Gift of Time Part 2
GIFT OF TIME PART 2 – October 26, 2024 – Evansville, Indiana, USA
Author’s Note: The first part of this story was posted on October 19
Jewelry never interested Amber Grant until her twelfth birthday. After that, she wore a single gold pendant around her neck attached to a thin gold chain. She liked how it looked, but more than its appearance, she liked where it came from and the secret inside.
During the six months since receiving the pendant, Amber examined the small red pill it held at least once every day. She became absolutely convinced that the pill held the power to send her back in time. If she needed to relive any 24-hour period, all she had to do was swallow the pill. The ability to erase any major mistake gave Amber a tremendous sense of security.
Her parents were uncomfortable with Amber’s attachment to the pendant and pill. Her dad said he wished she would not wear it and she should never under any circumstance swallow the pill. Her mom had nothing negative to say about the pendant but cautioned Amber not to put anything of unknown origin into her body. She urged Amber to keep the pill inside the pendant as a precious keepsake from her mysterious grandfather.
Any discussion of the round red pill’s magical properties was taboo. Her father refused to consider the idea and her mother changed the subject if Amber tried to bring it up. And it was not something she felt she could reveal to any of her friends. The secret of the red pill became hers and hers alone to contemplate. During quiet times she would remove it from her pendant and push it around with her finger. She admired it like she would admire a number representing money in a bank account. How could something so small have such transforming power? And when would she need it?
If Amber ever did share her secret with a friend, it was sure to be one of three from a close circle formed over most of her childhood. She had known McKenna, Eve, and Lucy since they took pre-Kindergarten dance classes together. As a group of pre-teens, they were trustworthy enough for their parents to leave them unsupervised for hours at a time at places like the mall, zoo, and movie theater.
As Halloween approached, Evansville saw the annual return of multiple pumpkin patches and corn mazes on the city’s outskirts. McKenna was the first to suggest to the friend circle they visit Pumpkinland. In addition to the usual wagon rides and corn mazes, Pumpkinland teamed with a traveling carnival that brought a Ferris Wheel and spinning rides like the Tilt-a-Whirl.
“If we go this Saturday, my mom will drive us,” McKenna announced to the group. “You need enough money for a three-hour ride pass and whatever food you want to buy.”
Like the other girls, Amber excitedly looked forward to the Pumpkinland visit. She combined money earned from babysitting jobs with $15 from her mom so she could buy all the treats she wanted. She expected the pumpkin patch carnival to be more fun than Halloween itself the following week. And then on Friday afternoon, as she anticipated what rides the carnival would have, she began feeling uneasy. A constant, dull fear filled her head like a low hum. She could not explain it. There was nothing frightening at Pumpkinland. She had been there in past years. She and her friends would visit in the afternoon while it was still light. What could possibly spook her?
Amber told herself that her subconscious was overreacting to something imagined. She said nothing about her gnawing anxiety to her parents. At 2 pm on Saturday, she got in McKenna’s family’s minivan with the rest of her friends.
The center of Pumpkinland smelled of sugary funnel cakes and roasted corn. A small midway filled with flashing lights and chance games sat in front of the mostly idle rides. Rock music blared from speakers hung from wooden poles.
“Let’s get our passes now since it’s early and the rides won’t be crowded,” McKenna suggested. “We can ride until we’re sick of it and then go to the corn maze.”
The throb of fear running along Amber’s spine grew more intense. McKenna’s plan was a bad idea but Amber could not explain why. She followed her friends to a ticket booth and paid for a ride-all-you-want wristband.
“Let’s do them in order,” Eve shouted as she hurried toward the Ferris Wheel, which sat closest to the ticket booth.
Amber noticed the faded paint beneath the ride’s flashing lights. The giant wheel screeched as it turned but the noise was mostly drowned by the loud music.
An indifferent carnival worker glanced at their wristbands before unlatching the safety bars in front of the seats. Amber rode next to Eve and gripped the sides of their compartment. They rose into the air with a view of pumpkin fields, corn mazes, and the painted metal rides below them. Eve chattered about what she saw while Amber held on in terror.
When Eve finally noticed the look on Amber’s face, she asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you freaking out?”
“I don’t know.”
“It’s not scary,” Eve assured her.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“Just don’t look down.”
Amber jumped off the ride in relief when it was over. She reluctantly followed her friends to the next one in line, the Gravitron, which spun rapidly and pushed riders against its circular wall. Amber noticed the Gravitron’s old motor, frayed electrical wires, rusty parts, and rattling sound. The scruffy-looking worker checking tickets and wristbands repeatedly texted on his phone and yelled toward passing coworkers.
Amber hesitantly boarded and stood against the outer wall between McKenna and Lucy. The ride began spinning and her friends cackled with laughter as their long hair flew backward and they struggled to move their arms and legs. Amber felt no thrill or joy. She kept her eyes closed and her body still until it was over.
“Look what’s next!” McKenna yelled. “Startrooper! I love that one!”
Startrooper was another spinning ride but riders sat in cars attached to arms that raised and lowered. Amber took one look and concluded the equipment was in worse shape than the Ferris Wheel or Gravitron. Metal screeched. The ride’s base rocked unstably as it spun. Her friends did not seem to notice or care as they dragged her to the ride’s waiting line. Two teenagers stood in front of them.
When Amber got within six feet of the entrance, her stomach dropped. Her vision narrowed to two small dots. She felt dizzy with the sensation that something was about to fall on her head. She grabbed Lucy’s shoulder to steady herself and then dropped to her knees.
“What’s wrong?” her friends yelled. The words sounded like they came from the end of a long hallway.
Amber shook with fear and clutched at her pendant for comfort. She slid open the lid and looked down. The red pill was gone!
Amber’s first thought was that she lost it. But that was impossible. The pendant had always been with her since she last inspected the pill. Her next conclusion was that she must have taken it. But if that happened, why did she not remember? She had always assumed that she would carry her memories with her during her jump back in time. Maybe that was not how the pill worked. More importantly, if she had taken it, something very bad was going to happen.
Without another thought, Amber knew the terrible future event centered around Startrooper. She had felt echoes of fear for the past 24 hours. Now the fear screamed paralyzingly loud.
“We can’t get on the ride!” Amber shrieked to her friends. “Please don’t get on! I know something bad is going to happen!” Tears streamed down her face.
Amber was hard to ignore. Everyone within a 50-foot radius stared and wondered if she was serious. Her friends had never seen her act that way. After getting over their embarrassment, they huddled around Amber and assured her they would not get on Startrooper. McKenna and Lucy lifted her from the ground and dragged her away from the ride’s entrance. The two teenagers who had been in line in front of the girls smirked and laughed to each other. They stayed in line. They were joined by two more teenagers.
Amber remained dazed and barely aware of what was happening around her, but she did realize her friends had abandoned their places in line. A small voice inside told her to scream a warning at the remaining teenagers. But her friends continued to block her view and offered food and drink as a way to calm her down.
Startrooper stopped spinning and released its passengers. The four waiting teenagers showed their wristbands and then found seats in two different cars.
Amber’s head throbbed as the ride started. She squeezed her eyes shut to try and fight the pain. The Startrooper cars gained speed as they spun. After a dozen rotations, a metal arm shook violently. The sound of a loud CRACK ripped the air and suddenly one of the empty cars broke away and flew forward into the air. It hit the ground hard, 30 feet away, and then crumpled as it slid into the metal frame of the Tilt-a-Whirl.
A collective scream spread across Pumpkinland. Amber could hardly hear herself think but she opened her eyes to see the destroyed car and the flashing ride slowing to a stop. Her friends cried with shock, knowing that if not for Amber’s warning, two of them would likely have been inside the wreckage.
All the rides in the carnival immediately shut down. In a matter of minutes, what seemed like a hundred police and fire department vehicles showed up with lights flashing. Some riders and onlookers were given oxygen and ice packs, but in the end, no one was seriously hurt.
McKenna called her mom to explain what happened and asked her to return and pick up her group. McKenna’s mom quickly called the other parents and they raced to Pumpkinland to claim their own child. Amber’s parents found her embracing her friends while still huddled on the ground.
“Amber saved us!” McKenna blurted out. “She wouldn’t let us get on the ride. She knew it was going to break. It’s a miracle.”
On the way home, Amber finally revealed to her parents what happened at the carnival and how she felt dark and strange for the previous twenty-four hours.
“When we got to the rides, I felt worse and worse. In front of Startrooper, I could barely breathe. That’s when I found out I took the pill.”
“You swallowed that pill?” Amber’s mother cried.
“I don’t remember doing it. But I must have done it after seeing the Startrooper crash the first time. When I lived the day over, I knew something was wrong, but I could not remember exactly what. The closer I got to it, the more I felt it. I screamed and wouldn’t let my friends get on the ride.”
Both Amber’s parents remained speechless for half a minute. Finally, Amber’s mom said, “Well, I’m glad you listened to your feelings. Who knows what would have happened otherwise.”
Her dad sighed and shifted in his seat. “Yeah, it sounds like you saved the day. But maybe you just had a strong premonition. That pill had nothing to do with it. I’m sure it fell out of your pendant when you weren’t looking. That’s why you don’t remember taking it.”
“I don’t know. I think I’m starting to believe what her grandfather told her,” Amber’s mom added.
“You actually think she lived the day over?”
“I can’t explain it any other way.”
Amber had no doubts or questions. But she did feel a kind of insecurity, knowing her pendant was empty. She had used up her life-saving do-over. Now she hoped more than ever her grandfather would again appear unexpectedly with resupplied magic.
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