Everything started after my dad bought this new house and my stepmom took me and my stepsister to the county fair so we could “bond”…
Amy, my stepsister, wanted to play the dunk tank game. Correction, she wanted to GET DUNKED… and so she did. I knew it was a horrible idea right off the bat. Amy is scared to death of everything and super annoying about anything, so it just made sense that she would want to get all set up on the dunk tank, make a huge deal about it, and then cry like baby the second her skin comes in contact with the water. SMH. When her mom got her all dried off, Amy mumbled something about seeing a girl with long hair in the dunk tank with her and the water being red… but we both assured her she was the only one little girl’s name in there - flailing about - in the completely clear water. So the coddling began (as if it ever ended?). And I decided I’d “bond” with some nachos - or literally anything but her.
I took off from them, they didn’t even notice. The midway was full of people and the scent of cotton candy and funnel cakes filled the warm summer night. I noticed a charging station for my phone, I was at ten percent. Then I thought again - if my phone is dead, they can’t find me… so I kept strolling and found the nacho stand. They were awful, so I chucked em and kept looking. I was starving to the point where I had a headache. I lowered my gaze from the flashing carnival rides and noticed the lady walking in front of me was wearing a full on dress in 80 degree weather. I looked closer and saw the dress appeared as if it were from the 1900s. Then I looked up saw then entire fair was now set in that era. Kitschy, but I guess I get it. It’s a fair. They must have some kinda “back in time” theme for this section… right? Wrong. When I got back to look where I’d left Amy and her mom, they were no where to be seen. Neither was the dunk tank - or the charging station… I could feel the panic attack coming… there wasn’t one modern aspect in the entire fair anymore. The signage was all paint, there knickers and long dresses instead of shorts and skirts… then the anxiety hit and everything began to slow down. The carnival music shifted to a bent harmony. Even my heartbeat was further apart. This was no normal panic attack, I could tell it was much more…
When I was finally able to lift my head, my focus locked onto a single family; two parents, a boy and a girl. They were in the middle of the midway, facing me. The girl lifted her arm motioned for me to join them in slow sweeping movement.
I swore I was dreaming, but I when I tried opening my eyes (which is what usually does the trick for me…), my eyelids merely stretched to their limit and nothing about my view changed. So I ran, all the way home. And when I got there, I saw flashes of blue and red lights against the house…