"ម៉ាលី!" (Maly!)
He revved the engine. The sound wasn't a normal roar. It sounded like a chorus of monks chanting and a pinpeat orchestra hitting a power chord.
"បងសុខា... ហ៊ានទេ?" (Big brother Sokha... are you brave?)
Sokha coughed, spitting dust. He wanted to give up. His father had lost this same race ten years ago. Now he understood why.
"មើលមកនេះ! យើងនឹងប្រើទឹកចិត្តខ្មែរ!" (Look here! We will use the Khmer Spirit!)
The crowd gasped. Mengly stepped back.
His sister sat up in bed. She wasn't crying. She was laughing.
Mengly fired homing missiles (shaped like angry Naga serpents). Sokha didn't dodge. He punched the air.
He saw his little sister, , in a hospital bed. She was smiling weakly, holding a cheap plastic amulet of a tiger.
Sokha pointed forward.
"ដំណើរផ្សងព្រេងរបស់សុខាមិនទាន់ចប់ទេ។ សត្រូវថ្មីកំពុងតែមកដល់... ពីខេត្តសៀមរាប។" (Sokha's adventure is not over yet. A new enemy is arriving... from Siem Reap province.)
"បាទ។ អូនឈ្នះហើយ។ យើងទៅផ្ទះញ៉ាំបបរដូងទាំងអស់គ្នា។" (Yes. You won. We're going home to eat coconut porridge together.)
"បច្ច័យ៤!" (The Four Shields!)