A Game
1351 Words
Tiny is pointing his horns at my face. He puffed smoke from his nose. He looks very angry. My friends watched me from behind, afraid to make a move that would endanger me. But I know that Tiny won't attack me.
"Leo," said Philip. "Run!"
"No," I said. "It's fine, he won't attack me."
"What are you talking about? He looks like he's gonna attack you!"
I didn't mind them, and I said, "He won't hurt me!" I looked Tiny in the eyes, he puffed one last time while tapping his front hoof twice, and turned his back on me. He just walked straight to the barn. That's when Philip, Sander, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson went to me.
"You i***t!" said Philip after he lightly punched my head. "You just got lucky!"
I scratched my head.
"That was scary, Leo," said Sander. "He could've flattened you into a pie."
"Actually," said Mr. Wilson. "Tiny never meant to hurt any of you."
"What?" we asked.
"We just realized it after he tapped his hoof twice," said Mrs. Wilson. "It is his way of communicating that he's done playing, or he had great fun, but he needs to rest now."
"So we thought we were fighting for our own lives," said Sander. "but for him, it was just all a game?"
"Exactly," said Mr. Wilson.
"But he attacked the cows," said Philip.
"Maybe it was his way for you children to come and stop him so he could play."
"No no no no," said Sander. "Bulls aren't that smart."
"Not this bull," said Mr. Wilson while laughing hard.
-
*
"That makes sense," said Sander after he remembered how Tiny pooped on his head back at the bridge.
"We felt like we almost died!" said Leo, and looked at the bull walking towards the barn. "You stupid cow! Come here and fight me! I'll beat you hard!" Philip stopped him.
Tiny jumped up and down like he's laughing at Leo.
"Aaaaaargh!" screamed Leo. "Let go of me!"
Philip punched him in the head again, and that's when he stopped, lying on the ground.
"I still can't believe that it was all just a game," said Sander. "Seriously!"
"Even if it is," said Mrs. Wilson. "You really helped us a great deal! Now that Tiny is satisfied, he will not cause trouble to the travelers anymore. And it is all thanks to you children." She smiled. "In exchange, I will prepare a barbeque for the three of you."
"Yes!" they said. "Free lunch!"
"Wohooo!" celebrated Leo.
"We got a fridge full of it," said Mr. Wilson. "so you better be very hungry!"
"We are!" they said.
*
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The daughter and son of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson came home after a call from them. We three, called their daughter as Big-sis Ava because she is twenty years older than us. She was kind and always smiling. Big-brad Gil, her younger brother looks like a warrior. I was right in assuming because he just came back from three years of service. Mrs. Wilson brought the beef chops fresh from the fridge, while her husband and son fixed the broken electric fence. The sizzling aroma made my stomach growl. We waited for minutes that it felt like forever. We ate under the tree we were sitting on earlier. I asked Mrs. Wilson about the bull while she is cooking.
"Mrs. Wilson," I said while I watched beef being cooked on the grill. "Is that how Tiny always play with Dave?"
She looked at me and said, "Not quite, because he's very gentle in playing with him. The time when Dave always plays with him, he is younger than you."
"Want about Big-brad Gil? Tiny could've played with him."
"Gil is kind of a serious person. He became a grown-up faster than his older brother Dave."
"I wonder if Dave would still play with Tiny if he comes back."
"Yes, he will, because he's my son. I know how bright and cheerful he is. No darkness and hardship will be able to darken his light."
I took a moment to understand what she meant. "Where is he now?"
"On Mars," she said.
"Oh, just like Philip's dad."
"Well then, I am sure they are fine, because he's my son, and your friend's dad is strong, am I right?"
"Yeah... You're right," I said as I watched the sky, thinking how far Mars is, but the feelings of people of each other are still connected. I realized it just now, that I am gradually making a distance from my family, but my feelings for them just became stronger. Distance really is meaningless. Even a bull's memory of a friend never faded across time and space.
After we finished eating our food, we thanked and said our farewells to the Wilson family. We continued our way to Philip's home with full bellies after collecting our things. My stomach was aching because of walking. The dirt road ended that was a shortcut according to Philip. We are now on a concrete road, with no cars or anything traveling on it. We saw one truck full of corn that passed by. We saw some of it fell, and we quickly collected it so we could cook it when we get to Philip's home. The heat did not only came from above, but also from the ground. I became thirsty. There are no trees beside the road, but short sugar canes that cannot cast shadows on us, for the sun is high up. I need shade... I will get cooked at this rate.
"Hey guys," I said while feeling exhausted and dehydrated. "Do you have any water?"
"No," said Philip. "Just wait 'til we get to my home."
"How about you, Sander?" He shook his head. They look as dehydrated as me. "How much farther, Philip? I am dying here!"
"Just a little bit farther, we just have to hang on."
"My legs are killing me!" complained Sander.
"Don't be a wuss!" said Philip. "This is still a rookie distance. That's what you get in being a lazy bum, and letting your brother do all the work."
"Hey, it is because of fighting the bull that I got exhausted, as well as Mrs. Wilson's beef steak that made me eat a lot, making me full! I am struggling to walk with a full stomach! Why did we have to leave instantly?"
"It is because we won't be able to study and train if we waste our time."
"Oh, right...," I said in realization.
"Exactly, so we must walk faster," said Philip.
Sander and I complained about our aching stomach. I can't think of anything, but when will I get to rest.
"Can we stop to rest?" I suggested. "Just a couple of minutes."
"Okay," said Philip. "For ten minutes."
We found an isolated tree beside the road. We were walking on the right side of the road all this time, and that tree happened to be on the side we are right now. It gave us enough shade from the sun. The wind helped us to cool down. I wiped the sweat off of my face with my unused shirt. I sat on the root of the tree.
"Is your home as far as this, Sander?" I asked.
"Yes, but it was safer," he said while he used his notebook as a fan to cool himself while standing.
"That's what you guys get for winning the rock-paper-scissors," said Philip, while using his towel to dry his sweat on his back.
"Maybe you're lying," I said.
"Lying about what?" asked Philip.
"About where is your home actually."
"This is the way to his home," said Sander. "but I never took the shortcut."
"You guys have been friends for how long?"
"Three years, I think," he said. "Am I right?" he asked Philip.
"Yeah, three years," said Philip. He clapped his hands and said, "Break time's over, let's move it!"
"Ughhhhhhhh!" complained Sander and I.
We continued to walk for thirty minutes, until Philip said, "We're here, guys. Welcome to my hometown!"
- Writer
