Phantom Tips:

🎶 The mountain from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra for this chapter.


'There is nothing tricky about this'. I still can't believe I was deceived by that. Even when Nozomi, our mischievous director was the one who said it.

The tickets were a free entrance for the park. And when I say free I mean they came with a condition. The condition that we had to finish a tour before we could go wherever we wanted inside the park.

The short tour as the guide called it, not only was longer than we expected... But it also included almost every extreme game of the park.

If I was alone I would've never taken this tour, but I wasn't. I had come with her. I tried to think of excuses however, all my reasons for trying to refuse the rollercoasters where thrown away when I realized how excited she was. Apparently it had been 4 years since she went to a park. Gathering some courage I decided to bear with the rides… After two, I was done for.

"I think we should take a little rest before continuing," she said to the guide.

"Oh, yeah seems like she needs that… we still have time so you two wait here while I go get us some drinks." The guide who I didn't bother to learn his name told her, not leaving without smiling at her. This guy is too friendly in my opinion.

"I just spotted a free bench, I'll take you there so you can rest Umi."

"T-thanks," I answered her. Since I was dizzy, I had no choice but to support myself with my left arm over her shoulders. I would probably freak out for being so close to her if I wasn't so exhausted.

"Here, just take it easy for now." Gently she removed my arm so I could sit down.

"Thank you." Reclining my back on the bench I released a sigh.

"It might be better if we leave now…" She said as she sat next to me.

"No!" I answered abruptly, which made her look at me first with surprise then with narrowed eyes.

"Umi… you can barely walk on your own. You don't have to force yourself just for my sake."

If we leave now, I probably won't have another opportunity to spend time with her outside the theatre. So just this time, I can make an effort to endure these crazy games.

"I-I'm not. I'm actually starting to feel better now! Besides, the next ride might be fun since I really like water rides." I tried to sound the most cheerful I could even if my body still felt numb.

"Hmm, very well. But if you get sick again we'll leave immediately," she said, still looking suspiciously at me.

"I'm here! Ah, the queue was a little long. Here, lemon for the patient and strawberry for the virtuous lady."

Again with that annoying way of speaking.

"Thank you." She took her drink and gave him a well-mannered smile.

"Yeah thanks." I took my bottle and quickly drank it. If we're going to go to 5 more rides I'm going to need all the sugar I can get to avoid fainting.

"By the way, your tickets might come with the condition to take this tour… But it doesn't mean you both have to take it, if one of you is feeling unwell you can go home. Your friend will still be able to go on with the tour and then enjoy the park."

And leave you two alone so you can annoy her all day? Hell no.

"No thank you. I'm fine now so let's get going already," I said as I got up.

"Well, if you say so… Follow me! The next ride is not that far. Though if you get tired we can rest at any time, that way I can spend more time with you guys," He said, giving her that annoying smile for the 12th time. I've been counting them just in case I need to punch him. Also, it's decided. No more rests until we are done with this tour.

After walking for 3 minutes, we finally arrived to the next game. We had special tickets so we didn't have to wait in line, there was a reserved seat for both of us on every attraction, which was good since that gave him less time to try to flirt with her. He had been doing that since we arrived, making an excuse that he was his fan and he was 'extremely' happy to show her around. At first she didn't mind it but now she clearly looked uncomfortable... This day is supposed to be for her to relax, so there is no way I'll let him bother her in front of me.

"Welcome! To the Moonstruck Cascades! Wait a sec and I'll help you get on the boat," He said while he emptied his pockets.

"We'll be fine, the ride it's about to start so we'll get going." We walked quickly before he could follow us.

"Make sure you have left all of your belongings on the safe box… Please fasten your seatbelts the ride is about to start." A voice announced and after a few seconds the boats began to move.

We went up a slope and I closed my eyes to wait for our boat to descend the waterfall. I was expecting a quick fall that never came.

That wasn't that bad actually. I thought when our boat had reached the bottom.

After that, came other cascades. But neither too high, so I relaxed and settled for looking at the weird animal robots that were on the riverbank.

"This ride is actually calm isn't it?" She remarked after a while.

"Y-yes. Though it would be better if the animals weren't so creepy." A comment that made her release a chuckle.

"They are indeed terrible, not to mention that some animals don't even belong to the landscape. What's a polar bear doing on a tropical river?!"

"Well… if I were to write a story about that I would probably say it's because he wanted to get a tan."

She laughed this time, meanwhile I inwardly kicked myself for that bad joke.

Wait… now that I think about it. Can bears even get tanned?

"Pffft. Are you actually considering writing a story about a bear who wants to get a tan?"

Crap, another thought I say out loud.

"Sounds like a cute story so I would definitely want to read it if you write it," she said giving me one of her cute smiles.

"I-I'll think about it after I finish our next play." I told her as I looked at the other side so she couldn't see my blushed face.

Our boat suddenly began to move faster so we grabbed the bar in front of us to prepare for the next cascade. After a few seconds we finally spotted the fall… it was high, extremely high. Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes. Our boat fell, strong gusts of wind made my face cold and I felt myself close to faint.

When our boat reached the bottom with a big splash my heart rate began to increase… Not because I was recovering but because I was suddenly being crushed by the person who had been sitting next to me.

We had barely entered a dark tunnel when she threw her arms above my shoulders and hided her face on my neck.

"W-what… what's wrong? Are you hurt?" I asked her trying not to panic at the thought that she might be wounded.

She denied it with her head instead of replying, tightening her grip and making my heart beat fast from having her breath on my skin.

Calm down. This isn't the time to start fantasizing. Taking the deepest breath I could manage I was going to remove her arms gently form my neck, but noticing she was slightly trembling I decided not to.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt anywhere? Please answer me, Eli…"

Lifting her head for a moment she looked surprised at me, but eventually returned to hide her face on my neck again.

"C-can I stay… like this u-until we get o-out." Her lips brushed the skin on my neck and I could feel something I wasn't sure how to describe, something I've never felt before.

Wait… Until we get out?! Why is she…?

Ah... Could it be? No it can't be… But, what else could it be?

No, that's not possi… Is it?

No matter what I thought of, that seemed like the only explanation since there was no bruise or any sight of pain coming from her.

Rubbing my thumb on her shoulder I tried to calm her.

"It's fine. This is the last part of the ride, the exit is near. You can relax, I'll tell you when we get out." After I told her that her grip faltered a little.

"E-Eli…" She whispered.

"Huh?" Stopping my hand I tried to understand what she was trying to say.

"You can c-call me by my name…" She said, holding tight onto me once more.

"Ah, umm…"- I took another deep breath.

"Eli," I finally said, and I could feel how her lips curled upwards at that moment against my skin. Making my heart miss a beat.

"You can open your eyes now… Eli."

Slowly lifting her head, she sighed after realizing we were out of the tunnel.

"Thank you Umi," she said, snuggling her face against my shoulder this time.

"Umm… We should probably get out of the boat now that it stopped." If this keeps going I'm really going to faint this time.

She quickly retreated her arms and returned to her seat, her face now painted in red. Guess I should tell her she doesn't have to be embarrassed that I found out about her fear. It's not like I would tell someone anyway.

I was about to tell her that, but when I saw that our annoying guide was coming on our direction, probably to 'help' her get out of the boat, I decided to act fast.

"Can you get up Eli?" I asked without wasting a moment to unfasten our seatbelts before the guide arrived.

"Eh? Ah, Y-yes… I'm fine now."

Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow at her. "Really?" I asked while I waited for her to get out of the boat.

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine," she said with an adorable pout. Getting up her seat she lifted one foot to get on the platform, but tripped when her other foot got caught on one side of the boat.

"Waah!"

"Eli!" I caught her just in time before she could fall on the water.

"Try to get out your foot, I won't drop you." I told her while I was trying to contain a chuckle in vain.

"What are you laughing about?" She complained, crossing her arms once she was on the platform with me.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just that I find that scream to be really cute.'" My laughter died when I realized I had said that out loud.

"Ah, no wait…I didn't mean that! I was just, umm I mean… uugh just, forget it." Covering my face with my hands I decided to shut up both my mind and my mouth.

"Says the one that looks adorable when she gets flustered." I saw her feet walk past me so I lifted my head.

"Huh? Wait… what did you… wait, Eli!" Seeing she had no intention of stopping I ran until I reached her.

"I said, let's get going so we can finish this tour and enjoy the park," she said without looking behind.

I'm pretty sure she said something else… thought it could also be my imagination playing tricks on me.

"Did you enjoy the ride?" The guide asked us once we had recovered our stuff and joined him.

"Yes, what's next?" I said before he could start with his bothersome advances on her.

"Actually… I hope you can forgive me, there has been an emergency and they need my help on one of the attractions. But hey! Now you two can go wherever you want, ah that's my boss calling me. See you around and enjoy the park!" He said before he ran to the direction of the castle.

Finally. I thought as I sighed.

"Yeah, he was really annoying wasn't he?" She released a sigh as well.

Or I believed that I thought. Why can't I keep my mouth shut?!

After clearing my throat I began looking around to find a map.

"Where do you want to go?" We asked at the same time.

"Ah, I'm fine with any game you decide" I told her.

"Hoo, even rollercoasters?" I flinched when she looked at me with a daring face.

"Well… maybe not rollercoasters but, anything else is fine."

She giggled." Alright, how about we eat something for now? You must be starving with the way your stomach was rumbling while we were inside that tunnel"

"W-what?! My stomach did not… did it?" At this point my face was burning so much that not even the water from the past game could bring my temperature down.

She tried to contain herself from smiling but burst into laugh eventually.

"Eli!" I crossed my arms.

"It's not funny." I added with my arms still crossed. Her laugh still alive.

"Then why are you smiling?" She asked, removing a tear from her eye and trying to recover her normal breathing.

Huh? I was smiling? I thought as I touched my face.

She chuckled. "So?"

"Fine, let's go eat… but it's not because I'm hungry, I just want something to drink," I said finally giving in.

I wasn't hungry actually, but when we got close to the food stalls my stomach betrayed me and made such a loud noise that she began to laugh again, though not as much as before. After we finished eating, we went for a walk so we could digest our food. Where her previous embarrassment went? I don't know. She was now the teasing beauty I meet that day at the bar, making me blush every time she wanted. We went to the mirrored room, teacups and many other games before we decided to rest and take a drink at a coffee bar near the giant pond.

"Your aim skills are great… do you play a lot shooting games?" She asked me once we were sitting and drinking our orders. One of the games we played required to shoot 3 targets. She seemed like she wanted that keychain so I won easily and gave it to her.

"Oh, I used to do archery when I was in high school. I hadn't practiced since I entered college so today I was just lucky I guess." I took another sip of my chai after I finished.

"How does someone that practices archery ends up being a writer for a theater?" She wondered before she started drinking from her chocolate mug again. It was rather windy today, so we both asked for hot drinks so we could warm up a bit.

"Well… I only started archery because of my family, it was one of the requirements in case I wanted to inherit the dojo. I also had to do martial arts and writing. Writing was the thing I liked the most, so I ended up choosing it as my job."

"Your family has a dojo?!" She exclaimed.

"Wow that's impressive… So they weren't mad when you told them you didn't want to inherit the dojo?"

"Ah, only at first. They accepted it when I showed them some of my works, it was then that they understood how much I liked writing."

"That's great. It had to take a lot of courage to tell them that, it's amazing." She told me with a genuine smile.

"T-thank you," I said, drinking my tea and looking at the pond so I could hide my blush from her.

The sun had completely fallen by now, leaving a clear dark sky with an almost full moon to illuminate the night.

"Hey, looks like some kind of show is going to start. Shall we go and see what's about?" Having finished her drink she went to throw her mug on the trashcan.

"Ah, yeah I also finished mine. Where are we going?" I got up from my seat and threw my cup as well.

"I'm not sure… but there is a large crowd gathering on the bridge near the castle. Let's go before it gets too full."

Grabbing my forearm she pulled me so I began to walk fast. Arriving at the bridge we stood near the edge so we could see whatever it was going to start. After some minutes more people gathered around the place, that was when we heard a voice on a speaker.

"Ahem, is this thing working? Oh! It is… sorry about that." After that, laughter came from the crowd. Except from Eli and me, as we were tired of hearing that voice almost all this morning.

"Ladies, kids, gentleman and everyone who has come here today. Many of you don't know but today is actually a special day… is it? Oh, Ahem. Today is our park's anniversary! Wow I didn't know that… Ah sorry about that. Anyway, today we have brought special guests to give us a magnificent present. Please enjoy!"

Leaving the parts where he screwed up, that kind of speech felt oddly familiar.

Music distracted me from my thoughts and we all looked at the wall of the castle, now illuminated by several spotlights.

A shadow play… simple perhaps, but when well executed could be really entertaining as this one was, and the musical piece really fitted.

After the music had faded I thought it had ended… But suddenly, the lights changed from white to various colors, a new piece began and the puppets began to move one more time. 🎶

Unlike the previous performance this was livelier. Classical music but with electric guitars, drums and a bass.

The puppets moved like they were hypnotized.

Changing shapes.

Gaining movement as the song evolved.

Some, building a castle on the wall.

Others dancing in front of the now completed mansion.

A monster, appeared from the inside and made all the other shadows tremble with fear.

The shadows froze... but after a few seconds, they moved to surround the monster with fire torches.

The monster panicked.

The shadows attacked and the monster was gone.

Fireworks appeared in the sky with all the shadows happily dancing.

After a while the shadows were gone with the lights.

We watched the now colorful night sky.

"Thank you Umi," She said, looking at the fireworks.

"For what?" I don't recall having done anything important.

"For not making fun of my fear." She then turned her face and looked at me.

I only stood there. I could hear more fireworks on the background but I still couldn't say a word out loud.

"Also because I had fun today," she said observing the fireworks again.

Finally snapping out of my trance I said: "Y-yeah, I had fun too… Thank you, Eli."

A name.

Something we use to identify what we see, anything that catches our attention.

A name.

Something I give to characters I've made, stories I've created.

A name.

Something I am still indecisive to describe what I'm feeling right now.

Three letters.

To think that a simple syllable could make me feel like this.

Uncertain.

Inspired.

Elated.

That's something I could've never imagined.

I smiled, truly this time.


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Phantom Notes:

The line didin't want to appear so I put ::::: meh

Wow this was really fun to write! (*¯︶¯*) Even if I missed Nozomi u.u

ALSO, I'M ULTRA HAPPY BC I CAN FINALLY WRITE ELI'S NAME ON UMI'S MIND! (≧◡≦)

This thing writes itself tbh.

Special thanks to:

TsUNaMyWaVe, awesome reader, your last review gave me motivation to write this faster so thank you.

My guests who also left a review, thank you for your kind words.

To everyone who is reading this, thank you for your patience.

Thanks for reading! ( ̄▽ ̄)ノ

You can leave reviews, squeals, emoticons or just enjoy this ride.