Turbinio

Juniper Berries

''There she is! The promoter's beautiful young wife!'' Your voice enunciated, making a warm gesture of welcome to the young woman approaching your wagon.

The young woman stopped in front of you, still stunned by the strangely calm crowd. The winner of the first stage had been decided, but there didn't seem to be any particular fans.

''It's good to see you, Miss (Y/N)'' The girl's sweet voice sounded even more excited as she crossed her arms. ''I see this race isn't much of an obstacle for you.''

''Ha! For Cadichon, nothing is an obstacle.'' You said smugly while stroking the mule's neck. ''Well, Miss Steel, it's good that you're here. I've been here for an hour and still haven't seen who won the third stage.''

''Are you talking about Hot Pants?"

''Do you know who he is?''

''Oh, yes, I could see everything on the train.'' Damn rich kids, you thought. ''He's currently ranked third in the total score, not a very popular runner, and we don't know his real name. Look, he's in the buffet area.''

Lucy pointed at him, and you followed her finger-pointing. How could you not notice this figure before? Tall, slim, elegant and wearing eye-catching pink clothes. He filled a canteen with water while his beautiful and strong horse rode behind him. You'd have looked at this man for hours if the girl next to you hadn't immediately intervened.

''Miss (Y/N)...'' Lucy said, looking sheepishly at your mule. ''When I saw you coming, I remembered some juniper berries I've seen growing around here, and I thought you'd like to pick some.''

''Juniper berries? I don't think I've ever heard of that plant.''

''Really? We make a very good juice from the berries. Also, my husband said it would be nice to give you a tour of the town. If it's not a bother, I can show you where we can get some.''

''Did your husband send you? What a strange kindness, but I appreciate it.''

You accepted the offer and went near a thicket on the edge of town, near the finish line but away from the crowd. As insurance, you hid a knife in your pocket and carried a basket to pick the berries Lucy had mentioned. Examining rotting logs and bushes full of little bugs, which the girl preferred to stay away from. Lucy Steel was a connoisseur of the herbs typical of this place, with only their culinary uses in mind. For example, you thought it very unlikely that fucus would be an effective herb for making a rival lose the volume of her hips. You also doubted that echinacea would be useful for turning toads into doves. Although many of your esoteric services claimed similar things, you still didn't believe in that stuff.

Despite her suspicious naiveté and the clear evidence that she was sent by her husband to watch over you, Lucy was a pleasant company with youthful vivacity and an optimistic, if innocent, outlook on life. She seemed to know everything there was to know about elite runners and curious spectators. Your explorations were punctuated by long conversations about the careers of some runners, in which she briefly mentioned Johnny Joestar, and by complaints about her husband's stressful job, which amused you.

''They say that Hot Pants isn't an American.'' She said at one point while filling your basket with juniper berries. ''I heard one gentleman say he had European manners, whatever that means.''

''European manners? Well, as far as I know, there's a gold-toothed Italian in this race who doesn't seem to have any 'European manners', whether it refers to chivalry or decorum.''

''Are you talking about Gyro Zeppeli? Have you met him?''

You hesitate for a moment with the question. Then remembered that Gyro and Johnny's relentless pursuit of the corpse had put them in the crosshairs of government terrorists and, as far as you knew, Steel Ball Run was directly promoted by that same government. If you opened up too much to Lucy, there was a danger that she'd tell her husband everything she knew. You couldn't blame her for that; she was just a kid. But you couldn't trust her.

''Zeppeli? No, no! I didn't get to meet them. Most of the runners I've dealt with aren't very popular, with the exception of Sandman and Mountain Tim, of course.''

''Them?''

''Huh?''

''You said you didn't meet them. Gyro and who else?''

You snorted for a moment.

''They... ah... I mean... that boy who's always next to Gyro in the papers, you know? The genius jockey.''

''Oh, Johnny Joestar. Well... I don't know them either, but from what I've seen in the papers, they seem pretty talented.''

''Yeah... pretty talented.''

When you got back to the city, the crowd was in a frenzy. Though slightly apprehensive, Lucy said that the other runners had arrived, thanked you for the walk, and respectfully returned to her husband. You weren't the least bit interested in who would get the second place, but you couldn't deny that you looked forward to checking out some of the runners. You could hear the crowd shouting different names, among which "Jojo'', ''Gyro Zeppeli'' and ''Dio'' were the clearest.

You went to your wagon, leaving it closer to the center of the city and, consequently, next to the buffet. It was impossible to see or hear anything clearly because the crowd was bustling like a swarm of bees. Sometimes you read in the newspapers about brawls and even deaths that occurred during the race resulting from betting. But reading reports of fights, debt collections, and drunken brawls from the comfortable distance of days or weeks was quite different from quietly pounding herbs and picking berries a few meters away from such an occurrence.

Would you have the courage to walk into that confusion, just to see Gyro, Johnny or Diego? You approach the place, take your bag and your mortar and take a look at the finish line. The crowd had swelled as shopkeepers and housewives, lured by the hustle and bustle, ran through the street to check it out. Newcomers crowded in, runners dismounted from their horses, and spectators nervously went over the details.

''That was cheating! He hurt Zeppeli's horse!''

''You're just mad because you lost the bet, there's no proof it was intentional!''

Had Zeppeli's horse been injured? Without knowing exactly why, your heart began to flutter.

''He started sweating buckets! How the hell did he do that?''

''When did the Joe Kid take the lead?!"

Johnny took the lead. Gyro's horse had been injured. Things were getting more and more chaotic. Your hands became sticky with sweat around the stone mortar as you imagined that something serious had happened.

Guiding yourself by the shrill female murmurs, you found the runners. Women were always closer to the runners, while the men were closer to the finish line, waiting for the outcome of their bets.

''What was that turn of events? The order is Johnny Joestar, Diego Brando and then Gyro Zeppeli!'' The caller shouted euphorically. ''There was an incident right before the goal, where Diego Brando stepped on a small stone and hit Gyro's horse! Since there is no evidence that this was intentional, Diego Brando will not be disqualified!''

Following a thin trail of blood, you saw that Gyro's horse had staggered closer to the stables. The runner was kneeling on the ground, weak and emaciated, as if he had aged ten years in less than ten minutes. Johnny approached him, still on his horse, and you hesitated when you saw that a swarm of women surrounded them.

You weren't in a hurry, you were just very curious. But dealing with a crowd of women was their job, not yours.