Snippet #2053220

Sayo bounced excitedly in the middle back seat of the car, eliciting stares and jabs from her older brothers. Easily ignoring them, Sayo whined, "Are we close yet?" To which her dad responded, "If you ask again, I will kick you out of the car and make you walk there." The irritation in his voice was plain, but there was also a note of teasing. Sayo said nothing, continuing her bouncing and looking excitedly out the windows for a glimpse of the carnival. A moment later, the tall, colorful shape of a Ferris wheel rose into view. Sayo could just barely make out the figures of people high above. A squeal of delight rose on her lips. This was only her second time at the fair. The first time she had been too small to ride anything, but this time her mother assured her she would be able to ride several of the rides, maybe even the teacups!

As the car slowly slid into a parking spot and ground to a stop, Sayo immediately leapt out of the car after Kori, hopping excitedly while impatiently waiting for her parents to get out of the car. A swing ride started up, the happy squeals and laughs of children reaching her ears, and she began to dash off toward it. Her mother quickly grabbed her arm, then her hand, gently swinging it as they walked. Sayo smiled brightly up at her mother before beginning to pull and urging her to go faster, frustrated by the sedated pace.

Eventually, as they entered the garishly painted gate and paid the entrance fee, Sayo was amazed at the amount of color, noise, and people that surrounded them. Everywhere Sayo looked, there was something interesting to see. After riding a few rides, some two or three times, the family stopped to eat. Most of the family was tired, but Sayo was still bursting with energy. As soon as her mother reached in her purse to pull out the money, releasing the girl's hand, a small flash of light from a coin glinting in the sun caught her eye. She dashed away, the cries of her mother falling unheeded on her small ears, her gold hair bouncing as she ran. She wove her way between the cords of the tents, her eye fixed on the coin. Suddenly she tripped.

Closing her eyes, Sayo expected to feel the hard earth knock the breath out of her. Instead, as she opened her eyes again a moment later, a large puddle of water was beneath her. She was on the edge, balancing on the toes of one foot before losing her balance and falling forward. She flopped in with a screech and a small splash, immediately sitting up and coughing out the muddy water. She ran a hand over her tongue to get rid of some of the dirt with a loud, "Bleech!"

Sayo looked around in confusion, standing and sloshing out of the puddle. This wasn't the fair at all. It was still bright and sunny, only a few clouds dotting the pale blue sky, but something seemed off. Maybe it was the bright, almost neon pebbles sporadically flung over the dirt path beside her, the way the clouds looked cartoon like with definite shapes. She didn't even have to use her imagination to say that one looked like a stallion, mane flying in the wind, and that one looked like a large dragon, wings spread wide. The trees seemed vividly green and conspicuously brown. Cicadas and crickets chirped everywhere, and the sun, at least to Sayo's eyes, seemed happy enough to smile.

As she observed her surroundings with total fascination, the realization that she had no idea where she was slowly began to sink in, making her increasingly nervous as she stood shakily by the road. Tears welled up in her eyes as she uncertainly yelled out, "Hello?" She saw a large building to her left, just down the road. With nowhere else to go, tears now streaming freely down her face, she walked uncertainly toward the massive building. Every few minutes, she called out, wanting someone, anyone, to answer. The lgiant structure drew her like a moth to a light, and soon even her crying halted as she stared in wonder.

A small movement caught her eye, and she noticed a boy standing near the entrance with a bike. She immediately began running toward him, her arms waving to catch his attention. "Hey, you! I'm lost, can you help me?" A moment later, she arrived a few feet away from him. "Where are we? Can you help me? I don't know where my mom is! What is this place?" The words flew out of her mouth, abruptly stopping as she waited for him to answer.