Loneliness

Loneliness can be a very difficult thing to deal with. You can be in a crowd full of people, but feel like you don't exist. Almost as if you are a ghost and afraid to let people near you for fear that they will walk right through you and prove that you really are nonexistent. It sounds ridiculous, but that is exactly how Matthew McNaughton feels at this exact time. Matthew decided he wanted to skip 5th block at LaSalle Middle School to go to the fair. The fair was not a very big fair, because Matt lived in a very small town. The town of Dewdrop was exactly as it's name implied, as small as a dew drop. A one road town that had just enough land to put a fair on every year and it was quite the event. There were only 4 rides for adults and 6 rides for kids, but there was more delicious, greasy, fried food than could be imagined. There were so many different games to play and so many people to see because as you can imagine, a small town like Dewdrop, every one knew each other and the fair was the perfect place to see every one.

Of course, Matt new he was skipping school so he had to be sneaky. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. He paid for his ticket and then immediately took off to the Ferris wheel. He ran through the warehouse full of people promoting their businesses and took a short cut through the petting zoo. He was being very watchful making sure to not draw attention. He felt like he was right out of Mission Impossible and was even going as far as to hum the theme during his trek. He hopped the fence at the end of the petting zoo and posted up behind a food truck. He peered around the corner and saw a couple people he knew. He knew he would have to sneak past them or they would most certainly grab him by the arm and call his mother.

"Mom would freak if she found out!" he exclaimed. "Gotta be sneaky".

He sneaks behind the food truck and waits for his opportunity. The Ferris wheel is only 35 yards away. As he waits, he looks over at the line to see that it's short. Once one person is left in line he makes his move. He walks over to the newspaper stand and grabs it. He then unfolds it all the way and uses that as a wall between him and the "dirty rats" as he refers to the people he hides from.

He is still humming the Mission Impossible theme as he gets up to the gate and as soon as he gets to the ticket guy he drops the paper making sure to be turned completely around and gives the ticket to the worker and hops on. He makes sure to sit at an awkward turned around angle just to make sure that he isn't noticed and up he goes.

As the Ferris wheel ascends, he feels the drop in his stomach and the beat in his heart. This is his favorite feeling. As a boy who is afraid of heights, but not afraid to face his fears, this would arguably be his favorite place in the world and as his luck would have it the Ferris wheel stops at the very top. Now he is completely alone and at peace.

He now feels like no one can see him. He feels completely invisible and basks in it. He knows he will only be at the top for a little bit, but he hangs on to this moment. That funny feeling in his stomach that can only be achieved during this type of loneliness arises in his stomach and that calming, almost sad feeling comes over him and he cherishes it.

Matt is a boy who enjoys the loneliness of the world and he wouldn't have it any other way.