Carnival

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It has to be fate that the little Bimmie Jackson has fallen in love with carnivals ever since she first visited one at three years. Why fate? But of course because her parents met and fell in love at a carnival. Cliche? Totally, but it works. At only three years, Bimmie went to her first carnival. Her favorite part being the sweet cotton candy and least favorite being the haunted house. She was never very fond of scary things even at an older age. Bimmie has only happy memories at the carnival that her and her family visit every year, making it absolutely her favorite. Her parents then made a promise to her to bring her to that very carnival every year. And every year became better than the last.

The year of Bimmie's seventh birthday had to be the most eventful trip to the carnival. The crowd was much larger that year, making it difficult to easily locate someone if they ever went missing. Well, luck was not on Bimmie's side that year. She ended up getting separated from her parents and was pushed along with the crowd, crying out for them but her cries were drowned out by the countless amount of people. She frantically looked around for her parents, glaring at any stranger who tried to talk to her. When she suddenly heard a whisper from behind her which made her jump with surprise. Spinning around, she saw a small boy who looked to be about her age. A boy with fiery red hair and bright emerald green eyes. Except instead of bright, his eyes seemed distant and faded. Because he was her age, Bimmie wasn't scared of him and instead was friendly. Although smiling, she still had tears gathered in her eyes and stained on her cheeks. 

"Are you lost?" The boy tilted his head to one side, indicating his curiosity. He looked around her, noticing that she was just as alone as he was. He quickly pulled her out of the way by the wrist so that they weren't caught up in the crowd.

"Y-Yeah. I was just with my mama and papa. I lost them." Bimmie quickly used an arm to wipe away her tears, wanting to seem tough in front of the boy who was a tad bit smaller than her. 

"I'll help you find them." He held his hand back out so that she could take it. Without hesitation, she did. 

"My name is Bimmie Jackson. What's your name?" She asked him as he peered around the corner to see if he could find any frantic adults looks for a missing child. 

"Skylar." Was all he said, only a first name. Skylar. Bimmie continuously internally repeated the name given to her, hoping that she'll remember it in the future just in case she ever saw him again. "Is that them? The blonde woman and black haired man?" Skylar pointed forward. Bimmie looked to where he pointed, seeing two adults frantically speaking to some guards. She immediately beamed. 

"That's them! Thank you so much! This must be fate! I'm sure we'll meet again sometime! Bye bye Skylar!" Bimmie waved as she ran towards the direction of her parents, trying not to get caught in the crowd again as she gained towards them. Skylar watched as she was reunited, everyone crying of happiness to see each other again. Although happy for the girl he just met, his eyes remained clouded, as if he was hiding something.

Eleven years old. This would be the first year since she was three that Bimmie would not be going to her favorite carnival. That is because she can't, it is impossible. Well, legally impossible. If she wanted to get in big trouble, she could always go whenever someone wasn't looking but definitely wouldn't have as much fun as she usually did. Her favorite carnival was shut down a couple months after her last visit. They wouldn't reveal the reason to the public, but it was probably something awful because the carnival wasn't ever low on money or anything. Bimmie was incredibly bummed out, cried even. She was going to miss the carnival, sure that no other carnival would be the same. 

Thirteen years old. Now a teenager. Bimmie grew up as a good girl, always following directions and getting good grades, never thinking of doing anything bad. She wanted to stay positive in life, so she rarely watched the news, not wanting to get depressed about anything. She only heard what her parents would talk about, and maybe what she sometimes heard at school. It was that day that she wanted to sit with her parents even when they were watching the news. That's when it came on. Apparently it had been on the news for the past six years, only now had she seen it and recognized the problem. She gasped when the lady talking suddenly stated the name of a missing kid, the gasp concerning her parents. The name of the boy. Skylar Dym. Usually she would just brush it off as just a random kid who sported the same name as the boy she met at the carnival. But no, she was convinced it was the same boy. They showed a picture of the boy, the same boy she saw every year. The boy with the fiery red hair and bright emerald green eyes. Except in the photo, his eyes were actually bright. Even so, they were the same pair of orbs she saw in the same spot every year her and her family went to the carnival. 

Bimmie's parents, now more concerned, asked her the same question at once. "Do you know him?" All Bimmie could do was nod her head as the realization came to her. The kid she saw all those years had been known to be missing ever since the first time she saw him. Was that why his eyes were so clouded? Had he been kidnapped? Was he even real? Was she meeting a dead boy all those years? No, that couldn't be it. Because the boy grew as she grew, he never stayed the same age or the same size. He grew taller each time she saw him. He definitely was alive. And now that the carnival was shut down, was he okay? The questions came and went for what seemed like forever.

Three years later, Bimmie decided to strip herself of the good girl demeanor. She decided to roll up her sleeves and find him. Because deep down, she knew that he was okay, deep down she knew he was still out there. And she was definitely going to find him.