Abandoned Amusement Park

The amusement park had been abandoned for years, but the merry-go-round started turning right before me. The wind whipped around me and caused my hair to blind me for a split second. I brushed my hair from my face and thought I had seen a little girl.

When I looked around, no one was there. An eerie feeling had crept over me. The clouds had darkened, and thunder had rolled in.

I walked around the merry-go-round, slowly turning and playing its carnival music. The horses went from their bright colors to black and grey. I stood there and watched it go around. The next time it came about, a little girl was sitting on a black horse, but this little girl wasn’t translucent like a ghost. She was as dark as night, with shadows coming from her body. Her facial features weren’t all there either. I could make out medium-length hair and piercing blue eyes.

“Can you see me?” She asked as she went by on the merry-go-round.

I didn’t reply. I watched the ghost girl as she went around one more time, then she was gone. Did I imagine her? A tug came from the bottom of my jacket. I looked down, and she was by my side.

I jumped back, “You were just on the merry-go-round. How did you—”

“So, you can see me?”

I stared at her.

“Tell me you can see me, please.”

I blinked a few times and licked my lips to salivate my mouth.

“I can see you. I can hear you. What are you?”

She signed and walked away.

“Hey, wait!” I reached for her, but my hand passed through her.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said as I looked at my hand. That was crazy.

“I don’t know what I am. I have been here for years, talking to and bumping into people, but no one has noticed me. Not until you.”

“Oh! I’m sorry. That sounds lonely.” The little girl cupped her face and cried. I wanted to comfort her, but I couldn’t touch her.

“It’s okay. You got me now.” She looked up at me with a smile, “I do?”

“Yes, you do. I’ll be your friend. What’s your name?”

She looked at the ground, “I don’t have a name.”

I scratched my head and thought about a name I could give her, “What about Luna?”

“No.” “Okay, what about Esmay?”

“Hmm, that’s an interesting name. What does it mean?”

“It means dark moon.”

“I like that. Can that be my name?”

“Of course, it can. My name is Layla.” “Hi, Layla. What did you come here for?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I think I was meant to find you. What are you doing here?”

Esmay looked around and pouted, “I’m stuck here. Every time I try to leave. I can’t. It’s like a barrier is holding me in.”

“Maybe we can figure it out together.”

“Okay, but first, can we walk around? It’s a beautiful day.”

I looked around at the gloomy day and shrugged my shoulders. I followed her everywhere. She showed me the booths that still had toys to win for prizes and all the items you needed to play with. Esmay told me how I couldn’t touch her, but she could still play games. We stopped at a ring toss booth.

“Let’s play!” I picked up the yellow rings on the counter. “I practice this daily. You are going down, blondie!” Esmay snatched up the yellow circle and tossed them at the glass bottles. She made four out of six and looked at me with a smirk.

“Okay, I’ll see you. My turn.” I tossed one of my rings, which fell between two bottles.

Esmay let out a giggle.

“Hey!” “Sorry, sorry. Concentrate.”

My second one made it, and I jumped in excitement. I missed my third and fourth ones. Which made her the winner, but she let me continue, anyway.

“I guess you are the winner,” I laughed at my terrible job of playing ring toss.

“You ever played before?” “No, this place has been abandoned since I moved here.”

“Oh, so you never been to a carnival?”

“No, my family can’t afford it.”

“What’s your family like?”

I didn’t know what to tell her. We weren’t a family, but I didn’t want to depress her. I mean, she’s only a little girl.

“I must go, but I will come back tomorrow, and we can talk about my family. If I don’t get home soon, I’ll be in trouble.”

Esmay looked at the ground, “I don’t want you to go. I don’t want to be alone again.”

“Look at me, Esmay. If you don’t want to be alone, focus on moving on from this park. Maybe your mind is keeping you here or something.”

“I don’t know how to do that.”

“Think of another place beyond here. Think of the afterlife and being with others like you.”

“I can try, but I want to be with you.”

I didn’t know what to do; I wanted to be with her too, but I didn’t want her to be alone anymore.

“I want to be with you too. I had fun today, but it’s okay to move on. Who knows, maybe you’ll find happiness.”

“Okay, I will try. I will see you tomorrow, right?”

“I will be here tomorrow.”

I turned and walked away. I only lived a block from here, but I knew if I were any later than I already was, I would be in deep trouble. I took off in a jog to get home faster.

I quietly opened the door to sneak in and tiptoed upstairs. I shut my door behind me and melted onto my bed.

I made friends with a ghost girl if the kids at school thought I was a freak before. They will now.