ReMind

Lydia basks as the atmosphere of the carnival washes over her. The lanterns carefully strung along the pathways and crisscrossing the booths as they light up the night. The smell of fresh funnel cakes, fried foods, and the faint smell of gunpowder is simply intoxicating. She glances up at her date as they stroll through the crowd. "He's so handsome!" she yells within. "I love you." she whispers. The words that she meant to keep to herself sneak past her lips.

"Um, what?" Earl says as he stops in his tracks. Blood rushes to Lydia's face, flushing her brown cheeks. She twirls her curly hair and looks sheepishly at the ground. "ErI...uh" Lydia struggles to find the words to express her regret. "Well, I don't have to be nervous anymore, then." Earl chuckles. She leans her head against his broad shoulder and sighs. She grabs his hand and interlaces her fingers with his and tightly grasps it. They resume walking down the promenade as they continue as if that incident never happened.

"Why would you be nervous?" she coyly asks. Her curiosity has gotten the better of her. "Well, I was...Me and the fellas were all talking about how you're the prettiest gal in town and how lucky any man would be to have you. I was so surprised when I returned home to find that you weren't married." Lydia giggles. "Well, maybe I was waiting on the right man to come home from college and sweep me off of my feet." she winks seductively at him. He nervously tugs at his collar. "Also, college is very expensive. I was hoping that I could afford tonight. I had to borrow my dad's suit to make sure I have enough money to treat you. I know the suit is a little big, but..." Lydia puts her finger on his lips. "Let's enjoy the night. Oh, and cotton candy!"

Lydia pulls him haplessly towards the cotton candy stand. A young girl, about 12 years of age address the happy duo. "Hi! Would you like to..." Lydia hastily interrupts. "Two, please!" she says enthusiastically. "Comin' right up!" the little girl responds. The little girl's father helps her as they reach their hands into the bowl, making their orders. Lydia looks longingly at her escort, but turns away when he looks at her. He smiles and stares for a bit. "Here ya go!" The little girl's cheery yell breaks his stream of thought. Earl reaches into his jacket pocket. Lydia gently touches his hand, preventing him from pulling his wallet out. "I got this." she smiles. The little girl hands Lydia their order. "Thanks, sweetie." Lydia replies.

Lydia playfully pushes the second cotton candy into Earl's chest. He takes it as he watches Lydia takes a huge bite out of hers. "Mmmmm. So good! It tastes better than I remember!" she gushes. "Isn't this the first time that the carnival has come to town?" Earl asks. "Well...uh...I've had cotton candy before!" she huffs. "I'm sorry, but..." Lydia sticks her tongue out at him. Earl tries to defuse the situation, but he's drawing a blank.

"Hey! Boy!" a voice calls out. Earl turns towards the voice. Earl points to himself, to confirm that it's him that's being addressed. "Yeah! You, boy! I see you done made that pretty colored girl of yours upset. Why don'cha cheer her up by winnin' one of these bears?" Earl thinks to him, "Maybe that's it. I'll win her one of those." He grabs her by the hand as she pouts and pulls her towards the booth.

"10 cent for 5 shots. Knock down 5 ducks and get a prize. Knock down 10 ducks and get the grand prize!" the booth attendant exclaims. Earl slams a quarter onto the counter. The attendant hands him a .22 caliber rifle. Earl hesitates for a moment, trying to remember what his dad taught him about marksmanship. He nestles the stock of the rifle snugly into his shoulder. He lines up his shot, leading the moving duck by just a bit. He slows his breathing and slowly squeezes the trigger. The bullet hits the duck with a loud metallic ding. "Now you just gotta hit 9 more." the booth attendant chuckles.

There's some strange movement that catches Lydia's eye. She turns to see what looks like soldiers running amidst the crowd. The noise from the games, the barking from the merchants, and the chattering of the crowd begins to fade. "Hey, Earl, do you see this?" she says as she turns to her date. Earl seems to ignore her as he focuses on the targets. The faint sound of a gunshots grow louder. The sounds of explosions draws her gaze towards the heavens. She sees Allied and Axis warplanes dogfight in the amber dusk sky. The loud droning of a flaming P-51 Mustang flying overhead catches her attention. She watches the warplane crash in the horizon. Lydia looks around her, and sees that she is in a trench in a warzone. She turns to Earl, whose loose-fitting suit is now replaced by a soldier's uniform with 2 silver bars on his shoulder. The .22 caliber rifle that he was holding is now a M1 Garand.