text: “My, you are bouncing off the walls today!” A tired mother watches her young daughter skip in haphazard circles around the kitchen table. “Have you had too much sugar today?” “Just a little bit,” the daughter giggles. “I’m pretending to ride a horsie on a merry-go-round. Mommy look, watch me go!” “I’m watching, honey, I’m watching.” The mother sighs. This crazy behavior has been going on all morning. If she doesn’t wear her daughter out soon, she’ll never finish paying all the bills. “Why don’t I take you to the carnival for a little while today? Then you can ride a real merry-go-round.” “Really? Oh, can I buy a stuffed bear? And cotton candy too?” “Don’t push your luck.” The mother smiles and ruffles her daughter’s wispy hair. “Put on your sunbonnet and sunglasses so we can walk there.” &#x200B; Mother and daughter stroll hand-in-hand through their neighborhood, admiring each picturesque house on the way. The summer air feels hot and languid, almost suffocatingly so. When they are just three blocks from the carnival, the sound of a trilling calliope softly wafts into their ears. “We’re almost there!” the daughter shrieks. The mother smiles. She can’t remember the last time the two of them did something fun together. At last, they make their way through iron gates into a throng of lively carnival-goers. The daughter jumps up and down. “Where are the horsies? I can’t see them!” “That’s because you’re too short,” laughs the mother, lifting her daughter up high. “See? The merry-go-round’s all the way over there. Let’s go!” They have to stand in a rather long line of fussy people - parents and children alike - but it’s okay because they keep each other entertained with little games the entire time. When they finally reach the front of the line, a grandfatherly-looking carnival employee with shocking silver hair winks at the daughter. “The pink horse is the best one,” he says. “You’d better run and get it while it’s still open!” The daughter giggles and sprints toward the horse, leaving her mother alone with the carnival employee. “You should get on with her,” says the man with a knowing smile. “A youngun’ like that needs constant supervision.” The mother nods. “You don’t have to tell me twice. Oh, and thanks for supervising this ride... that is what you do, right?” “Yup! I’ve got control of that lever right over there,” he says, indicating a large metal contraption near the merry-go-round platform. “I should probably go and pull it now.” “Oh! Of course. I didn’t mean to hold you up. Have a nice rest of your day!” The mother flashes him a quick smile before joining her daughter on the platform. She lifts her daughter up on a hard plastic horse saddle, placing her hands lightly on the girl’s hips for extra security. The lever is pulled, and the ride begins. Gradually, the spinning platform accelerates, and every color outside the merry-go-round melds together in a whirling blur. As the ride goes on, the mother sinks deep into her thoughts, worrying about all the bills she has yet to pay. She thinks about how hard it’s always been for her to make ends meet with such a small salary. At least she’s been adding to a savings account all these years. Her daughter may never be able to have expensive North Face jackets like other girls, but at least she’ll have some money to put toward college. The mother’s brow furrows as more troublesome thoughts infiltrate her head. The trilling calliope somehow finds its way into her ears again and puts her in a near-trancelike state. Suddenly, a high-pitched yelp jolts her awake. In that moment, she realizes that she had unknowingly taken her hands off her daughter’s waist. Her daughter is slipping off the horse, falling, about to catapult off the merry-go-round into the colorful spinning void. Out of pure instinct, the mother grabs hold of her daughter’s outstretched ankle. “Stop the ride!” she hears herself scream. She yanks her daughter as hard as she can back onto the platform, but in the process, her daughter hits her head against a nearby pole. But she is okay. By now, the ride has screeched to a stop. Bystanders have noticed the commotion, but they remain frozen in shock. The mother suddenly feels a hand on her shoulder. She looks up, and gazes into the eyes of the silver-haired carnival operator. He pulls her up and hugs her tightly, whispering in her ear, “It’s okay now. You did it. I’m here.” Relief overcomes the mother, and tears roll down her cheeks. “Can someone call 9-1-1?” she asks, turning away from the man and lifting up her daughter. “My daughter might have a head injury, and she needs an ambulance. Quickly!” &#x200B; \ &#x200B; Two days later, the mother returns to the carnival. She wants to find that silver-haired carnival employee and thank him for making sure she and her daughter were okay. When she arrives, she sees a few employees scattered sparsely across a nearly-empty plot of land. They must be taking all the rides down for the end of the season. Approaching the nearest employee - a gangly young man with messy blond hair - the mother says, “Hello sir, mind if I bother you for a second?” He offers her a toothy grin. “What can I do for you?” “I’m looking for an older man with silver hair,” she says. “He was operating the merry-go-round yesterday, and I’d like to speak with him.” “Hmm, I’m not sure who you’re talking about.” The man scrunches up his face, deep in thought. “Wait a second. HEY!!” he yells at another young employee far across the grounds. “Weren’t you in charge of operating the merry-go-round all day yesterday?” The employee yells back a faint “yes” from his station. The mother looks up in confusion. Who was it, then, that she saw yesterday? “I think you’re mistaken ma’am,” says the blond-haired man, turning back to face her. “No one by that description works here, at least to my knowledge.” “O-okay,” says the mother, perplexed. “Thanks anyway.” She turns away from him and walks back to her car, an expression of wonder flashing across her face.