Even though I didn’t have a way to get inside the walls, I made my way to the South Wing. I wasn’t standing around for very long before I saw the mist again. This time it came in a shade of cloudy purple and it was seeping out from under the cracks of Gossamer’s sliding glass entrance. 

As the mist thickened, it traveled. Of course, I had no choice but to follow it. Would you believe that it led me all the way to the doors designed as walls where Sean first showed me the way inside the department corridors.

The mist curled around my ankles before lunging forward and seeping in through the seam in the door. That’s when I noticed that the door was slightly ajar. An employee must have left it open. What were the odds?

So, the mall wanted me to get to the carousel too, huh?

I pushed the door in. Waiting just beyond the threshold was a massive profile of black and white. The eye of a killer whale was level with mine.

My breath became sharp as I stiffened in fright. But as soon as I blinked, the orca’s head was gone and all that was waiting for me on the other side was a dimly lit concrete tunnel.

After something like that, I didn’t know if I could go forward. The deep wrinkles around the orca’s glassy black eye was still very sharp in my mind. Sean’s warning from our last confrontation throbbed in my head.

The orcas are not your friends, Aqua.

As if sensing my hesitation, the mist pushed against the backs of my knees and pulled at my ankles. It grew cooler and cooler the longer I waited.

Still, this was my only chance. If I didn’t go now, I might never find out what would happen when I touched the carousel.

So I walked inside the corridor.

Since I had only gone this way once, I didn’t remember the path exactly. The mist guided me in the right direction. Soon I was going up that creepy escalator, my steps echoing as I moved waist-deep in the rising purple mist.

Strange shadows played games against the walls of the bed and bath level. They weren’t orcas this time. In fact, I hadn’t seen a single orca since the one that popped up at the entrance. 

Out of my periphery, the shadows seemed to coalesce into a single silhouette – one that was hunched and kind of misshapen. Whenever I turned my head to get a better look at it, the image dissolved.

Were these more ghosts that called the mall home? Or just a trick of the light?

By now, I had reached the carousel. The moment I saw my favorite zebra mount, I smiled and relaxed a little. Sure, I was surrounded by a sentient mist and being stalked by weird shadows, but at least the cool ride from my childhood was here with me.

There was something else that I noticed. 

The graffiti… Sean’s numbers…

They were gone.

In fact, now that I was looking closely, I realized that the whole carousel looked brand new. As if someone had swooped in and given it a fresh coat of paint.

Sure, someone could have spruced the ride up if there were any plans to reinstate it at the Player Nexus, but I highly doubt that was the case.

I stepped onto the platform, reached out my hand, and touched the zebra. The mist, which had floated up into a halo around the roof of the carousel, suddenly dispersed. One minute it was there. The next, it was gone. 

I wish I could tell you that I touched the carousel and it started to move while the sound of a phantom electric keyboard bobbed in the background.

I wish I could tell you something really cool happened, but… nothing did.

Aside from the mist evaporating from the room and the shadows going back to normal, there was nothing that changed. 

I waited for that moment – whatever it was going to be – for as long as I could. I even touched different parts of the carousel to see if it would initiate something. It got me wondering, had Sean lied about regretting the time when he touched the ride? Did he say all of that just to scare me?

At least I had gotten that little bit of rebellion off of my chest. Just knowing that Sean wouldn’t want me to be here made me feel a little bit better. I didn’t want to think too hard about what this said about my own character. 

I guess it was time to go, so I took one last look at the carousel before making my way back to the escalator. 

The next day was the big day. The fashion show.

Everything that happened after I visited the old department was pretty much a blur. I simply remember trying my best to put Sean Mori out of my head. But of course, every time my pager buzzed, I held onto hope that it was him.

It never was.

Which was probably for the best. I’m not bragging when I say that I was Elliot’s best model. The success of her show was riding on my shoulders, whether she voiced that or not. 

My mom pulled up to the main entrance of Ocean Park Mall as close as she could. The rain was coming down so hard, you would have thought we were in the middle of a monsoon.

“I’m sorry your dad and I can’t make this one, Aqua,” Mom apologized for the hundredth time.

“It’s okay,” I said. And I meant it. My parents had been to enough of my fashion shows. I knew they had to work and they were rooting for me regardless.

Mom put the car in park and sighed. It made me pause. 

Taking my hand off of the door handle, I asked, “What’s wrong?”

Leaning into the headrest, she said, “Nothing. I was just thinking back to your first show. You were so nervous.”

I chuckled. “I still get nervous, Mom.”

But I understood where she was coming from. I had gained a lot more confidence since my first show. Every time I walked the runway, whether it was in front of an audience or just for practice, I felt a little different afterwards. As if I overcame some invisible barrier of self consciousness. It was a good feeling.

“Is your Sean friend going to be there?”

I flinched. Good feelings gone.

“I don’t know.” Then I shot Mom a look. “Besides you and Dad made it pretty clear that you didn’t want to have anything to do with him until he came to dinner.”

Mom rolled her eyes and poked me in the ribs. “That’s correct, but I know he’s important to you.”

I laughed, fended her off, and made the decision to not give too much away.

“He has work.” It wasn’t a total lie. “But… I hope he’s able to make it.”

It was the first time I was really honest with myself on the matter.

“Bobby Reyes will be there,” I added brightly, hoping Mom wouldn’t catch on to the fact that something was bothering me.

Mom smiled, said something embarrassing about me being so popular with the boys and wished me good luck.

I gave her a quick hug before pulling on my hood and bracing myself for the rain as I left the car.

That was the last time I saw her.