Episode Thirtythree: The Great Race!
The Final Episode

Runners arrived from over the mountain, ran down the hillside into the village, and carried food to where it could be prepared for everyone there. Meanwhile, the King and Queen led the others into the village center, and met up with the Runners. As the morning turned to afternoon, they expected to see villagers from other villages, but none arrived. Finally they all sat down in the amphitheater to watch the festivity. Next to them was a beautiful jade statue. Hong told Samar that it was a statue of Isola, the Queen who's beauty was as unique as a little island. Her magic was so powerful that it still inhabits the island to this day.

Paco brought Lakia out of the medical hut and took her to the amphitheater. He told one of the Runners to watch her.
"Who will run in the Great Race?" Paco asked.
"I will." Piku replied.
"Winner takes all." Paco reminded them. "If I win, Ipo and Iso stay here and their family will rebuild the palace, where I will rule. And I will be known as 'the King who is the fastest.'"
"And if I win?" Piku asked.
"Then I will turn over the medallion to the King. But no one has ever beaten me." Paco laughed and walked over to the starting line.

Suddenly, at the shore, Blanne was warding off the sharks so that Shuka, Akio and Kali could get to the beach safely. "Mother!" shouted Lakia, and she tried to get free from her Runner watcher, but could not. But Kali and Akio came running over and in moments had joined her to watch the race. After many hugs, Shuka arrived in the amphitheater as well, and carefully approached the King and Queen. "You're highness, I have come to help." Shuka kneeled before them.
"Arise, Princess Shuka!" said the King excited to see her. "I missed you. Welcome home." he said with a laugh.
"Councilman Paco has the King's Northern Medallion, and has challenged us to see who is the fastest runner. We stand to lose the entire Island if he wins, and gain it all back if Piku is faster." Queen Iso told Shuka.
"But I have the Queen's Black Pearl, your majesty! This should help you." Shuka replied with a smile, and a curtsey.

Paco heard this and tried to get the pearl for himself. Samar quickly took it out of Shuka's hand and cleverly climbed up a beautiful jade statue that was between the amphitheater and the path that led to an equally beautiful door. Paco ran up the path in order to catch up to Samar, and caught him as he reached the top. Samar stopped there and noted the lovely ocean below - which he didn't want to fall into. Paco leaped forward to grab the pearl, knocking it out of Samar's hands. Since he was at the top of the curve of the path, it bounced down the walkway and onto the coral reef at the shore. Before Paco could get down the path, the beautiful black pearl bounced right into the jaws of the snapping clam.

But this was the Legendary Clam! A powerful earthquake shook the entire island. Rocks fell from the mountain and damaged buildings below them. The great basin cracked and the water drained out. The boulders bounced and broke as they tumbled down. Then the great jade statue cracked loudly above them. The villagers all ran out to the village center, the only place that seemed safe. When the shaking stopped, Paco led Samar back to other villagers. Although many were scared, no one was hurt. They returned to their waiting place in the amphitheater.
"That was very brave of you Samar." Queen Iso told him as Paco shouted for the Race to begin.

Paco and Piku took their places by the starting jar. Paco pointed out the path they would take to Piku. When they were ready, a Runner at the top of the path, banged a small gong.

Paco and Piku raced with all their might. They even kept up even with one another the entire time. Blanne wanted to step in, but Isola had other ideas. Soon winter rains poured down from the sky. Wanting to help the race along, Lakia grabbed her necklace and spoke softly to the Guiding Hand. But nothing happened. The race continued. Dodo, seeing what Lakia was doing, tried the same. Still nothing happened. Piku and Paco continued to run the best race that any villager had ever seen. They ran through the gardens, the buildings, through the empty orchard, across the village center, up the walkway that led to the beautiful jade door and back, and even across the steps of the amphitheater!

Finally, Paco let out a burst of speed as crossed the amphitheater steps a second time. Here he slipped in a puddle and went flying into a stone seat. He twisted his ankle and became very angry as he lay on the ground in pain.
"I don't want to run anymore anyway!" He yelled out and pulled a vial out of his pocket. "I have a potion here that will make us all stop running!" Paco's eyes filled with tears and he pouted like a little child. It was then that Jem remembered where she had seen that sad face before.

"Wait!" Jem cried out. "Father! It's me, your daughter, Jem!" She ran to Paco's side and touched his hand. He looked in her eyes and realized that he knew her face. "It's me Father! I still remember the day that Mother died from the illness that everyone had and you packaged me in the crate. You gave me food and water, and then kissed me on the head. You said that Isola would take care of me." Jem desperately looked into Paco's eyes. If he threw his potion they could all become very slow if not very sick. "Please, Daddy, please don't do this!"
Those happened to be the same words that Jem called out to him when he put the last nail in the crate that held her and a neighbor's child, before they were washed out to the ocean. At the time Paco thought that he was dying too and would not be able to help her. He sought out as many herbs on the island as he had strength for, and found his cure. However, in his desire to be the fastest runner, he became obsessed with the island's herbs. He had convinced himself that Isola was taking care of his daughter, and did not expect on this day to see her grown up face.
"Jem?" Paco asked. "But how?"
"I made sure that her crate arrived into the Queen's grand-daughter's care." Blanne said. "After all, Jem is like family."
Paco set down the potion vial and hugged his daughter. "I'm so sorry! I've missed you so much! Come to the palace and live with me."
Jem let go and held his hand carefully. "No, Father. The western shore is my home. Why don't you come and live with me for a while. Teach us what you know about herbs and medicine. Teach all the villages what you know about herbs and medicine."
Paco looked around at the questioning faces and realized that he needed to make amends with many villagers. He got up and began to limp over to a rock where he could sit down Hong and Samar grabbed him by the sides and carried him to a nice place. Dodo looked over his injury, and offered to bandage him up. Lakia told Dodo where he could find herbs there in the hospital. Then the King and Queen offered to go to the alchemy lab to see if they could make a mixture to help heal him. But Shuka spoke up about having the Longevity Plant leaf that she brought back from the southern shore. Blanne gathered some water from a nearby waterfall to wash off Paco's wound. Piku tore a piece of his clothing to give to Dodo for the bandage.

Paco was surprised that everyone was being so kind to him considering all the trouble he had put them through. And so, Paco agreed to go with Jem, and began his apologies to everyone right away. He handed the Northern Medallion to the King, and the rain stopped pouring.

"How will we get home?" Piku asked. "The walkway is now blocked with all the stones from the earthquake. It will weeks or even months to clear it."
"I know a great way to travel!" Lakia said joyfully. She winked at Blanne, and he laughed.
"Alright then. I think I can transform into a large enough fish to carry everyone." Prince Blanne said.

Lakia saw that everything was done that needed to be done. She hung up her beautiful gold and scarlet garment on a hook at the amphitheater. She saw the King behind her and asked if he knew why the Western Medallion didn't help them win the race.
"The magic is not within the medallion, princess Lakia, it is within your heart." And then he turned and hung his medallion on the hook over the golden garment. "I am retiring. It's time for a new ruler."

Lakia and Dodo looked at each other and both said, "What an adventure!" and then they both laughed. Everyone gathered to the shore, and clung to Blanne, to be brought back to their respective homes.

"Princess Shuka," Blanne said, "your throne on the Eastern Shore has been empty for many years. Are you ready to come back?"
"No, but I know who would make a great leader!" Shuka said in her dramatic way. "Right now, I need to prepare Dodo and Lakia to lead the western tribe."
With that Blanne Sagawa, the Great Sea Spirit sped the great group of villagers into the sunset, leaving the northern village empty again.



Upon returning home, they found that Shuka's raft was finished. Highest Elder Tarik saw that the population of the western shore had grown beyond what the land could withstand. He proposed to Dodo and Lakia that they use the raft and allow some villagers to seek out more room on other parts of the island. It was a hard decision, but they too saw the need. They called a gathering together at the gong, and choose villagers out of those who would volunteer to go. They carefully picked a small family of three, a widowed mother and her child, one of her best apprenticed builders and the builder's cousin, and the most adventurous of the crate kids. Jem would have been proud of that little youngster.

The King and Queen decided to pass on the Eastern Kingdom to Samar for his acts of bravery. In a colorful ceremony on the western shore, Lakia and Dodo were granted joint leadership over Western Isola. During the ceremony, they were told to unite their pieces of medallion. Dodo stopped just before doing so, and asked Lakia to marry him. Lakia happily agreed and held out her side of the medallion. When the two pieces met, both Dodo and Lakia glowed, the gong sounded, and the sweetest fragrance filled the air. All the villagers turned to look at the gong when it rang. The cracks in it sealed up as if it were never broken in the first place. After that, the gong was no longer unpredictable.

Samar bravely led the Eastern Isolan villagers. When the time came and his wife presented their child, they discovered that they had a son. They named him Blanne Sagawa Leaderson. He was smart and brave, and a great swimmer. Samar moved the remains of the Palace of Prosperity and all it's belongings to the highest point at the top of the Rim of Promise. He had the royal attendants build a whole new city between the mountainous walls of the great canyon that separated the East from West Isola. Samar proudly wore the beautiful Eastern Medallion around his neck, and would walk along the rim every evening to praise the Guiding Hand for all the blessings of his land.

On the western shore Dodo did most of the leading, while Lakia loved to tell the story of their adventure. On many ocassions you could hear her cry out, "Gather around children! I, Lakia, great-grand-daughter of the Great Queen Iso, will tell you a great tale! Gather around, and I will tell you the tale of a Great Leader and a Great Sea Monster!" Lakia held a fish in her hands. She was the most dramatic of all the storytellers.

The End.

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Author's Note: Thank you, everyone, for reading my story. It was a pleasure to write. I hope you enjoyed it to the very end! - HappyPlayer