There are even some dishes that look like they're made from the very void itself, glowing with a soft, ethereal light. I'm hesitant to try them at first, but Mr. Dreamer encourages me to do so. "It's part of our culture here," he explains, "to share and experience everything that the void has to offer." So I gather up my courage and taste the glowing food, and it's unlike anything I've ever had before; it tastes like home. A nostalgic feeling.
As the party begins to wind down, people start to go their separate ways. Some head back to their houses, while others stay and help clean up. I offer to help, but Mr. Dreamer insists that I should go to my room and get to bed early because we are leaving early tomorrow morning. I go inside and make my way up to my room and the instant I open my door I'm in a baby blue nightgown and can taste minty toothpaste in my mouth.
I turn to leave my room and find myself lying down in bed under the covers. I lie there confused for a couple of seconds before deciding to ignore the strange changes and just go with it and close my eyes. I open my eyes again to find myself in the back seat of the 1957 metallic blue Chevrolet car that belongs to Mr. and Mrs. Dreamer. Mrs. Dreamer is driving and 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA is playing on the car's radio. I turn to look out the window and see that we're driving through what looks like a field of sunflowers in full bloom on either side of the car.
I then turn back to look forward and see that Mr. Dreamer is looking over at me. "Ah, Miss Dreamer, we're going to the carnival and then we'll watch the fireworks later when the stars come out! Won't this be fun!" he says to me. "Uh, sure, I guess," I reply and he nods and turns back around and looks over at Mrs. Dreamer. Before long we reach the carnival. There are tons of people walking around and Mr. Dreamer turns off the radio, Mrs. Dreamer parks the car and turns it off, and we get out. I can smell all sorts of weird food and hear all kinds of music and voices talking excitedly.
Mr. and Mrs. Dreamer both grab a hold of my hands and drag me away from the car and towards what looks like a ticket booth. Mrs. Dreamer buys three tickets, we all get wristbands, a stamp on the back of our wrists, and then we're in the crowd of people. The first ride that we go on is the Carousel. I chose to ride a blue horse, Mr. Dreamer chose a pink horse, and Mrs. Dreamer chose a yellow horse. The Carousel starts after a few seconds of us getting on, and soon we're all racing down a race track.
I'm frantically trying to stay on the blue horse as it runs around sharp corners, and leaps over high, sharp obstacles. My heart races and there is a dull ache in my hands from hanging onto the reins so tightly. After a couple minutes though my horse runs through a ribbon and the horse comes to a stop. I slump against the neck of the horse and someone offers me a hand to help me get off of the horse. I look at the person and realize that it is Mr. Dreamer.
He reaches up with his other hand and grabs me under my arms and lifts me up and off of the horse. Someone comes up to us, takes my picture, and hands me a trophy with the words 'First Place' on it in bold lettering, and a big bright blue bow ribbon with a picture of the horse that I rode, running through the ribbon with me on its back. I smile and look back at the horse only to realize that it is gone. I turn back around looking up at Mr. Dreamer and before I can question the disappearance of the horse he has started dragging me away from the Carousel. The next ride that we go on is the Ferris Wheel.
I look up at the Ferris Wheel and gawk at how big it is feeling my mouth hang open slightly at the sheer size of it. I run up to the line with a big grin on my face with Mr. Dreamer keeping up with me and Mrs. Dreamer catching up to us. "You want to go on the Ferris Wheel, Miss Dreamer?" she asks me and I nod my head yes. After waiting in line for a bit we get onto the Faris wheel and I look over the sides and marvel at how huge the carnival grounds are. I can see everything from how high up we are and I look over at Mrs. and Mr. Dreamer who both look over at me and I smile and wave over at them.
I relax in my seat as I look at everything. The Ferris Wheel goes around ten times before we get off and head over to the Tilt-a-Whirl. We all enter the same Tilt-a-Whirl and it starts spinning faster with each turn it takes making the world outside of it a whirl of colors and sounds. The minute I get out I'm dizzy and would have fallen over if Mrs. Dreamer hadn't grabbed me and helped me get my balance back. We walk over to the next ride and see that it is the Log Plume. We get on the ride and I'm sitting in front of Mrs. Dreamer with Mr. Dreamer right behind her.
The ride up is a terrifyingly steep incline. The way up is also a long and slow suspenseful wait to the top. I grip the sides of the log the entire time and close my eyes as we teeter on the edge before plunging at a frighteningly fast rate going around bends causing the log to teeter and bounce as it goes down in spirals. I let out screams of horror as we descend faster and faster. By the end of the ride, I'm drenched in cool water from head to toe and my throat is hoarse from the screaming.
As I am getting out of the log I can hear Mr. and Mrs. Dreamer laugh behind me as they wait to get out of the log. As soon as we are all out of the log ride, we head over to a food stand selling cotton candy in various colors and flavors, candies of many different varieties, and bubbly drinks. I chose a blue bubble drink and a candy that looks like rose petals. The blue bubble drink comes in a blue glass bottle with a cork lid and tastes like blue raspberry and mango, and the candy petals taste like strawberries and cherries. I turn and smile at Mr. and Mrs. Dreamer only to jump from a loud bang as a firework goes off in the sky.
I stare up at the next set of fireworks that go off with spectacular color displays and gape at the wild colors. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, letting the scent of the fireworks mix with the smell of popcorn and hot dogs that fill the air. I open my eyes and see even more fireworks exploding above me, painting the sky in a kaleidoscope of colors. It's like someone took a piece of canvas and splattered it with every color imaginable, and then set it ablaze. I turn to Mr. and Mrs. Dreamer, wanting to share this moment with them, but they seem lost in their thoughts.
They're looking at each other, their faces merely inches apart. They don't notice me watching them until I clear my throat. They whip their heads towards me with a speed that would break any other person's neck which startles me making me nearly drop my candies and blue bubbly drink. "Sorry, sweetie," Mrs. Dreamer says, "we were just remembering when we first met." I smile, wanting to hear more, but they seem to be done with that topic.
We continue to watch the fireworks for a while longer, and then Mr. Dreamer excuses himself to go to the bathroom. He leaves me with Mrs. Dreamer. She takes my hand in hers and looks at me. "You know, Miss Dreamer," she starts, "your father and I have been so happy to have you here with us tonight. You're such a special girl, and we want you to know we're here for you, no matter what."
I feel a lump forming in my throat as I try to tug my hand out of hers. She squeezes my hand gently. "We've been through a lot ourselves, you know, we went through a lot to get you here to our void. And now that you are home. You are going to love it here!"
(1509 Words)
YOU ARE READING
The Void by Vincess Alcat
FantasíaSucked into the void, Laryetta, must learn the ways to survive in it or become prey to the dark corners of a void that will consume her entirely.
