"If you want to win a race, you must stay focused at all times during the race. If you want to end a race victorious, you must run faster than everyone you have ever met in your life."
Christabel Bloom raised her head upwards as she looked at the distance she had to cover within a few seconds. It was a hundred metres. She had ran it more than three times during practice. And she had improved each time with a slight decrease in time. She could feel her legs ready to jump at any slight hint of sound from a whistle. She tried to stay calm. She stayed calm until she heard the whistle to run.
*
Yesterday, Christabel Bloom sat outside a cafeteria, staring at the night sky and the stars that surrounded it as she thought of how the race she was going to have the next day was going to end. She imagined starting with a quick pace and ending in the same quick pace as she had done several times before. Smooth and fast with the wind doing its work.
"How have you been?"
Christabel turned as she saw her friend, Samantha moving closer to her with her cheeks a bit elevated.
"Didn't you hear what I asked?" Samantha pressed.
"I did!" Christabel confirmed. "I am just feeling kind of tired today. Everything is happening so fast. If I lose the race tomorrow, I don't know how my career is going to be. You know how much I want this. You know how hard I have worked for this, Samantha. It is never easy to comprehend the work of a human completely unless success is achieved."
"I know what you mean," Samantha tried to show concern. "I have watched you every day. I see how hard you are working for this, and I know you will get it eventually. You just have to stay focused and determined. The race is a hundred metres. You start with as much energy as you can, and you end with as much energy as you can. Being a sprinter is far different from being a marathoner. Unlike marathon, sprints are not about endurance and patience. Sprints are all about speed. You have to show everyone around you that you have what it takes to run as fast as you can, create your own colony and pass whoever you want to pass in the race till you claim dominion."
"I must claim dominion tomorrow. That is true," Christabel said. "I know I have to be strong even though I find it hard to believe I would be fighting for a place in the state championship tomorrow. Like I said earlier, I have worked so hard to give up. I deserve to be among the very best. I know I have what it takes to be among the very best. I just have to prove it on the track tomorrow. I have to prove to myself and to everyone that I am a winner, and it frightens me the more I think about it. What if I fail, Samantha? What if I can't meet up to the task? What if I can't prove myself?"
"You can!" Samantha said, touching her gently on the shoulders. "You know you can prove to them that you are a star. You have the talent within you. You have the desire burning inside you. You have trained for this several times, and you know what you have to do at every point in time. Don't let yourself be troubled by the weakness of your own spirit. You have to stay strong, Christabel. You have to fight for your place in the state championship tomorrow, and I believe you can do it."
Christabel stood up with a new joy in her face. "I can do it," she said aloud. "I can fight for my place in the state championship tomorrow and win it. I can show everyone watching who Christabel Bloom is. I am going to prove to them that I am fast like a Pam, and I am precise. Yes! Precise! I can do it, Samantha. I am a born sprinter."
"Of course, you can do it, Christabel," Samantha smiled. "There is no one who is better than you in finishing a grand race. We have gone through this several times. You know you are faster than you make yourself to believe."
"Yes! I am faster!" Christabel smiled too. "I am faster than I make myself to believe."
"Of course, you are," Samantha was now looking at her awkwardly as she raised her hand to punch the empty air.
"When I run tomorrow, I will run with everything I have inside of me. When I run tomorrow, I will run as fast as a cheetah. I will run like I have never ran before, Samantha. In the end, I will surely be declared the winner!"
*
Today, Christabel Bloom's mind and spirit were both focused on what laid ahead — the finish line. She turned to catch a last glimpse of her competitors. They were seven girls around her age who were all wishing the same thing that she wanted. To win the race and book a place in the state championship. She took a deep breath as she heard the whistle.
Quickly, she took charge of the race. Her body responded by pushing her legs as fast as she could. Two seconds in the race and she was behind two girls, panting and pushing harder and faster. Three more seconds and she had passed one of the girls with only one remaining who was a few centimeters away from her. She swung her arms as fast as she could. She swung her feet as fast as she had been taught. Kicking through the air as if she was playing soccer with a soft airless ball.
Ten seconds into the race and she was in front, smiling as she saw the finish line getting closer to her the further she pushed. She kept on smiling as she could hear the gasp of excitement rushing all over her body.
Then, like an unexpected invitation to dinner, she crashed on the track and fell down on both knees.