In the farthest distance, there was a highway. Little lights the size of ants moved across at a hasty speed, some red and some white—some extremely white. They all began to gather as a light floating in the darkness turned red. Another up the road turned green; that group dispersed.
Closer in the edge of the carnival was defined by a broad and decorated wall. It had large triangles pointing up-and-down to look like multicolored alligator teeth. Large lights were strung about the top of the wall, several of them burnt out here and there.
The carnival looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Dozens of striped tents all with pointed roofs, some round and some square. It was almost hypnotizing to look at the patterns all at once; to defocus the eyes and let everything blend together.
And then there was the other half of the world: the sky. Enormous and vast, covered in so many clouds that hung so low they were slightly alit from the glow of the city beneath them. And here the wind ruled, and it was vicious in a sense.
It blew strongly enough to lift the stray strands of hair from a white tigress as she turned toward her boyfriend with great concern and worry. "Ket what's wrong?" She questioned, urgency in her voice. Up high on the Ferris wheel, her voice was clear to hear without the noise of the music far below.
"N-nothing," he said, as they neared the apex, their car rattling gently by either the thrum of the motor, or the turbulence of the wind.
She watched him grip the bar next to him, clutching it so tightly that his arm began to quiver with the tension. He closed his eyes. Tentatively, she reached her hand to his thigh. "Are...are you afraid of heights?" She asked softly.
"Shut up!" He snapped, slapping her hand away.
She recoiled out of shock at the act, but her attitude didn't waiver. "You should have told me," she said calmly, "I had no idea."
"It's not like I did either." He hissed, looking in her direction even though his eyes were still shut.
She thought about the tree he climbed so long ago. Either that wasn't high enough, or he may have acquired his fear because of that. After all, sometimes it wasn't actually the height that most people thought about. It was the fall.
"When we get down to the bottom, we can ask to get off. I'll pretend like I have to go potty really bad." She said, now tentatively reaching to his shoulder.
Still facing her direction, his eyes opened. She smiled at him, a lock of hair that had gotten loose from the ponytail whipped against her face. It was ignored. He looked ahead, his view of the dramatic scenery blocked by the machine. Slowly, he let his grip on the bar go.
"No." He stated, dipping his head and slouching in the chair.
She squeezed his shoulder, and then let go. "If you're sure," she said sweetly. "I don't mind stopping." Her smile didn't fade, and she continued to watch him for a few moments more as he recovered his ego.
She felt like she was beginning to understand. He wasn't mad at her; he wasn't even really mad at all. Things were just not going the way he had imagined. As she watched him raise his head and take a deep breath, she reminded herself that he was one of the quiet boys. He had a comfort zone, and when she first met him it was very small. Even though it was much bigger than it was back then, it was still there—it still had boundaries.
He just needed a break. A rest from all the excitement. He needed to feel comfortable.
Their eyes met again. "How bad does you head hurt?" She asked, without that syrup of worry in her voice. Just a genuine question, as one would ask about the weather.
"Not bad." He replied.
"I hope it gets better before school starts," she commented. "I'll get so mad if people start making a big deal about it."
"They probably won't," he reassured. "No one except Ritzer."
"Well," she was quick to reply, "If he does, then we'll just tell him the truth." She crossed her arms. "You fought off a band of ninjas, and one of them managed to get you by sheer luck."
"Ritzer isn't that much of an idiot." He replied dryly. Although he had to admit, that would be a good story to tell if it were real.
"Well," she said, as she took his hand, and then abruptly she let it go. "Moms. Pictures." She explained succinctly.
Sure enough, as they passed beneath the wheel and began their ascent, their moms were standing right there in front of them, along with other people. All of them with cameras at the ready. The whole time, all the tigers could do was wince and blink at every flash of light that caught them off guard. Some of them were predictable thanks to the orange glow that happened just before, but others were mercilessly sudden.
The ordeal lasted only a few moments, before they were just a tad too high and the bottom of their car safely blocked them from view. That was when her hand returned to his.
"Just don't look out." She said, expecting to feel tension in him. "Look at me, maybe."
Heeding her suggestion he glanced at her. As they passed above the tops of the carnival lights, her eyes began to take a dominant glow, helping him to focus on her and nothing else that would allow him to perceive height.
Behind her head, a light blinked across the sky within the clouds. She turned her head as they both heard the noise. An airplane roared past, the light flickering several inches to them, several hundred more feet to the plane.
He was beginning to see a kind of tranquility in being so close to the sky.
And then everything stopped.
Many of the riders shouted or screamed. Emeral was caught by surprise at the sudden lurch, but more by the pitch that came from Ket. His voice was not low and deep, but she had never heard it rise to such a height.
No doubt he ever intended to let it either.
"Everyone," came the voice of the operator over the loudspeaker, "Don't be alarmed. This stop is intentional and the ride will resume momentarily."
Emeral glanced about. They were almost parallel to the ground, just a little bit lower. The odd angle gave even her a bit of a squeamish churn in her stomach. She stared at the people down below, their attention captured by the commotion just a moment ago.
"Everyone if I may have your attention."
Emeral saw the distant crowd begin to gather. She glanced at Ket for a moment, to see him with his eyes absolutely shut. He would have nothing to do with this. But they opened, as a flash of bright light suddenly washed over them.
"Allow me to introduce Jonathan Dillard, and Laurie Witright."
Both tigers upon the Ferris wheel recognized the name Dillard. They glanced behind them at the two beavers sitting in the car just above them, receding back a little bit.
"Mister Dillard inherited this wonderful carnival from his father two years ago," the operator continued. "Today marks the second anniversary of his inheritance. Tonight, before the carnival closes, he has a special announcement."
There was a muffled click, and a moment of silence. Then, another voice echoed over the speakers. It was very loud at first, but the operator turned the volume down quickly.
"Hello ladies and gentlemen," the recorded message played. "Two years ago, my father sadly passed away, leaving me in charge of the carnival my family has run for two generations."
The tigers exchanged glances with one another, and then looked back up at the beavers, who were paying attention to no one but each other.
"Shortly before his passing, I met Laurie after the Ferris wheel got stuck one night. She was at the very top, and you can imagine the ear-full that my father got when she finally got back on the ground.
"Since then, she has been my strong companion, and has helped make sure everything in the carnival runs as smoothly as ever. The Ferris wheel hasn't stopped since! I couldn't imagine this place without her, and I would bet that the fun you all have had tonight wouldn't last another generation if she hadn't been so motivated to keep everything moving.
"Which is why, stuck on the Ferris wheel where it all began, I would like to ask..."
Emeral watched Mister Dillard as he quickly reached into his jacket, pulling out a small black box.
"Laurie Witright, will you marry me?"
Ket glanced downward as he heard a cheer from the crowd below. It looked like at least a hundred people were there to listen to the proposal. And then he glanced to Emeral. She was fixated on the car above them.
The lady beaver gasped as Mr. Dillard opened the box, revealing the ring to her.
Ket couldn't see the ring at all, but he did get several lances of sparkles in his eyes as the ring was exchanged.
"Oooooooooh!"
He glanced back at Emeral, who was now watching the event with her mouth wide open. The expression on her face was of pure joy, and wonder. She looked mesmerized and amazed, and she began giggling and squealing to degrees that he had never seen before.
Glancing back at the beavers, he finally got a chance to look at the ring as the lady held her hand up toward the crowd. It had a noticeable white diamond set into a silver band. To him, it looked expensive and genuine, especially as it sparkled in the spotlight like a well-focused mirror.
And then in her excitement, the lady beaver kissed the man.
"Awwwwwwwwwwww!"
The screech from Emeral was enough to make him almost dizzy. She was still entranced by the whole thing, her eyes never leaving the couple above them. As he watched her reactions to the whole thing, all Ket could make of it was: Why hasn't she acted that way about me?
Abruptly, the Ferris wheel began to rumble again and they once more ascended into the sky. Finally, Emeral broke away from the car behind them and turned back around to look at him. Her eyes began to sparkle, just like the diamond on the ring.
"That was so sweet!" She cooed, scrunching her shoulders together to emphasize how sweet it was. "I bet she was so surprised."
Ket wasn't sure if he was supposed to respond. He forced a smile.
She sighed, looking up as she imagined something. Then, she returned to looking straight ahead, drumming her fingers on her lap. "Anyway. That was kinda rude, though," she took his hand. "Some people might not like the heights. They could have told us they were gonna stop the wheel, huh?"
His smile faded. "Yeah." He responded. Somehow, height didn't bother him so much anymore. He watched the crowd as it disappeared behind the cars in front of them. On the way back down, he noticed Emeral was watching him. She had a smile on her face, but the sparkles had left her eyes.
He squeezed her hand, and felt the cheap, plastic ring at the base of her pinkie.
