28 The Final Race

"The race will take place outside Apium. The route you will take is marked already. There will be two deep grooves in the ground, marking your course. Any deviation from the route will be classed as cheating. The Tauruses you get will be random, and it will depend on your skills to get the first place. The prize for winning this competition is a trip to the Land of Sands. You will receive money as well as the tickets for the oncoming performances, and the winner can take their family with them. Unfortunately, this contest is available to older kids only, as we don't want any accidents. In case there are too many contestants, we will have a few races, and the best time will win. Those who wish to participate, please step forward now!", uncle exclaimed and waited for people to gather.

There were around twenty people who stepped forwards, of course I was one of them. Uncle nodded and told us to follow him. We walked just outside of Apium, where ten Tauruses awaited us. 'Since there are only ten Tauruses, we will have at least two races… In other words, the best time wins', I thought. "We have twenty three people who want to compete, in that case it would be pointless to have three races. We will get two more Tauruses for the first round, and one for the second. When I call out your names, make way toward any Taurus of your choosing and wait", uncle said and instructed another Atol to bring in two more Tauruses.

Uncle called one name after the other. He also called my name, which meant I was in the first group. I chose a Taurus that looked the strongest of whatever was left, and walked up to it. "Hey there", I said and patted its head. The Taurus moo-ed happily and rubbed its head on me. "Hehe, let's give it our best, alright? If we win, I will give you some Poach Fruits, do you like them?", I asked. The Taurus got even more enthusiastic when it heard about Poach Fruits, it seemed fired up for the race. Someone bought two more Tauruses and the first race could finally begin. We mounted the Tauruses and awaited the signal. "Three… Two… One… GO", uncle shouted and everyone rushed forwards. My Taurus was really motivated, therefore I quickly took the first place. Just as uncle said, there were deep grooves in the ground, marking our course. As long as we remained between these grooves, we were fine. 'They really had to work hard to make this course. I'm a bit surprised uncle went to such lengths', I thought.

But, uncle didn't make it too easy. There were some simple obstacles that could slow us down. Small holes in the ground, or even large holes we had to jump over. There were even wooden obstacles, where we had to either jump through or zigzag past them. Unfortunately for others, I wasn't that bad at riding on Tauruses and my little bribe made the Taurus really motivated. We whizzed past the obstacles in no time, keeping the leading position throughout. No one was able to catch up, the first place belonged to me. That didn't mean I won though. I won the first race, but my time mattered more. If my time was better than everyone else's in the second race, I would win.

I thanked the Taurus after the race, then asked uncle for some Poach Fruits. "Heh, so you bribed him to run faster? Not a bad move at all. Wait a minute, I will get them for you", he replied. "See, I didn't lie to you. You did really well, you deserve a prize on your own", I said while patting his head. "Moo!", he burrowed his head into me again. Uncle brought back a few fruits, which I fed to the Taurus. "Are they that good?", I asked. "Mooo!", the Taurus replied while happily munching on the fruits. "You seem to like this guy", uncle said. I smiled, "I always liked animals and thanks to him, I might actually win this race". Uncle thought about something for a while before saying, "Even if you win, we can't really go to the Land of Sands… Your mother wouldn't be happy about that". I already knew that. Land of Sands was far away from Apium, and there were loads of people there. If mother somehow learned about our little trip, there would be hell to pay.

"Let's do it like this. If you actually win, I will let you keep this guy for yourself. Your mother shouldn't have any issues with that, right?", uncle proposed. "Really? I can keep him?", I asked just to make sure. "If you win", uncle repeated himself. "Yea, sure. Let's see if someone can beat my time!", I replied and watched as others mounted the Tauruses. Since they only required eleven, the one I rode could stay by my side. "Three… Two… One… GO!", uncle shouted and the second race began. We only saw the beginning, and not what happened in the middle. We could follow them, but I wasn't that bothered. We would witness who crossed the line first though.

The race itself took a while. We had to run outside Apium at first, but then there was a sudden turn, where we crossed Apium straight through. Since the race took a while, I petted the Taurus and fed him some other fruits I had on me. "By the way, isn't that a bit unfair? The contestants in the second race use the same Tauruses. Wouldn't that place them at a disadvantage?", I asked uncle. "Don't worry, they have the same odds. You had such a good time, because the Taurus you rode took it more seriously. At the pace they are running, these creatures can go on for many hours straight. Hence, they weren't tired after that one race", he replied.

I asked that, but secretly didn't care whether it was unfair or not. I wanted to win that race. 'If I win, this Taurus will become my pet… I never had a pet. This is so exciting!', I thought. Mother wouldn't buy me one of course, and I had no money of my own. I didn't need money really, mother paid for everything. Even at Apium, uncle provided everything I required. Still, all of that was provided by others, yet the Taurus would be mine, won with my own two hands.

The time slowly passed. We waited for someone to appear in our view, but it took a while. I played around with the Taurus next to me, and even gave him a name. I called him Turry, and he seemed to like it as well. Finally, after a long wait, we saw some dust in the distance. 'They are finally here!', I thought. There were three Atols at the front, contesting for the first place. They got closer and closer, and one of them emerged from the group to pass the finishing line. The question was, whether he beat my time or not. Uncle and others compared our times for a while, before facing us.

"The winner of this competition is… ANNA! Congratulations, you were faster than others by about six minutes. Since you are not interested in going to the Land of Sands, the prize shall be converted into something else. Anna will receive the Taurus she used in the race, and her prize should be able to cover the costs. Does anyone have objections?", uncle announced. No one raised any objections, and the Taurus officially belonged to me. "Yay, now we can ride together whenever I wish, Turry. Here, have another Poach Fruit", I said and fed him. "Mooo!", Turry seemed satisfied too.

The fourth competition ended. Everyone came over to congratulate me, and admired my riding skills. Little did they know, I actually bribed Turry to run faster. Uncle also told me to keep the saddle and harness. Without it, riding Turry would be really painful, so I appreciated that a lot. "Heh? You already gave him a name?", uncle asked surprised. "Yea, I actually did that before I even won… He doesn't seem to mind that name either, right Turry?", I asked. "Mooo!", Turry replied. That day, I gained a new friend and a pet who could carry me around places. Although mother didn't allow me to travel by myself just yet, I would in the future. Turry was a great companion to have for such time. Moreover, I earned him with my own hands. It felt great to win.