Life's Golden Ticket (5 page)

T
he wizard led Henry and me through another long, dark limestone corridor. We came to a stairway that led upward to two large wooden doors, like the doors of a stone cellar. The wizard opened the portal, and we emerged about thirty yards to the right of the Ferris wheel. The ride was no longer moving or occupied with riders. The park was once again deserted.

“Where did everyone go?” I asked.

“On to their own adventures,” the wizard said, glancing up. “Looking for answers.” He turned to me and asked, “What answers are
you
looking for?”

The questions that had been building inside me burst out like machine-gun fire: “What is this place? What happened to Mary? Why did she want me to come here? Why did she mention her brother on her deathbed? How did my mom . . . the Truth Booth. . . . What's in the envelope?”

The wizard held up his hand, silencing me. “Good enough. Good questions. The answers will come.” He looked at me curiously and said, “Tell me, do you believe that this is all happening?”

I thought about all that I had experienced so far. It felt like a dream. I shook my head. “No.”

Henry let out a sigh and looked to the ground, as if disappointed in my reply.

“Strike one,” the wizard said sternly. “When you arrived here, you signed a contract. That contract is everything. You agreed that you would be open to experience and possibility, but your response shows that you do not accept what is happening, which tells me you are not open to possibility, which tells me you care little about the contract. This
is
happening to you. Mary
was
hurt. You
did
speak with your mother. You
are
standing here with an old wizard and a gentle groundskeeper. And you
are
in danger of being asked to leave because you just broke your contract.”

The wizard's eyes turned cold, and he stared at me expectantly.

“I . . . uh, I'm sorry, I just . . . this is all overwhelming, and I don't know how to . . .”

“Fine,” the wizard said, cutting me off, “just hold your doubts and don't break your contract, or you're gone. Clear?”

I was stunned by his harshness. Where was the kind old man so full of hope?

“Got it,” I said, confused.

“Glad we got that out of the way.” He turned to Henry and winked, then smiled at me. “Because I bet you're really not going to believe what happens next.”

H
enry and I boarded the Ferris wheel, and the wizard lowered the safety bar across our laps.

“Ready for a little magic?” the wizard asked, his eyes sparkling once again as they had in the cavern.

“Sure,” I said without meaning it. I hadn't been on a Ferris wheel in years. Not since I met Mary.

The wizard walked off the operator's platform and stood in front of the Ferris wheel. Lifting his right hand, he pointed his finger at the ride, slowly following the outline of the Ferris wheel with his finger.
He appeared to be drawing counterclockwise circles in the air. He started speeding up the circular motion, going faster and faster. I saw him close his eyes, and at that precise moment a light began to emanate from his hand.

Suddenly, the ride lurched to life.

Henry and I were pushed forward into the safety bar as our cart swung backward.

“Holy—”

“Hang on!” Henry said, cutting me off and laughing like a child. “Here we go!”

Our cart swooped backward and upward. The Ferris wheel was in motion and moving fast.

“Whoopee!” Henry cried. His eyes sparkled with the excitement of a child.

We rose higher and higher, and the full expanse of the park revealed itself. The moonlit view showed the park to be much larger than I had thought. A square walkway formed the perimeter. I could see kiddie rides and game booths surrounding the square, then food huts and a large grassy area, a pirate ship, a carousel, and a gigantic metal barn. On the inside of the walkway stood a massive, circular tent, painted red and blue and gold, and dozens of smaller tents and walkways, more food huts, bumper boats, roller coasters, and dozens of other rides.

When we hit the top of the ride and started down the other side, Henry said, “Quite a view, isn't it?”

“Yeah,” I said, in awe.

As we neared the bottom of the ride I looked to see the wizard, still making circular movements with his arm. When we made eye contact, he speeded up the motion. Our cart once again leaped backward, and I grabbed frantically at the safety bar.

“Not a fan of the Ferris wheel, huh?” Henry asked with a broad grin.

My knuckles were bone white on the safety bar. “No, not exactly.”

“Why not? Seems fun to me.”

“Yeah, I guess it is for most people. But I've heard stories about these rides.” This very ride, in fact.

We were traveling only about one and a half times the normal speed, but that was too fast for me.

Henry huffed, “Nonsense, these things are very safe. What stories have you heard?”

I looked at him nervously. “I guess only one. The story of a little boy who fell off this ride. Mary's brother.”

Henry looked at me flatly. “And what do you know of that story?”

“Well, not much. . . . Mary never really talked about it, and I never really asked. But I do know he fell to his death. So that's why I'm a little anxious up here.”

“Seems like a story she would have told you about. That's a pretty big life event, losing your brother. And you say Mary was your fiancée? Tell me, how much of Mary's life story do you
really
know, then?”

He asked the question at the top of the ride, and as we began our descent I felt my heart fall as well. Mary had never been one to talk much about the past. Whenever I asked about her life growing up, she would just say, “Oh, those are boring stories, and anyway, the past is just the past. Let's live for today.” She always said that, and her face lit up with an optimistic glow.

As we neared the bottom I turned to Henry and said, “I guess I never knew her life's story too well, but I always knew
her
well enough. We connected like
that.
” I snapped my fingers.

We passed the bottom platform, and the ride came to a sudden, screeching stop. Our cart tipped forward and nearly dumped me out. I looked wildly toward Henry, but he sat calmly, as if nothing had happened. The wizard stood still, holding his arm in one place. I looked back to Henry, and he nodded for me to look forward.

Two children boarded the cart in front of us.

One was a small boy. The other was a small girl . . . Mary.

T
he wizard moved his hand, and the ride lurched to a start once again.

I couldn't take my eyes off Mary's younger self. She looked exactly as I had seen her in childhood pictures: brown hair in pigtails, pink
dress, black glossy shoes with neatly folded white socks, smile a mile wide.

As we rose higher the two kids talked excitedly and began tickling each other. When their cart was beneath us and I lost my view of them, I gave Henry a worried glance.

“Sometimes,” he said, “we think we know a story, but maybe we don't know the
full
story.” He turned around and looked at the cart behind us.

Todd, Mary's brother, was winning the tickle war. He raised both arms above the safety bar in victory.

My heart sunk as I realized what was about to happen.

“
NO!
” I screamed. “
I don't want to see this!
”

Mary leaned over Todd and pointed out their parents walking below.

I sat horrified, looking up to the kids' car as we descended.

When Mary and Todd's cart passed the loading platform, they yelled down happily to the people waiting in line.

The people in line
—
where did they come from?

We rose once more to the top of the Ferris wheel, and I saw that the park had come to life again. There were hundreds of people below. I heard the roller coaster in the distance. I saw a barker handing over a stuffed animal at one of the game booths. The noise and sights distracted me for a second.

Then I heard Todd scream.

We were descending again, and as I looked up I saw him screaming and waving at his parents below. “Hi, Mommy! Hi, Daddy!”

We passed the platform, and I saw the operator arguing with a man at the front of the line.

Our carts rose to the top again, and I looked back to see that Todd had pulled his legs up and under the safety bar. He was kneeling in his seat.

Mary was grabbing at him. “Sit down!” she demanded.

“I want Mommy to see me!” Todd squealed.

I tried to scream at Todd to sit down, but no sound came out of my mouth. I looked to Henry, who was staring at something below. I
followed his gaze. The man in the front of the line suddenly stopped arguing and pointed skyward. The operator looked up to see Todd leaning far over the safety bar, waving at his parents. The operator screamed, “Kid! Sit down!”

Mary was also screaming for Todd to sit.

“Hi, Mommy!” Todd screamed.

“
Todd!
” someone screamed below me. I looked down. It was the two kids' father, Jim. He and Linda looked up in horror.

I glanced back to the operator and saw him slam a big red button.

The ride jolted and slowed.

“
NO!
”

T
odd's feet dangled just a few yards above and out from me. Mary was leaning over the safety bar, desperately trying to grab him. She had managed to get a handful of his shirt when he lost his balance and went over the safety bar.

“Toddy, I got you!” she cried.

“Mary, don't lemme go!” he wailed back. He had one hand on the bottom of the cart and was frantically trying to reach up with his other hand.

And then he lost his grip. His shirt tore away.

The crowd below screamed and scattered.

I
watched his mother cradle him in her arms, rocking him back and forth.

“No!” she cried. “Not my baby . . . not my baby . . . please no . . . not my baby!”