“Pearl,” Magna calls from the kitchen. “I signed us up to work the ticket booth at the carnival today.”
I start to object, but I stop myself. Glancing out of the window, I see what a lovely day it is outside. “I guess that’s alright, Magna,” I sigh.
“Great!” She says excitedly. “Let’s go! They’re expecting us in half an hour.” I guess she knew that I wouldn’t be able to resist this unusually nice weather. She sets up my wheelchair, packs a sack lunch and my walker (just in case), and off we go, down Moth Street towards the carnival. When we arrive, there is some confusion as to where the ticket booth is located. After wandering around for a good twenty minutes, we finally come upon it. It's a sad fold-up table, with no box for cash. A sign, reading “TICKETS,” hangs precariously off of the side.
“Where are the tickets?” I wonder aloud.
“A woman named Maria is supposed to drop them off for us,” Magna informs me. So we sit, and we wait. And wait. We wait for fifteen minutes, and still no Maria. The smell of stale cigarette smoke hangs in the air. An organ grinder and his Capuchin monkey linger suspiciously near our table. As I watch the growing crowd, I see a young couple arguing as they exit the photo booth. In the distance, a large woman rushes towards us. Presumably, this woman is whom we've been waiting for.
"Here," she grunts when she finally reaches us. She shoves a box at Magna, turns around, and rushes away again. Magna opens the box. It is full of tickets and all kinds of money. I look up again, and the organ grinder is right in front of us.
"Can I play you ladies a song?" he asks us.
"Absolutely," Magna replies, smiling.
I, however, am cautious. The little monkey scurries onto the table with a devilish grin on his face, so I wrap my arms around the box of money and cling for dear life. Before I know it, his teeth have sunken into me. I look down at my bloody, mangled hand, and I scream. The dizziness is overwhelming, and all I want is to be away from this horrible place, so I let myself drift away on a cloud of cigarette smoke until I disappear, and everything is dark at last.
I start to object, but I stop myself. Glancing out of the window, I see what a lovely day it is outside. “I guess that’s alright, Magna,” I sigh.
“Great!” She says excitedly. “Let’s go! They’re expecting us in half an hour.” I guess she knew that I wouldn’t be able to resist this unusually nice weather. She sets up my wheelchair, packs a sack lunch and my walker (just in case), and off we go, down Moth Street towards the carnival. When we arrive, there is some confusion as to where the ticket booth is located. After wandering around for a good twenty minutes, we finally come upon it. It's a sad fold-up table, with no box for cash. A sign, reading “TICKETS,” hangs precariously off of the side.
“Where are the tickets?” I wonder aloud.
“A woman named Maria is supposed to drop them off for us,” Magna informs me. So we sit, and we wait. And wait. We wait for fifteen minutes, and still no Maria. The smell of stale cigarette smoke hangs in the air. An organ grinder and his Capuchin monkey linger suspiciously near our table. As I watch the growing crowd, I see a young couple arguing as they exit the photo booth. In the distance, a large woman rushes towards us. Presumably, this woman is whom we've been waiting for.
"Here," she grunts when she finally reaches us. She shoves a box at Magna, turns around, and rushes away again. Magna opens the box. It is full of tickets and all kinds of money. I look up again, and the organ grinder is right in front of us.
"Can I play you ladies a song?" he asks us.
"Absolutely," Magna replies, smiling.
I, however, am cautious. The little monkey scurries onto the table with a devilish grin on his face, so I wrap my arms around the box of money and cling for dear life. Before I know it, his teeth have sunken into me. I look down at my bloody, mangled hand, and I scream. The dizziness is overwhelming, and all I want is to be away from this horrible place, so I let myself drift away on a cloud of cigarette smoke until I disappear, and everything is dark at last.
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