Tonight, Amber and Marge say, "Kaiya, we're taking you to the carnival down the street."
Mrs. and Mr. James used to take me to the carnivals in England. I remember the bumper cars - Mrs. James and I in one car chasing Mr. James in vicious attempt. The giant stuffed bears, gorillas, and ducks Mr. James would win for me hitting glass bottles and shooting water guns. The apple-green cotton candy and delicious roasted turkey legs. And most of all, I remember riding the porcelain-like ponies on the merry-go-round. The dwindling xylophone music ringing from the speakers above. The loud, laughing children surrounding me, but I stayed shy, quiet, encompassing the details around me. Mrs. James waved to me with her bright blonde smile every time I faced her in the cycle. The merry-go-round was my favorite part.
Tonight is different, though. Amber and Marge have put me in a ridiculous rain suit. "Oh, don't fuss, Kaiya," they say as I pull at the ugly piss yellow material. "It's pouring down. Let's not get sick." I don't see them in this kind of monstrosity.
Tonight, we walk to the carnival down the street. I look up at Amber and Marge in disgust because of the immense lack of rain.
We arrive. The carnival is greyer than the sky. There is a tall ferris wheel on my right, probably half the height of our building. The colored bulbs on the wheel have dimmed from use, I suppose. Bumber cars on my left, scratched and beat up. A haunted house - not going in there. No merry-go-round. This carnival seems much smaller than the ones in England.
"Here, Kaiya, some tickets," says Amber. I take them in my hands. They leave me.
"Well, where should we go first, dahling?" I asked myself, just as Mrs. James would have if she were here. She would place our tickets in her breastpocket. She would hold my hand tight so as not to lose me in the crowd. "How about the ferris wheel, Mrs. James?" I pretend that we are together tonight, and that we are at the English carnivals.
Mrs. James and I walk in our patient way over to the colossal structure. Colossal . She taught me that word. Probably most of the English words I know, actually. We meet the friendly ticketman at the ride entrance.
"Two tickets each, ladies," he says. "Have a nice ride."
Mrs. James and I carefully mount the seat before us. I am scared all over again. "Don't be scared, my little Kaiya," she says. "I would never let you fall." I smile and sit beside her. The ticketman starts the ride. Mrs. James and I soar over beautiful, sunny England. "Look, it's our house, Kaiya. Do you see it?"
"Yes," I laugh. I am not scared anymore.
"KAIYA! Wow! You're so high up!"
It's Marge. I look down to see her with her arm around an awkward man. He must be Shayn Todd, Marge's new "flame." She said, "Well, he's just had a bad break up so I decided why not have a night out with him to make him feel better." That's why we're here, of course. Although, I wouldn't say her plan is working. Shayn looks a bit unneasy, but he waves at me. I wave back with my deepest sympathy.
Suddenly, Mrs. James disappears like a ghost.
I hate Marge.
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A slimy tongue awoke Mr. Takuya from his night's rest under the basketball hoop. Surprised, Mr. Takuya was awake within a couple of minutes and knew immediately why he had been disturbed. Tanuki was hungry and didn't mind letting Mr. Takuya know this. Most days Mr. Takuya gets up much earlier and is able to feed Tanuki at a more desirable hour. Last night however, Mr. Takuya had a difficult time getting to sleep. Loud noises and bright lights bothered him so much when trying to fall asleep, and Tanuki was equally as restless.
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Tanuki and Mr. Takuya walked to the carnival together but as soon as they got inside, Tanuki ran off, excited by the new sights and smells. A bit disappointed by the loss of his companion, Mr. Takuya hoped no one would take notice of him and his non-carnival related cart. The red umbrella made its way around the big ferris wheel, the driver invisible to those at the very top. He avoided the haunted house, for scary things...scared Mr. Takuya. The small dragon roller coaster looked inviting to Mr. Takuya, but he was unsure about what to do with his cart. Leaving it alone, unattended certainly wasn't an option. Continuing his circle he ran into Tanuki. The creature was following a small yellow blob with excited interest. Mr. Takuya fell into step behind Tanuki and soon realized the walking yellow blob was a girl, eating something.
"Ah. Food. Tanuki always want food", thought Mr. Takuya to himself. It was true though, Tanuki was always hungry. His thoughts had distracted Mr. Takuya, so he didn't notice that the girl had stopped walking and was petting Tanuki. When the girl took notice of Mr. Takuya, she looked him over multiple times, making Mr. Takuya quite nervous. As the looks continued however, his nerves went away. Something in her eyes made him relax. A friendly yet cautious twinkle.
"Hi. My name's Kaiya. Kaiya Hamura. I've seen your cart before, it sure seems good". She looked at Mr. Takuya again.
"Is he with you too? Never seen a badger in real life before, I like him. Never could imagine having something like him a pet before".
"Tanuki is good friend. Likes lot of food", Mr. Takuya finally responded.
"Oh yeah? Can I give him a bit of this? Its just a pretzel..."
Mr. Takuya nodded. He liked this girl. She seemed nonthreatening. He was always more comfortable around kids. He felt like a kid on most days...
"Red bean cake?" Mr. Takuya took two off his cart for himself and offered the other to the Kaiya.
"Sure. I don't think I've ever had one of these before, but it sounds good".
Together the three loners sat along side the ferris wheel, munching on their snacks in joint silence. Although it was still early in the evening, the sky had darken and a rainless lightening storm started, providing entertainment to the trio.