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Loysa's Carabao

A young girls dream

By Jack KregasPublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 23 min read
2
Loysa's Carabao
Photo by Alex Azabache on Unsplash

Loysa heard Yumi bleating. It woke her. She sat up on her bed. It was dark. Across the small room, her brother Felix was also awake. They could hear their mother moving about the kitchen, which was also the main room of their home.

“What do you think it will be?” Loysa asked.

“It will not make any difference. Father will sell it no matter. He never keeps a calf very long. He will sell it for meat or to a milk farm. Go back to sleep, we will see what it is in the morning,” answered Felix.

Loysa lay back down in her bamboo cot. Felix was right. There was no reason to become excited by a new arrival. A water buffalo was a beast of burden. It did the work that allowed them to live from selling the rice they planted. Yumi did the hard work pulling the plow and had one calf a year. The family depended on her. Loysa slipped off to sleep thinking how it would be to have a second animal for more than a year or so.

In the morning, the children rushed to the makeshift stable to see the newborn. They laughed at what they saw. The new arrival was skinnier than usual and had long legs. He appeared more like a horse or something else and not like a baby carabao.

“What will we call him?” Loysa asked her father.

Leon Torres was not a humorous man. He was a hard worker spending the daylight hours toiling in the paddies tending to the rice. This newborn carabao worried him. Unless he changed as he grew, he would be hard to sell. Leon counted on that income to support his family.

“Payat,” he replied to Loysa, “Payat because he is so skinny.”

“That’s a good name for him,” Felix said, “because Payat means skinny. He could also be called ugly.”

“I like him. He will run fast with those legs. Maybe he will be a racing carabao and we will be famous.”

Both her father and brother laughed at this idea.

The family Torres live in a farming community about 160 kilometers north of Manila. The Torres family had been on the land for three generations. They knew nothing else except being rice farmers. It provided for their existence. Leon had taken over from his father when he unexpectedly died. He considered himself a good farmer who took care of his family. Life was hard but there was always enough to eat. Sometimes when there was an especially good crop, they would even take a few days off and go to a nearby lake. They had a TV but few other luxuries. The children went to school in the village and both were responsible for particular tasks at home. Success depended on the effort of the whole family.

Maria married Leon when she was seventeen. She knew she had made a good choice in Leon as he worked hard and was good to her. In return, she looked after the house, was an excellent cook and loved her children. Maria was a happy woman who often sang as she went about her daily work.

Felix was twelve and worked with his father. It was work and study, as he learned the secrets of being a successful rice farmer. Felix was the next generation in training.

Loysa helped her mother and learned to cook. She was also in charge of feeding the animals. There were chickens, a pig, and a dog who had turned up one day and never left. When there was a new arrival like Payat, Loysa took on the responsibility of making sure there was clean hay in the stable. In the past Loysa had never paid any special attention to a new calf. This one, Payat, was different. The more she was near him; the more he seemed to accept her. Yumi, who was normally very protective, trusted Loysa around her calf and allowed Loysa to come close. All three of them were content.

As the months passed, Payat grew. His body filled out but his legs were still out of proportion to the rest of his body. Everyone thought he was funny looking with many ridiculing him when they saw him. Leon was known as the farmer with the ugly carabao. Loysa, on the other hand, found him to be beautiful. She spent all of her spare time with him. Payat would run to Loysa when he saw her coming towards him. They ran together in the dry field while Yumi pulled the plow nearby. Payat was the first carabao that had been considered a pet by any member of the family. Both Maria and Leon were concerned about this. They decided to speak to Loysa.

The dinner dishes were put away. Felix was reading while Loysa sat between her mother and father.

Maria started the conversation. “We think that you are spending too much time with Payat. You know he is not a pet. He is carabao, even if he is a bit strange looking. It won’t be long before your father sells him. We don’t want you to be hurt.”

“No. No. No! Payat is different. Payat is going to be famous. He will make us a lot of money. Payat is going to be a racing carabao and a champion. I am going to train him.”

“Loysa. That is a silly idea. How did you think of that? Carabao are for work. We are poor farmers who have no time to waste on such playful dreams. Your mother is right. We will sell him when he is older. That is what we always do.” Leon spoke softly but sternly to his daughter.

“You don’t understand. I speak to Payat. He speaks to me. He told me he can run fast.”

Felix dropped his book and stood beside his father with a grin on his face. “Not only is he ugly, we now have a carabao who can talk. Loysa is right we will be famous with the first talking carabao.” Felix laughed with his parents trying hard not to.

Tears were now running down Loysa’s face. She sobbed. “You make fun of me. I know what he told me. He is a racer. You will see.” Loysa jumped up and ran to her bed.

Maria got up to go after her but Leon took her arm. “Let her go. We can say nothing she will listen to tonight. Maybe it’s better we wait a while and perhaps she will forget such a crazy idea. She is only ten.”

“You’re right as usual,” said Maria.

“I think my sister is the crazy one,” said Felix.

Loysa lay on her bed. She had heard what her parents and brother had said. She was not crazy. She was ten years old but she was smart. She knew that Payat was a racer and she would prove it. She needed help, as her parents were not taking her seriously. She tossed and turned in her bed long after the house was quiet and everyone else was asleep. When she finally slept, she smiled because she had a plan.

Saturday was market day, the day the farmers in the region gathered to buy supplies or trade what they had in surplus for what they needed. The Torres family had a tricycle, a motorcycle with a roofed sidecar bolted to it, which could carry the family or, on market days, bags of rice for Leon to sell. Leon drove the motorcycle with Maria in the sidecar and the two children standing on the back of the sidecar. Five bags of rice rested in the area behind Maria.

Both Felix and Loysa loved market day. While their parents purchased what they needed and talked with their neighbors, the children were free to be on their own or with friends. It was a holiday for them. They each had a few pesos they had earned and could buy whatever they wanted. Leon parked the tricycle. Maria told the children to be back there in two hours so she could check on them. They gave her a kiss and ran off.

Felix went to find his school friends. Loysa had a more serious task. She had heard her parents talk of a man they called Loko, crazy in Filipino. He was always at the markets telling outrageous stories, gambling or drinking. Loysa walked down a lane of vendors looking for Loko. She spotted him by a tree talking to two men. Hanging back, she waited until he was alone before she approached him. The men laughed at or maybe with Loko and walked away. Loysa went to him as he settled himself under the tree. He glanced up at her.

“What can I do for you little lady,” he said in a friendly voice.

His voice calmed Loysa. “I want to talk to you. I have heard people talking, saying that you know things. I want to see if you can help me.”

“And what kind of help might that be?”

“Do you know about racing carabao? How to train them for racing?”

“I might, but what is in it for me and why does someone your age want to know that? Did someone send you to tease me?”

“No one sent me. I have a special carabao. He has long, long legs and looks funny. He told me he wants to race. I need help to train him.”

Loko shook his head. He was accustomed to people fooling him and playing games on him. This young girl was serious. He could tell. He decided to play along with her. “Information costs money. Do you have money?”

Loysa held out the two pesos her father had given her. Loko did not take the money. Instead he said, “Sit here beside me and tell me about this talking carabao. Why do you think he can race?”

Time flew by. Loysa was excited talking to Loko. He listened to her. There was no saying she was crazy. He asked her questions and told her that long ago when he was young his uncle had a racing carabao. He knew something about it because he had watched his uncle train the beast and went with him to the races.

“What are you doing here with him?” Leon demanded. “Get up now. You are in trouble. We have been looking everywhere for you!”

Maria reached down and took her hand, pulling her to her feet. “You stay away from my daughter,” she hissed at Loko.

Loysa was marched away with a parent on either side of her. Both were asking why she was talking to that man and what he had said to her. Loko was known to drink, be a bit weird and be a pest but he was not dangerous nor was he any kind of threat. Still, he was not the sort you allowed your ten-year-old daughter to hang out with. Loysa would have to be punished.

Nobody spoke to Loysa on the trip home. Once their supplies were put away, Leon and Maria took Loysa away from the house and from where Felix could hear, to ask her exactly why she was sitting and talking with Loko.

Loysa told them he was nice and listened to her. Loko had trained a racing carabao or at least had been around one who had raced. He believed her and said he would help her with Payat. She explained to her parents that she had done nothing wrong.

Maria and Leon were quiet. This was all new to them. They were not sure how to handle the situation. A ten-year-old should not be talking to a strange and maybe not-normal old man. Training Payat to race was completely out of the realm of their understanding. While Loysa had not misbehaved, she had been told more than once, that when she was not with her parents, to beware of anyone she didn’t know.

They had been mistaken. This racing idea did not seem to be going away. They had to end it at once and get the household back to normal.

“Loysa you are to help your mother with dinner and then go to your bed and stay there till tomorrow. You are not to talk to that man again. Do you understand?”

Loysa nodded her head and went into the house.

“Maybe we should sell that beast now and that would end the problem,” said Leon.

“We would lose too much money as he is so young. There is no meat on him and no one will want him. We have to wait until we can sell him for more and lose less. I will talk to Loysa. It will be alright.”

A few days later when the children were in school, Leon walked out of his house and saw a man standing by the road looking into his field. He couldn’t see who it was or what he was looking at. As Leon went closer, he recognized it was Loko. He hurried up to him and bluntly demanded, “what are you doing here?”

“I came to see that beast you have. The one with the long legs that says he wants to race. Your daughter is right. He has long legs. It is possible that he could be a racer, Leon. I do know your name. Leon did you know that if you have a carabao that can race, you can have a small fortune. A winner can sell for 200,000 pesos. That’s right 200,000. People like us don’t know what that much money means. A good racing carabao can be worth between 50,000 and 70,000, not to mention how much you make when he wins a race or if you hire him out for stud fees.”

Loko and money had Leon’s attention. “How do you know this?”

“People think I am the village idiot and a drunk. I am not. I was once a professional person in Manila. It’s a long story how I became what I am today and not very interesting. I did have an uncle who raced carabao. I went to races with him. He made money. I meant no harm to your daughter. She came to ask me about how to train him. She is quite the lady. My name is Manuel Fero. You can call me Loko.”

“Loko come into my house for a tea and talk to me about this.”

Maria was shocked to see Loko enter her house. She was introduced, asked to make them tea and then join them.

“Loko here tells me Loysa is not so crazy after all. Her idea of a racing carabao is possible. He came to look at the animal. He has experience in this sort of thing.”

“Experience is too strong a word but I have some knowledge. Your daughter has recognized a use for his long legs. Maybe he could be a racer?”

“You said these racing animals can be expensive and make money for the owners. We are poor farmers who know nothing of this. If Payat, that’s his name, could run fast, what can I do? I have no money for such things.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, we have to see if he can run fast. After that, decide what kind of race. One by riding on him or the other by him pulling a cart. I will come back tomorrow after school is out and Loysa is here. I want to see how he reacts to her and to me. I will do this if it is alright with both of you.”

Leon and Maria looked at each other. “Yes come tomorrow.”

Payat was hesitant in coming too close to Loko. He stayed near Loysa as they walked through the field. At times Loysa would run and Payat would run after her. Then they would do it again. Payat saw it as a game. He would run ahead of Loysa with her chasing him. After a few days, Payat was accustomed to Loko being there and paid no attention to him. Payat cared only for Loysa.

Loysa ran in the field with Payat as Loko and Leon watched from the fence. “What do you think?” Leon asked.

“He is ugly but he is fast. He will do whatever she says. I think we should hook him to a cart and have her drive him. We can bring him to the track behind the markets. It is not really a racetrack but we can see how he likes the cart and if he will run.”

“I have no money for a cart. This whole idea is taking up my time and I do not see this as making money, only costing money. Isn’t it dangerous for Loysa to drive him in a race?”

“Danger is everywhere. You know that. There is risk. Why don’t we think about that later when we see if I can build a cart and how he reacts to it.”

“Okay Loko. This is my question. What’s in it for you? Why are you doing this?”

“It is better than sitting under a tree at the markets. Also, there is pleasure helping a child achieve her dreams. If we make any money, and I say if, I want twenty percent. That’s the deal Leon.”

Leon stared at Loko with his serious farmer’s face. “You supply the cart and train the beast, and most importantly look out for my daughter. You also keep me informed. You have been honest with me, so I am with you. If this does not work, we sell the carabao as usual and you make sure Loysa understands that. I do not want her hurt if this hair-brained idea doesn’t work in the end. Deal?” Leon held out his hand. Loko shook it.

Loysa was excited to have her family willing to let her try to train Payat to be a racing carabao. She liked Loko and listened to all he told her. Payat had now grown. It was true. He could run fast and seemed to enjoy it. When they hitched him to a wooden work cart, he was less than happy. He would kick his long legs but not pull the cart. After many attempts with Loysa leading him, he finally decided to walk with her.

Every day for more than a week, he was hitched up and told to pull the cart. Loysa got into the cart and drove him. He turned his big head to look at her then moved slowly forward. She encouraged him to go faster but he would not change his pace. She was beginning to understand how stubborn carabao could be. Loko had no answer for his behavior but told Loysa not to worry as he had a plan. Leon was now thinking this was all a waste of time and felt it would not be long before Payat’s racing plans were over.

One afternoon Loko arrived with a strange looking cart. It had bicycle wheels and a light metal frame. There was a seat for the driver and that was all. Loko had built it out of parts he had been given and a few he had purchased. The design was simple. He liked it but was not sure if Payat would.

Payat stood still as Loko hitched him to the cart. Loysa stood beside him telling him how much he would like it, that it was lighter and easier to pull. Loko advised that she walk with him pulling it but Loysa disagreed. She got into the seat and took the reins.

“Go Payat. Go.”

Payat leapt forward, rocking Loysa back in her seat. She held on to the reins and pulled herself back upright as Payat started to run. Loysa yelled in excitement. Leon looked up from the adjoining field where he was working. Maria ran from the house. Payat was running full speed, faster than anyone had seen him move. Loysa held the reins bouncing in the seat. Loko chased after them.

At the end of the field, Payat was smart enough to stop. Pushing his feet against the ground the cart stopped abruptly, throwing Loysa from the cart and onto Payat’s back. Leon and Maria ran to her. Loko was there first.

“How fast is Payat? Is he a racing carabao or not?” Loysa said excitedly as she wiped the blood from her lip.

“Are you okay?” Leon asked.

“You’re bleeding,” said Maria, very concerned.

“I must make a few adjustments to the seat,” said Loko.

They walked together leading Payat back to the stable. Loysa enthusiastically talked non-stop, paying no attention to her swelling lip. Maria was pointing out how dangerous racing could be.

Leon questioned Loko. “Is he fast enough?”

Loko put his arm around Loysa and said, “You were right, that Payat is a racing carabao.”

Loko worked on perfecting the racing cart. He installed straps for Loysa’s feet to stop her being thrown out of the seat so easily. He also put up a canvas sheet so if she fell forward, she would fall into the sheet and not onto Payat or the ground.

Payat was trained to run when commanded and stop when Loysa pulled hard on the reins. As Loysa became a better driver, Payat ran faster.

Leon was still not sure if all this was a waste of time or not. Maria was fearful for her daughter but a very proud mother. Not many ten-year-olds were driving a racing carabao.

Three months later the big day was upon them. It was the region’s annual carabao race day. A two-day event that featured races for the professionals as well as amateurs. Loysa and Payat were entered into the amateur division. They had traveled the forty kilometers from their home to the race. Loko had borrowed a truck to transport Payat and to provide a place for them to sleep under overnight.

Many friends of the family had made the journey to see the local girl race her carabao. Some were skeptical. They had been joking for weeks about how Leon was now racing a carabao with the town fool and putting his daughter in danger. Others went because they were curious. Few from their village had ever been to an event like this or seen one of their own in a race.

The event had a carnival atmosphere. Over a thousand farmers and race fans had gathered to eat, drink and bet on the races. The dirt track was five-hundred meters long. Professionals raced for money. Amateurs for prizes. With some luck, money could be made by betting on the races. Leon had set aside a few pesos to make a bet. In the days before the race, Loko had made many bets at higher odds than the villagers who still thought him to be a fool.

Loko explained to Loysa to let Payat run. “Yell at him at the start and then let him go. He will be fast enough. Drive like you did in the farmyard. Payat will do the rest.” Loko was far more nervous than Loysa.

“Your daughter has ice-water for blood,” Loko told Leon and Maria. “She will be fine. Don’t worry. Leon, remember if she does well today, then tomorrow men will come and want to buy Payat. We will not sell. He is young and will get stronger and faster. This is only a test for him and us.”

Loysa was in race four. There were eight other carabao in the race. All were bigger but none had longer legs. Loko lead Payat to the start line. Loysa was in the seat. Payat stood still.

Loko went near to Loysa and whispered in her ear. “Like you told me under the tree, Payat had spoken to you saying he was a racing carabao. Now is the time to tell him to prove it.”

Loko stepped away from the cart. Loysa smiled at him and spoke to Payat. Payat moved his ears as if he understood. Loysa adjusted her helmet and the glasses that Maria had insisted she wear. Loko went to stand beside her parents. Maria, next to Leon, reached down and took his hand. Felix was yelling for Loysa.

The flagman held the flag above his head. Loysa watched him as Loko had taught her.

The flag dropped.

The race was over.

Maria, Leon, Felix, and Loko ran to Loysa with others running to the drivers of their carabao. Loysa was covered with dust and grime. Payat was bobbing his head and pulling on the reins as if he wanted to race again.

“You did it,” screamed Leon. “You did it.”

“Are you all right?” Maria asked.

Loysa took off her glasses and wiped her face. “I didn’t win,” she cried. “I only came second.”

“Today it was not about winning, it was about racing. For us you won. Payat is fast. Look at him. He wants to run again. You were a fantastic driver,” consoled Loko.

“But I didn’t win. You lost your bets,” sobbed Loysa.

Maria put her arms around her. Leon said, “We won my dear daughter, we all won. We bet you would come second. That was Loko’s advice. We won and Payat is a racing carabao. You were right. This is a great day. You are a hero.”

Felix was asking Loysa what it was like to drive and go so fast. Loko led Payat with Loysa still in the seat and her parents walking beside her. They cleared the track area, which was preparing for the next race.

“We should watch the next races,” said Loko, “because all the ones coming first and second will be racing tomorrow. We have to see how fast they are. You will race against them. You will be in the finals after your first race. I think the Torres family will have a new champion.”

The first race day came to an end with the Torres family and Loko camped near their truck finishing their evening meal. Payat was tethered nearby, eating hay. Everyone was still excited, talking about the race and the two men who had asked if the carabao was for sale.

Leon had informed them that Payat was not for sale. He had felt important in saying that. It was the first time in his life he had ever turned down the chance to make money from selling something.

“Tomorrow will be more difficult. The drivers are experienced and the carabao are older, with races behind them. Loysa will let Payat run and keep him running in a straight line. We probably won’t win the race but will have more practice in race conditions. We will be far more prepared for the next time. This is just the beginning,” said Loko.

Maria prepared the sleeping mats under the truck. Leon and Loko spoke quietly together. Loysa walked to see Payat, patted his head and scratched behind his ears. She knew he liked this.

Speaking softly, she said to him, “You did good today. You ran fast. You can run faster and you can get off to a better start.” Payat turned towards her as if listening to every word. “You understand when I yell tomorrow, you run. They don’t think we can win tomorrow. Loko says we don’t have enough experience. You and I don’t care what they say. We don’t listen to them. You told me you were a racing carabao. Tomorrow, you show them.”

Loysa gave him another pat and stared into his big eyes. She walked slowly back to the truck knowing she was the driver of a very fast racing carabao.

This child's book is available on https://jackkregasbooks.com Click here

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About the Creator

Jack Kregas

Jack Kregas was born in the United States. After a stint in the US Army, he was discharged in Europe where he lived for the next forty years.

He now lives in Brisbane as a full time author of 14 novels and poker player.

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