A Carnival | Teen Ink

A Carnival

February 27, 2015
By ACadena BRONZE, Modesto, California
ACadena BRONZE, Modesto, California
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

"A carnival," I said softly. "That's where I met you're grandmother, at a carnival...."

"It was a dry summer in mid July. Everyone gathered around in a giant red tent to watch two magicians perform tricks. It costs 10¢ for a ticket and I remember saving up all my money from working on the farm with my father to go to the carnival. Everyone sat in wooden chairs and we were all pressed so close together you can feel the person behind you breathing on your neck. The aroma of caramel apples and salted popcorn filled the air as we all leaned forward to hear what the two magicians were about to perform. I felt a soft touch on my right shoulder and heard a voice that was so gentle it could soothe any child that was crying. 'Pardon me sir, are these seats taken?' She gestured to the two empty chairs to the right of me and I nodded no. I couldn't get a single word out, I was so awestruck by her beauty that my brain had forgotten every word known to the English speaking man. Her bouncy brown curls enwrapped her small heart shaped face and her skin had such a vibrant glow to her it looked like she had spent a while out in the sun. She wore a yellow dress that went slightly past her knees and she had to lift it up when she sat down. She wore brown shoes that were covered with grass from walking in the tent. I faced forward because I knew it was rude to stare at a lady for so long but something about her made me want to keep looking, I couldn't help but to keep glancing at her from the corner of my right eye. I was very careful not to get caught, it was like a game that I wanted so badly to win. She lifted up her left arm ever so slowly, and brushed away her hair that had fallen in front of her face and pushed it back behind her ear. When she put her arm down, the palm of her hand was on her left knee and her pinky barely grazed my right knee and it sent a electric shock to my whole body. I was on fire from this small touch that I wanted more, I wanted to grab her hand with mine and never let go. I began to sweat and hastily wiped the palm of my hands on my blue jeans, hoping this angel didn't see how much of a mess I looked. My breathing was so rapid, I felt like she could almost hear my heart beating in my chest, wanting to get out and confess my adoration for her. If she were a ocean I was the puddle, I did not deserve her beauty. No one did. The show ended fast and I still don't recall what the magicians did because I was watching my own show, of the exquisite stranger sitting right next to me. Everyone stood up and applauded and the tent was roaring in claps it sounded like thunder. She stood and began to clap too, but i sat, watching her smile. I slowly rose and began to applaud as well, she turned to me and whispered 'Thank you' and before I could utter all the words that were trapped in my throat she reached for the hand of another man and walked out the tent. My heart fell into the pit of my stomach. How can I ever suspect a woman so pretty to be alone at this age. I was young, but not a man either, and she was young as well but had this aura about her that she was like a Greek god. And each step she walked away further and further from the tent I knew at that moment that I will have lost my chance forever from ever seeing such beauty and its most perfect form. So i ran towards her. I put on a brave face and held my head up high. As i walked out of that tent I could picture my whole future in this one girl, I fell in love with her. As I was fast approaching behind her, I tapped lightly on her shoulder as she did to me. She turned around holding a giant bear between her arms. The other man was no where in sight and I knew this was the only chance I will ever get. ‘Excuse me’, I said to her. I pulled out a notepad from my back pocket and a pen, why I happened to have those things in my back pocket was pure luck. Someone had to be looking over me that day. I wrote my phone number and my address so fast I was scared she wouldn’t be able to read it. As she waited for me to write she smiled, and when I handed her the paper of what could contain our future, she laughed. She placed it inside the sleeve of her dress; she looked up at me with a warm smile, and whispered again to me ‘Thank you’”.


The author's comments:

This scene was inspiried by the book Water for Elephants


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