Children Short Story – The Carousel
Photo credit: taylorschlades from morguefile.com
The horse was big, shiny and white – my favorite kind! And then there were elephants and carriages and zebras and even a unicorn, all dancing around in a circle. And so many lights! A million, gazillion lights. They all shone back in my glittering eyes as I turned to Ma. I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed, “Please God, let Ma take me to the horse. Please, please, pretty please.” And I guess God must really love me, because Ma made a beeline towards the big, white horse. She knows I like white horses, after all. Dad doesn’t know much except how to put a diaper on so I won’t spoil his clothes or the kitchen counter or the floor. But Ma knows everything I like, love and hate. That’s why she’d brought me into the kiddie section of Magic Mountain, while the rest of the family went on to Goliath– she knows that lights, trains and animals excite me.
I wobbled alongside Ma, eager to climb atop the big white horse. Suddenly, I felt my shoe strap snap open and let loose. As I took my next step, the shoe came right off and got kicked away someplace else. Ma didn’t notice and I didn’t care. What if someone took my white horse? A shoe would be replaced, but the horse wouldn’t. And besides, I don’t walk all that much anyway. Ma says I still wobble too much and she’s worried I’d smack my bum and hurt myself.
I climbed up my grand horse and waited patiently while all the seats got filled. It was hard, though. I was used to crying my way towards instant attention, so patience wasn’t a skill I’d develop yet. I balled my tiny hands into fists, willing everyone to be seated quickly. Ma slowly fastened the brown horse belt tightly around me. Maybe she was worried I’d slither off the smooth horsy. I looked at her, showing her my fists, telling her I’d hold on tightly. I wished the horse would start galloping soon, or I would jump out of seat in excitement.
Then a man wearing a dark blue shirt with matching pants and a black hat started walking around the circle. He seemed to be someone really important. I wondered what he was doing. Was he checking to see if everyone had put on their belt safely?
As he came to my horse, I proudly held up my fists, showing him how tightly I was holding on. He smiled at my fists and I smiled back. But then, as his eyes moved down to my shoeless foot, his mouth turned into one straight line. It looked like his lips disappeared! He turned to my mom and quickly said something. I couldn’t really understand – he was speaking too low for me to hear. But whatever he said couldn’t have been good, because Ma’s cheeks, which are usually pink, suddenly went white. I was confused. She argued with the man for a while, pointing to my foot all the time and then to my other shoe. I only made out a few words like ‘lost’ and ‘just had it’. In the next instant, she was fumbling with my belt, pulling me away from the horse. I saw two big tears in both her eyes. I felt very bad. I liked when Ma smiled. Crying had to be my job, I thought. There was only one thing I knew I had to do. I did the same thing Ma does to me when I have tears in my eyes – I put my chubby fingers on her cheeks to wipe them away and I gave her my most sincere smile. Then I kissed the tip of her nose, just like she does to me when I’m sad, and I said – “Ma’s here.” That’s what she says to calm me down.
Did the man not let me ride the horse because I lost a shoe? I didn’t realize my shoe was so important – I hardly walk, after all. It’ll be quite some time before I learn to walk very properly. I heard Ma talking to Gram later and I figured that my shoe, in fact, had been the issue. Though I don’t know why. All I heard my Ma say to my Gram repeatedly, later on, was – “He could’ve very easily cried today. He could’ve refused to get down from the horse at the carousel. He could’ve kicked up a big fuss. But all he did was wipe my tears and smile for me. I got a strong one, Mom. My baby already knows to be strong for me. All I hope is that he didn’t lose his innocence over this. I really, really hope he didn’t. “
I didn’t really know what innocence was. But I prayed to God nonetheless, to always help me keep it. I didn’t want to lose it if my Ma thought that I shouldn’t. And I made a silent promise to my Ma – I would try and hold on to my innocence, for as long as I could. I would never let the man, or any other man like him, take it from me.
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