Carnival of the Mind

The Carnival

Jonny looked around at the sight before him. There were people who were dressed in vibrant, and bold colors. There were a lot of tall, and weird looking people as if they were alien. He closed his eyes and smelled in an aromatic fragrance. It smelled so much like food, and then he opened his eyes again when he heard a loud honk. He glanced behind his shoulder and felt the need to blink when he saw what was quite clearly a monkey driving a car. Jonny realized he was still standing in the parking lot and in the monkey's way. He stepped aside a few strides and out of the way, and looked in awe as the monkey drove pass. As it did drive by, he could hear a jungle beat rhythm coming from the car. Jonny looked in his hand and was shocked to find a strange form of currency that he had never seen before. Even after he and his grandpa had spent so much time collecting different kinds of currency, this was certainly something new that he had never seen before. Jonny looked around again and also noticed that he was all by himself. His parents were not there, nor was his older sister, nor were any of his teachers or friends.

Jonny wasn't sure what to make of that, but he looked down at his hand once again. The wad of strange currency was still grasped within his fingers. He was able to make out words on it, that looked like it was written in his language. The paper bill had the words 'one fidem'. He wasn't sure what it was, but he hoped it would get him something at the place ahead. The carnival looked like it would be better than any place he had ever been to before. All the strange people were hastily making their way to the carnival's entrance. Jonny wasn't sure if he should go there, but when he got another big whiff of the delicious smells, he nodded his head and made his way over to the entrance. He was fifth in line and he looked around as he waited for it to be his turn. Finally, it was his turn.

"Oh ho yo! What do we have here?" The Gate Keeper said with a wide, and slightly creepy grin. "How old are you?"

"Oh, uh, I'm twelve, sir," Jonny said quite shy.

"Ah, just old enough to enter, without any parents, and such. Oh yo!" The Gate Keeper said in his creepy whispery voice. "Well, that will be ten fidems."

Jonny brought up his hand, and the Gate Keeper took the currency and began to count it out. Ever so often he would look up at Jonny and smirk.

"Well then, that was the exact amount needed. Here's your ticket to get in. Enjoy yourself in there. Ho yo!"

Jonny reached out for his ticket and walked past the gate and was now inside the strange carnival area. He walked in a few steps and then stopped to look around at everything. There were a few concession stands at the entrance, but none of them sold the delicious food he could smell. Instead, they were items you could buy that you might need. There was a map of the park, but that looked to be free. You could also buy souvenirs from certain areas. He continued walking past the entrance area, and almost absent-mindedly grabbed a map as he went into the huge Carnival. There were many different tents, paths, and side alleys that he could walk to or down. But he had been quite hungry as he was sent to bed without dinner today. Jonny wasn't sure where or how that strange thought entered his mind and looked up to the sky. He noticed that it was during the day, but the sun was hidden behind a few clouds. It wasn't too hot out, though, there was a nice breeze almost constantly blowing.

He headed towards the smell of the food, and by following the map, he knew he was going in the correct direction. He was deciding if he should stay on the main path, or go through an alley to quickly get there. He felt his stomach growl and he nodded his head in affirmation. Jonny soon found the side alley that he could walk down and went there. It was immediately dark in the alley, as the sun could not get through, as the two building next to each other blocked any sunlight. It was still daytime, so he could see, but it was actually a bit difficult. He was a little worried as to how these alleys would look at night, and he shuddered. Just as he did so, he heard a voice.