Rafael’s memories surfaced naturally. The afternoons spent watching basketball, playing with friends, missing shots, getting laughed at, then playing again anyway.
"I still like basketball."
"So why baseball?"
Rafael glanced toward the window. Part of the school field was visible in the distance.
"Something about it feels right."
Jared stared at him.
"That’s the most mysterious answer you’ve ever given."
Rafael laughed. "Go to class."
Jared shook his head as he walked away.
"Baseball star now."
Rafael watched him leave.
Star?
The word almost made him laugh. He had once played in front of tens of thousands of people, yet one classmate was already calling him a baseball star because he had made a school team.
The difference was almost ridiculous.
Still, Rafael didn’t dislike it.
The rest of the morning passed normally. Rafael listened to his teachers, took notes, and joined conversations between classes. He found himself enjoying parts of it, mostly because he hadn’t experienced anything like this in decades.
Alex had left school a lifetime ago. His old life had been hotels, airports, stadiums, interviews, training facilities, and professional meetings. Now he was sitting in a classroom again, listening to a teacher explain something he barely cared about while a classmate quietly passed a note across the room.
It was strangely peaceful.
During lunch, Rafael carried his food toward an empty table. Before he could sit down, someone placed a tray across from him.
Mia sat down across from him and looked at his tray.
"So, you’re really playing this week?"
Rafael nodded. "Looks like it."
"You looked pretty serious yesterday."
"I was being evaluated."
"I know. I watched the whole thing."
Rafael smiled. "Right. You did."
Mia rested her chin on her hand. "Are you nervous?"
"Not really."
She raised an eyebrow. "You don’t look nervous."
"Because I’m not."
"That’s what worries me."
Rafael almost laughed. He had already played the biggest games baseball could offer. He had hit home runs in World Series games and faced pitchers whose names were remembered for generations. A school tournament shouldn’t have been intimidating.
But this would be his first real game as Rafael Santos.
Something changed in Rafael’s heartbeat.
Not dramatically, but enough for him to notice. His face felt slightly warm, and he immediately looked away.
What was that?
Mia tilted her head.
"Are you okay?"
"I’m fine."
She laughed.
"You really need a new answer."
Rafael looked at her.
"I’ve heard that before."
"Then maybe listen."
He smiled despite himself.
There was something familiar about her. Not to Alex, but to Rafael.
Fragments of memory surfaced whenever he looked at her: a younger Rafael walking home from school, Mia beside him, two children arguing over something stupid, and a basketball bouncing between them.
Then the memories disappeared almost as quickly as they came.
Rafael stared at Mia for another second.
So this is her.
He remembered now.
She had been part of Rafael’s life long before Alex ever entered it, and apparently Rafael had liked her for years.
That explained the strange reaction.
At least, Alex hoped it did.
After lunch, the rest of the school day passed quickly. By the time the final bell rang, Rafael was already thinking about the baseball field.
He packed his things and walked toward the gate, but Mia caught up with him.
"Rafa."
He turned.
"You going home?"
"Yeah."
She walked beside him.
"Your game is this week, right?"
"Yeah."
"Where?"
"School field."
"When?"
Rafael told her.
Mia nodded.
"I’ll watch."
He looked at her.
"You don’t have to."
"I know."
She smiled.
"But I want to."
Rafael didn’t know what to say to that.
"Okay."
They continued walking together, and Rafael found himself smiling for reasons he didn’t fully understand.
When he arrived home, Elena was preparing dinner.
Rafael placed his bag down.
"Ma."
"You’re home."
"Yeah."
She looked at him.
"How was school?"
"Good."
"How’s the team?"
Rafael hesitated before remembering something important.
"I have a game this week."
Elena stopped what she was doing.
"A game?"
Rafael nodded.
"There’s a school tournament. Our team is playing."
Manuel looked up from the table.
"When?"
Rafael told him the date.
"Are you playing?"
"Coach said I am."
Lia immediately appeared from the other room.
"You’re playing?"
"Yes."
She grinned.
"I want to see."
Rafael laughed. "Why?"
"Because I want to see if you’re actually good."
"That’s rude."
"You’ll survive."
Manuel smiled.
"We’ll go if we can."
Rafael looked at him.
"You don’t have to."
"I know."
Manuel put his phone down.
"But we want to."
Rafael didn’t answer immediately.
Elena returned to the stove.
"We’ll make time."
Something tightened in his chest.
Not pain. Something else.
Alex had spent his old life surrounded by people who wanted something from him. Sponsors wanted his image, teams wanted his production, fans wanted performances, and reporters wanted stories.
The Santos family wanted nothing from Rafael.
They simply wanted to see him play.
Rafael looked down.
"Okay."
Elena smiled.
"Then we’ll be there."
That night, Rafael sat alone in his room.
His school uniform hung on the side of the cabinet, while his baseball glove rested on the desk. He picked it up and turned it over in his hands.
The glove was still unfamiliar.
But the game wasn’t.
That was the strange part.
His new life was full of things he didn’t understand. Rafael’s childhood, his friends, his family, Mia, and school all belonged to a life that had existed before Alex arrived.
Whenever baseball entered the picture, however, the confusion disappeared.
He knew what pitchers wanted. He knew how hitters thought, how games changed, and what pressure felt like. He had lived inside the sport for twenty years, and now he had another chance to play it.
Only this time, he wasn’t playing for championships or records.
He was playing for something much smaller: his family, his teammates, and the new life that had somehow been placed in front of him.
Rafael placed the glove beside his bed.
Then he noticed the Davao Central Academy jersey hanging nearby.
He walked over and picked it up.
The number wasn’t important yet, and neither was his name. Nobody here knew what Alex Sterling had been, and nobody expected Rafael Santos to become anything special.
That was fine.
He didn’t need them to know.
Not yet.
Rafael folded the jersey carefully and placed it on the chair.
Tomorrow, he’d return to the field. Soon after that, he would play his first official game.
He turned off the light and lay down, thinking about the family waiting for him at home, the teammates he had only recently met, and the girl who had somehow been part of Rafael’s life long before he arrived.
Then his thoughts returned to baseball.
Alex Sterling had already lived the greatest career he could have imagined.
Now Rafael Santos had a chance to build something of his own.
And for the first time, Alex wasn’t sure which part of that future excited him more.
End of Chapter 6