I entered the YeahWrite Super Challenge last month, and had 48 hours to write, edit and submit a flash fiction piece of no more than 1,000 words. My story had to include “opening night at a carnival” as a setting, and had to include “putting shoes on someone else” as an action.
I’m excited that this was good enough to advance me to round 2 of the challenge, which will kick off this Friday night. Guess what I’m doing with my weekend? š
Vanished
Synopsis:Ā Following her therapistās advice, Kate attends a county fair for the first time in 15 years to face her past. When she confides in her new boyfriend, she gets much more than the comfort she so desperately needs.
Kate knew coming to the fair was a bad idea, even before she and Sam walked through the gates. It was opening night, and crowds were thick. Her stomach churned, and a sheen of sweat covered her skin, despite the chill in the air.
Sam took her hand. āYouāve got this, Kate. You havenāt told me what this is all about, but Iām here for you tonight, OK?ā
Sam. Her rock. Kate leaned into him, gathering strength. Although she hadnāt known him long, Sam made her feel safe. Her elder by 12 years, he was a recent widower. Heād said his son worked there; maybe sheād get to meet him tonight.
She hadnāt told him why her therapist had recommended coming to the fair, or about what had happened in Minnesota all those years before, but she would tonight.
āIt smells the same,ā Kateās voice competed with her pounding heart.
āYeah, I guess all carnivals do,ā Sam replied. āHot dogs and cotton candy.ā
That wasnāt what Kate meant, though. To her, the fairgrounds reeked of sadness and despair. Although this county fair was some 700 miles and 15 years from the last fair sheād attended, it was if sheād stumbled back in time. The lights; the rides; the music; the games; the food trucks powered by noisy generators – it was all the same.
For a moment, Kate couldnāt breathe. Danny⦠oh, God. It still hurtā¦
āYou OK? Want to talk about it?ā Samās tone was gentle.
āI⦠can we sit?ā
Not waiting for his answer, she led him to a bench.
As she gathered her thoughts, Sam nodded to the carny across the way. The young man was busy trying to lure people to his ring-toss booth. Was that Samās son, Kate wondered idly?
The fair⦠There were things she hadnāt even told her therapist.
Thatās why youāre here, right? To face the past?
Once Kate started to speak, she couldnāt stop the words any more than she could stop the hot tears that streamed down her face.
āI want… I need to tell you what happened at the fair in my hometown in Minnesota, when I was 16, and my little brother was 5. We werenāt even supposed to be there.
Danny needed new sneakers. Mom had to work, so sheād given me cash to take him shopping. On our way to the mall, my friend called from the fair. It sounded like everyone was having so much fun. So, I⦠made a decision thatās haunted me ever since…ā
Kateās breath hitched. In her mindās eye, she remembered every detail. It had been noisy and hot. The crowds had been thick, the concrete as sticky as the air. She remembered the feel of Dannyās small hand in hers as he bounced along at her side.
Sam squeezed her hand. āWhen was this? 2002? Did you say it was in Minnesota?ā
Kate nodded. Sam was sweet to show he was listening.
The carny at the ring-toss stand across the way – a college kid, Kate guessed ā still didnāt have anyone at his booth. He must not be Samās son; they didnāt look anything alike. And, wouldnāt he have greeted them by now?
Samās eyes were on Kate, so he didnāt see the young man looking at them; no, looking at Kate, intently.
Heās probably not used to seeing people crying at the fair; Iām bad for business.
Wiping the corners of her eyes with her knuckles, Kate continued.
āI wouldnāt let Danny go on any rides; he was mad. I remember that he stepped in something, so we stopped so I could clean off his shoes. As I helped him put them back on, I saw how worn they were ā he really did need a new pair.
We walked from one end of that carnival to the other, but I couldnāt find my friends. My phone was in the car, so I couldnāt even call anyone.
On the way to the exit ā weād just passed the Tilt-a-Whirl – I heard my friends calling my name.
I donāt remember our conversation; it doesnāt matter. While I was busy socializing, Danny disappeared. When I turned to take him home, heād vanished.ā
Kate paused, lost in thought. She didnāt see the guarded look in Samās eyes, or notice that his entire body had stiffened.
āThereās not much more to tell. I tried to find him on my own. By the time Mom and the police got involved, Danny was just⦠gone. The cops figured heād been kidnapped. Nobody had seen a boy matching his description. Heād simply disappeared. The police never found any remains. I still wonder if heās out there somewhere⦠if he remembers Mom and me…ā
Kateās voice broke. She and Sam sat in silence, lost in their thoughts.
Across the way, the ring-toss carny exited his booth and started walking toward them.
Kate elbowed Sam. āLooks like weāre getting the boot. Iām probably not helping this guyās business tonight. I think Iām ready to go anyway, if thatās OK with you.ā
āKate⦠I donāt know how this is possibleā¦What are the odds? One in a billion? A trillion? Maybe we were destined to meet.ā
Kate didnāt understand. What was he talking about?
Samās words were clipped and tight. āI have a carnival story too ā you see, thatās where my wife found our son in 2002. In Minnesota. I should have gone to the police. I know I should have. But, she wanted a family so badly⦠I just wanted to make her happy. So, we raised him as ours. We loved him, Kate. Please believe me.ā
Sam gestured toward the carny standing in front of them. āMeet Daniel. Although, I think you already know him.ā
The young man in front of her looked at her through eyes that had haunted her dreams for years.
As if from far away, a deep voice sheād never heard but knew instantly said just one word:
āKatie?ā
Shades of “The Light Between the Oceans”… which I loved. I like this best of all the ones I have read of yours. Good luck with round 2. jj
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Thank you so much!
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