Chapter 1

Dear Mrs. Wei,

We of Dusktok Publishers are politely urging you to answer our calls about your novel and the potential sequence. As you know your book has been a bestseller ever since in entered the bookstores and dozens of fans have begged us and you, through your own website, to write a sequel or even make a complete series of your first novel.

So, hereby we want to urge you to contact us!

Yours sincerely,

Dusktok Publishers

With a deep sight an old woman hits the ESC button on her new computer and is relieved when the e-mail disappears and she is alone again. 'Why can't they all just leave alone and let me be?', she mutters angrily against her fat black cat, but the only thing the animal does is yawning, stretching, turning around in a circle and lie down again. 'Precisely Satis, I wish I was a cat and I could sleep all day without people looking funny at me.' Slowly Mrs. Wei gets to her feet and struggles to get to her window. It is difficult to accept, but it seems that old age has finally caught up with her. Lost in thoughts she stares out of the window of her small and humble house, on a hill overlooking the forest at one side and the great, famous Wei Racetrack on the other side. 'I can't believe it already has been 60 years since I went on a great adventure and meeting all kinds of good friends. Too bad I have never seen them ever again', the woman whispers sadly to nobody in particular.

After coming back from Oban Eva Wei waited days, months and even years for her best friend to show up on her doorstep and take her to see his kingdom, but he never came. It was only after she had grown old, got children of her own and married with an 'acceptable' partner, that is finally occurred to her that her prince, by then probably king, would never come for her. But even now, she refused to believe that he left her behind alone and never even thought about her. Excuses keep making their way into her mind to give her a reason to forgive her best friend, because he still was. During the last 60 years she wrote him letters, but never did she found the courage to send them to Nourasia, so she kept them in an old shoebox and waited, waited patiently until the day that he would remember her and he makes his way to Earth.

Eva is pulled back to reality when to small arms wraps around her waist and a high voice says: 'Hey grandma! Is everything alright? You look so sad?' With a smile on her lips the old woman turns her attention to a young boy hanging onto her waist. 'Of course everything is alright my dear boy. Now, where are your mother and aunt?', she manage to say without a trembling voice. The boy points towards the kitchen and that moment more footsteps can be heard and two young girls are running onto the living room. 'Grandma! Grandma! May we watch the great race tomorrow from the sky box?', the girls attack their grandmother and the only thing saving Eva's life is a stern voice: 'Leave your dear grandmother alone, girls. Get her some room to breathe!', it's the voice of one of Mrs. Wei daughters. Lizzy is standing in the doorway and is grinning broadly at her mother. 'I'm sorry mum, but I've promised the children to go and watch the great race, since the fact that our brother is racing. I hope you don't mind it.' Eva is just about the answer her daughter when another voice is interrupting her.

'Naturally our sweet mother doesn't mind it!', another young woman steps inside the living room and any other person should have stared, blinked and got totally confused, but not Eva. She can keep her daughters apart from each other perfectly, even though they look exactly the same. 'When our brother is racing even mum is coming to see it, right mum?', her second daughter, Maisa is laughing. 'It is going to be a spectacular race tomorrow!' This draws Eva's attention and curious she looks at Maisa. 'And why is that Mai?', she asks. Her daughters and children sit down on the couches and it takes a while for her child to answer. 'Well...', she starts nervously. 'This race is between the four winners of the lasts races. So they well fight for the third, second and first place...' She is interrupted by Eva is is getting agitated. 'I know how the races work, my dear. I have raced the better part of my life. Just tell me what it is that is bothering you!' After a deep sight and a few moments silence it is Lizzy who continues. 'One of the four last racers is from the newest planet in the federation.... Nourasia.'