I can still recall the holidays I spent in America when I was young. After working very hard for a long time, I finally managed to earn enough money to spend a few months in America, which was the thing I wanted the most since I was a child. Then, I flew alone to New York, looking forward to seeing new places and meeting interesting people.

When I arrived there, I was impressed by the enormous dimensions of the city. I walked and walked around the city for a few days, visiting some of the most important places in the city such as the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. One day, while I was walking on the street, I saw a child crying next to a basketball court. He was about 15 years old, black-skinned and very tall. His name was Michael and, when I asked him why he was crying, he answered me that his basketball shoes had just broken and that he didn’t have enough money to buy a new pair, so he couldn’t play anymore. I felt  very sorry and I decided to give him money to get a new pair. He was very happy and he promised to me that he would reward me some day. From then, we got on very well and started being good friends, but I had to return to my country, so we had to separate.

It was about 20 years since I last saw Michael. I had no news from him and I hadn’t seen him for ages, but I knew that he would always be my friend. Nevertheless, one day, while I was watching a sports program on television, I saw a report that made me smile: a young basketball genius called Michael Jordan had just won his first ring as an NBA champion.