“You’re back,” Bonnie, who still acted as protector of the wide gates said as I stepped closer to the carnival grounds. “And with a friend, I see,”

“Hi… again,” I spoke softly.

She extended an arm into the carnival, “Come one, come all,” she sighed. Her words were sarcastic, and spoken with no enthusiasm. Arlen stepped forward, but I hesitated before entering.

“Actually,” I objected, “I have a question for you,”

She cocked her head. “And what might that be?”

“There’s a picture,” I stated, “it’s by the exit of this carnival, posted on the wall. It’s of a couple, they’re young in the picture, but they’d be older now.” I paused, “They look like this.” I pried open my old locket and lifted the two small portraits towards Bonnie. If she recognized them, she didn’t show it.

“And?”

“Since you, well, work here, I was wondering if you might know anything about them. Do you?”

“I don’t,” she said bluntly, “Sorry. Good luck though on your mystery,”

I bit my bottom lip, holding back any more words. Bonnie had never been notably friendly, but now she just seemed rude. The way she said mystery implied I was some child imitating a detective. “Thank you,” I said finally, after inhaling a deep breath. I stepped inside the carnival, Arlen at my tail.

“You would think they would have someone more diplomatic in charge of introducing people to the carnival,” Arlen commented. I nodded in agreement. “Let’s see this picture,”

“Follow me,” I said, and led him to the grimy, old brick wall where my grandparents portrait was plastered in a glass case. I pointed to the old image. “I’m sure it’s them.” I opened up the locket and held it next to the picture, “Compare,”

“You might be right, syrup.”

“Syrup?”

“Mabelle, maple. It’s a stretch I admit it,” Arlen shrugged.

I smiled. “I didn’t take you for the nicknaming type, but, no, it’s okay. You can call me ‘syrup’, as long as I can call you ‘leaf’,”

He tilted his head back in laughter, “Leaf? Where did that even come from? Autumn? Or did you just call me the first object you saw?” he kicked some flaky orange leaves on the ground.

“If I called you the first thing I saw, your name would be ‘game booth’ and frankly, I think ‘leaf’ is cuter. But if you must know, it’s Arlen, Aspen. Leaf.”

“Your word association is subpar. Lucky for you, I’m a master,” He continued laughing, in that laugh that I couldn’t seem to get enough of.

I stared up at him. I was tense because of the return to this carnival, my sister, my grandparents, and of course the suicidal bird, yet his light mood was infectious and working to do what I thought was impossible, cheer me up. It didn’t feel like I was here on some mission solely, it felt like I was here to have fun, it was like I was with Katheryn, laughing and having fun. “You seem to be in a much brighter mood than before,”

“To be fair, we didn’t have the most idealistic meeting. I figure that if I want to accompany on this quest of yours, you should get to know me a little better,”

“You like nicknames, word association, and you have good reflexes,” I announced the sum of my knowledge.

“That about sums me up,” he laughed. I watched him smile shortly, before coming to my senses and realizing I need to return to the task at hand.

“Let’s go,” I ordered, “It’s getting late, I don’t know how long this carnival is open for.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem,” He looked up at the sky, now starting to turn a light orange.

“Have you been here before?”

“Once,” he admitted.

“Yet you sit outside it often?” I asked, something about his story not adding up.

“It’s peaceful. I enjoy the music, the sound of fun and festivity and there’s almost always no one out there. You, Miss Swan, being the exception,”

I took in his words, and didn’t feel they warranted a response. Rather, I sprinted forward a few feet and caught up to Theo, the map man. “Hello, sir,”

“Hello,” his wide smile and glossy eyes lived up to her memory.

“I have a question for you if you don’t mind,”

“I am well equipped with the knowledge of the location of all attractions at this esteemed carnival. What are you looking for?” He leaned down slightly, to be closer to me.

“It’s not exactly about locations, though I supposed that is involved. By the exit gate, there is a portrait of these two individuals.” I showed him my locket. “I’m just looking for some information. Do you know anything about them?” He concentrated on the heart shaped pictures and for the first time, I saw him frown. I shut the locket and stepped closer, “Do you know something?” I begged, desperation oozing from my voice.

He turned past me, locking eyes with Arlen, “Hello! Would you like a map?”

My eyebrows furled. “Please, sir, if you have any information I need to know,”

He turned back to me, and his smile had returned. “I have information on the location of all attractions in this esteemed carnival. What are you looking for?”

I turned to Arlen. Was he hearing this conversation too? Or was I insane? Was Theo just being difficult? Arlen shrugged, clearly as lost as I was. “I understand,” I breathed finally, and walked past him. “That man is like a broken record,” I whispered to Arlen once we were alone.

“He frowned at the picture,” Arlen pointed out.

“I noticed,” I sighed. “One thing was clear, if he knew anything, he’s not going to tell me. Let’s find more people to ask. Not everyone here can deny me,”

The two of us pranced around the carnival, stopping every employee we could find to ask, and much to my frustration, I was denied by every single one. It felt as though I had some sign attached to myself with “Do not give any information to this woman” stamped on it in bold letters. The sky was a more intense shade of orange now and even though I hadn’t even reached as far in the carnival as I had early that day, only stubbornness was keeping me from resignation.

“You can go if you want,” I said to Arlen. “It was nice of you to keep me company, but I don’t think anything is coming out of this trip.” I balled my fists until crecsents formed on my palm from the pressure of my nails. “Ugh! Is it something about the way I ask?”

“No,” he said with sincerity that surprised me, “I told you that I had my own reasons for coming in here, and it’s about that. I don’t know if I’m crazy, but something in here, just-” he paused, “my father, he’s a detective. Perhaps some of his intuition has seeped into me through genetics,”

“I don’t really understand?” I tried to piece together his incomplete sentences. “You think there’s something worthy of detection here? Other than my grandparents, I mean,”

He shook his head. “Forget it, I’m just rambling,” he looked away, “regardless, I can tell you’re agitated. Why don’t we take a break? While we’re here, we might as well have some fun. It’s a carnival after all. Was there anything you particularly enjoyed from when you came here before?”

My mood lightened as his reasoning worked on me. Becoming upset would solve nothing. “There was, actually,” I smiled, “Come on.” He followed me without objection and I led him to the one ride I did truly enjoy, the merry-go-round. “This!”

He gave a small laugh, “The merry-go-round?” he seemed unimpressed.

“It’s fun!” I defended. “Plus, there’s no line now, earlier it was packed,”

“With children?” he teased.

“Leave me alone!” I said playing along with his jest, “It’s a carnival, adults aren’t exactly the target audience,”

He laughed, “You got me there, let’s go,” he stepped through the empty space for lines, and the man running it opened the small gate to let us in. I picked the same horse I had earlier, while Arlen went for one a few seats ahead of mine. It had a black coat with a bronze mane. He patted it’s metal head, “This one’s a winner, I can tell,”

“I don’t know, Goldie here treated me well last time,” I smiled, stroking it’s cold mane.

He smirked. “You named the horse?”

I laughed. “Did you only come along to make fun of me?”

“That was a big part of it, actually, yes,” he teased. “Anyway, get ready to lose to Thunder. That’s right, cooler name.”

Our conversation was interrupted by the man controlling the ride as he shut the gate with only the two of us. “Enjoy the ride,” he offered in a scripted monotone as he clicked a button and the ride began to spin.

I let out a small squeal of joy as we took off and Goldie began to bounce. Arlen turned around to face me , “This ride may be a little bit too intense.” I rolled my eyes and enjoyed it’s slow, calming movements. On the side opposite the line, it was surrounded by flowery bushes, adding to the peaceful scene. I watched the intense colors as I circled, when suddenly, the ride started to pick up speed.

I looked to the man running it but he hadn’t done anything. He was standing a few feet away from the activation button, staring away from the ride to beckon people towards it. Arlen turned his head to face me as the ride became not only faster, but bumpier as well. The acceleration continued until the outside world was a colorful blur. The horses began to bounce violently, as though they were alive, bucking and shaking and leaping. I felt tears began to fill my eyes from the tornado like wind as we spun and I clutched the golden pole as though my life depended on it, because at the moment, it felt like it did. “What’s going on?!” I screamed though my wails fell on deaf ears. The roar of wind and extreme mechanics overpowered my voice easily.

I shut my eyes tight, hoping this was some deranged nightmare from the imprint this carnival had left on my subconscious, but the very real impact of my thighs repeatedly hitting the metal saddle with growing force eliminated that escape. My body was almost completely off the horse, the only thing keeping me attached to the ride being my tight grip on the twisted pole. “PLEASE!” I screeched, desperate for it to stop.

And as though my desperate pleas were heard, it began to slow down. I opened my eyes as the ride went back to its regular speed and ferocity, as though the malfunction had never happened. I looked up at Arlen, only he wasn’t on “Thunder”. “Arlen?” I cried, then saw him lying face down in the bushes to the side. He had been thrown off.

I leaped off the ride and rushed to where he lied. “Arlen, are you okay?” I asked, trying to lift him from the thorn filled bushes. I noticed some blood on his now tattered clothes from the thorns and it was apparent he was scraped up from the incident.

I was relieved to see him move as he struggled against the branches. “It’s okay. I’m ‘Leaf’, remember? This is where I belong,” I stared at him with astonishment that he was still making jokes in such a situation.

He turned his head to face me with a smug smile and I shook my head. “Get out of the god damn bushes,”

His chuckled turned into coughing and I helped him remove himself from the bramble until he was standing by the ride. He was covered in scrapes and a drop of blood was dripping down his face from his hairline. He wiped it and looked at his fingers, then stared at me, and I noticed that the sparkle of humor I always found in his dark eyes was fleeting, replaced with quieted fear. “Mabelle syrup, we should go,” he offered.

I nodded in violent agreement. We stumbled over the exit gate. “Thank you for riding! Come again!” the man offered as we ran. I didn’t stop until I reached the exit, where we both doubled over to catch our breath.

“This carnival is trying to kill us,” I coughed.

Arlen nodded. “We need to go. Who knows what could happen next?” He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the exit gate. Only, when I looked up, I was standing now facing the carnival in its entirety.

I felt myself beginning to hyperventilate. “You just pulled me through the exit, did you not?”

“I did,” he confirmed, his voice weak with fear.

“Then why, exactly, did we just walk in the entrance?” I gulped.

Theo stepped towards us, his smile wide as always. “Would you like a map?”