Meet Me at the Carousel

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The town of Brantley Beach waited all year for the carnival to come to town. It was a highlight of summer for residents young and old alike. When the evenings began to be fragrant with roses, everyone knew the carnival would soon arrive.

There was something special about the brightly colored striped tents, topped with flags adorned with the carnival’s mascot, a luminous pale green Luna moth. The smell of popcorn and fried dough, and the sound of tinny music from the midway added a touch of magic to the air, officially ushering in the long, lazy days of summer.

When Elmira Beedle was a young girl, her favorite part of the carnival was riding the carousel. She loved the carved wooden animals, with their shiny bridles and polished wooden flanks. Her brothers preferred the games, knocking over milk bottles to win prizes, but for her it was all about the carousel.

As a young woman the carrousel remained special to her after she met her husband, Hank, when both were rushing to claim the same dappled gray steed. Their eyes met over the carved mane and it was love at first sight.

Each year Hank and Elmira took their small children to the carnival, reliving their childhood memories through the eyes of their little ones. And they never skipped a ride on the carousel, not even when those small children grew to be sulky teenagers who preferred the thrill rides.

Eventually Hank and Elmira shepherded their passel of grandchildren through the side shows, games and rides whenever the carnival came to town, indulgently shelling out money for endless lemonades, funnel cakes and cheap souvenirs. But they still always closed out the night with a ride on their favorite, the old carousel, even if they now rode on the brightly colored high-backed benches instead of clambering onto the wooden horses.

On one of their many rides together, Elmira confided in Hank how she always daydreamed about running away with the carnival when it left town. She assured him it wasn’t that she wanted to leave him or the children, but just think of all the places the carnival must go! How she longed to see them all. How much fun it must be to be part of that special carnival magic.

There was only one year that Elmira didn’t go to the carnival, couldn’t even stomach the thought. That year the scent of roses in the air drove her to her bed, where she stayed until the carnival left town. But the following year she let her daughter coax her into going, even if she couldn’t quite bear to ride her beloved carousel without Hank.

On a recent warm June evening, Elmira sat on her front porch in the gloaming, inhaling the perfume drifting from the rambler rose that grew along the neighbor’s fence. In her pocket was an envelope containing an anonymous note that had been left on her steps that morning. The envelope was striped like the carnival tents, and had been sealed with a stamp in the shape of a moth. Inside were instructions to follow the lanterns at dusk, and to tell no one.

Elmira patted the envelope in her pocket and smiled as a shiver of anticipation ran up her spine. Oh yes, there was most definitely magic in the air.

#Magicalrealism

#FlashFiction

#Carousel

#M