The Magical Carnival

Takia rides her bike along the beach feeling the cool breeze from the water. The sun is toasting her dark skin, her hair is pulled back into ponytails, and her sandals slap against the bottom of her feet. Suddenly, she notices something in the distance. Leaving her family playing in the sand and splashing in the water, she peddles faster, stricken with curiosity. She sees a beautiful waterfall in the distance. She hears the thundering of the falls, feels the cool mist of the spraying water, and sees a brilliant rainbow twinkling above the waterfall.

Her eyes sparkle, her heart beats faster, and she smiles wide. Below the waterfall, tucked safely under a ledge is a carnival. She throws her bike down and runs to the metal gate. A tall man is waiting at the entrance wearing a tall black hat with a large yellow sunflower on it. He has white sparkly pants, white sparkly gloves, shiny black shoes, and a long red jacket with a collar. In his right hand is a black cane with a sunflower handle. He reminds Takia of a ringmaster in a circus.

“Welcome Takia,” the man with the large yellow sunflower says. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“I want to go in,” she cries excitedly! She is tempted to run past the man with the large yellow sunflower and jump the fence, but she wants to ride the rides and play the games without getting into trouble.

“Before you can go in, you have to take a test,” says the man with the large yellow sunflower. “If you pass this test, you will be able to go inside and ride all the rides and play all the games you want. The entire carnival will be open just for you.” He pulls out a piece of paper.

Takia giggles with pleasure and jumps up and down looking at the carnival. The ride’s lights are on. The many different colors from the lights make specks of red, blue, yellow, and green dance on the waterfall, and the cool water from the waterfall moistens her face. The smell of pizza and barbecue is in the air, and each of the ride’s music blends together into a new song. She is in heaven.

“Are you ready for the test, Takia?” the man with the large yellow sunflower asks.

“Yes!” Takia shouts jumping up and down and clapping her hands.

“To get into the carnival, you must solve this math problem.” She takes the paper from the man with the large yellow sunflower. It contains one math problem: DIVISION.

“What?” Her heart sinks and her smile fades. “You’re joking right?” She looks longingly at the Ferris wheel and the line of games. She wants nothing more than to get in. She studies the division problem on the piece of paper. She looks at the division problem as if it were a hundred. She hates division. It is hard work. She struggles to find the answer. What would her teacher say? Is there any way she can get out of it?

Can I do it? Takia thinks looking again at the Ferris wheel. It is calling out to her begging her to ride. She pictures herself up in the air reaching for the ledge above and touching the crisp droplets of water splashing off the top of the Ferris wheel. Of course I can do it. I know I can. Her need to ride is greater than her hate for division.

Takia continues to stare at the problem for what feels like days. Suddenly, her heart quickens again, her eyes brighten, and her smile returns. She jumps up and down again.

“I know the answer! It’s seven! It’s seven!” She shouts jumping up and down again, and again, and again.

“Congratulations, Takia.” The tall man with the large yellow sunflower says smiling. “I knew you could do it. Remember, with a lot of hard work, and a little bit of faith, you can do anything.”

The gate to the carnival opens and Takia runs inside. She has no lines to stand in, and no need for money. The carnival, THE WHOLE CARNIVAL, is hers. She rides the Ferris wheel, the tea cups, the giant slide, and every ride that moves up and down, around, side to side, and back and forth. She eats cheese pizza, barbeque chicken, popcorn, and cotton candy. She plays all the games, balloon pop, water race, ski ball, and ring toss. Finally, on the last game, a dinosaur game, she wins the largest pink teddy bear she has ever seen in her life. It is so large that she needs to give it a piggy-back ride to carry it.

After she’s enjoyed every ride in the carnival, played every game, and eaten all the food she wants, she climbs one last time into the seat of the Ferris wheel. With her giant pink teddy bear seated next to her, she closes her eyes and listens to the rumble of the waterfall. Soon, the carnival’s music and the ride’s sounds float farther away, and she drifts off to sleep.

“Takia,” she hears a voice call. “It’s time to get up for school.”

Takia opens her eyes and looks at the familiar site of her room. She hugs her covers closer as she hears rain falling outside her bedroom window. She loves the rain because it reminds her of a waterfall. She can still smell the pizza and barbeque chicken wings they had for dinner the night before. Her thoughts return to her night at the beach. Had it all been just a dream? Had she really gone to the carnival under the waterfall? She closes her eyes and rolls over toward the wall, feeling a bit sad, unwilling to believe it was all a dream. She opens her eyes and sees the pink bear. It is still the largest bear she has ever seen in her life. Her eyes sparkle, her heart beats faster, and she smiles wide.

“It was real!” she shouts excitedly not caring if her shout bothers anyone else in the house. She jumps out of bed and dresses as quickly as she can in her blue and white uniform. She cannot wait to tell her friends at school… She freezes. Will any of her friends believe her?