It was like a scene from a dream, a replication of that night five years ago, the bright lights, the colorful rides, the sounds of youthful laughter and merriment. It was almost as if he could transport his mind back to that moment, when he was thirteen, so eager to throw himself into a grand adventure, so eager to impress Cynthia Benson. The funny thing was, he'd spent so long as an adult, that now it was his childhood before the incident that seemed like a fantasy. Now that he was back here, he was starting to wonder if any of it had been real. Surely that unplugged machine couldn't really have granted his wish, he couldn't have really become a vice-president at a toy company and gotten a girlfriend like a Susan. It had to have been some kind of hallucination. But then how would that explain why everything still seemed so vivid in his memory?

Josh didn't have much time to contemplate this when he spotted a familiar face gazing back at him.

"Josh!" Billy quickly whispered something to one of the two girls he was standing next to and rushed towards Josh. The boys greeted each other with another clasped handshake.

"You old tease," Billy grinned, "I knew you'd come through for me. Check it out, I've already managed to get a couple of girls to be our dates. Did I not tell you this was gonna be a night to remember?"

Josh sighed internally, he appreciated his friend's efforts, even if he felt certain they were in vain, he shook his head and smiled. "That you did."

"Here's the lowdown, the one on the left is Jeanne, she's a bit more spunky, and her friend Lacy, she's more on the shy side. Now personally, I figure since you're trying to get back out there, you should start slow, but I think they both like you already, from what I've told 'em, so you really can't lose."

"Let's...just see how the night goes, okay?" Josh replied awkwardly.

Billy nodded. "Sure thing, buddy. C'mon, we've got a ride to catch."

"Which one?"

"The main attraction, of course, the Super Loops!"

Billy hadn't been there all those years ago when Josh had tried to get on the Super Loops with Cynthia Benson, only to have to endure the ultimate humiliation of not only being too short to ride, but being openly mocked by the ride attendant in front of Cynthia and her boyfriend. Even so, it seemed like Billy, or Fate, or whatever greater power was out there, had decided to try to rectify everything that had happened back then tonight. Maybe he should just accept it and stop fighting, he thought to himself as he and Billy walked back to the girls waiting for them.

"Hey girls, sorry about the wait, but there's someone I want you to meet," Billy said enthusiastically.

The girl on the left, Jeanne, was slender, with stylish short curls and all glitz and glamour in the clothing and makeup department. Lacy, on the other hand, had wavy hair that fell past her shoulders and wore simple, almost tomboyish clothes.

"You must be the Josh Billy's been telling us so much about," Jeanne said.

Just how much had he been telling them? Josh thought as a blush crept to his cheeks. This was almost as bad as his parents embarrassing him in front of Cynthia. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Um...yeah, that's me."

"I heard you're into computers, that's really cool," Lacy said. She smiled at him, which made Josh think he might have better luck with her. He was about to reply when Billy cut their conversation short.

"Well now that we've all been introduced, let's go check out the Super Loops, shall we? The line's only gonna get longer the more we wait."

Josh said nothing, simply following the group as they wound their way through rows of colorful attractions and carnival games. Some of them, he could remember playing on that night five years ago. Others reminded him of the carnival he'd visited with Susan while he was an "adult".Back then, he'd used his prodigal arcade skills to win enough prizes to make her arms practically overflow with stuffed animals and the like. He felt a melancholy smile and a warm feeling rise to his face at the fond memory.

"Would you look at that? It's a beauty."

Josh glanced up at the sound of Billy's excited voice. He'd been so deep in his own thoughts he hadn't even realized that they were now in line for the Super Loops ride. It somehow seemed just as imposing now as it had back then. Maybe they'd made modifications to it, or maybe it was merely the fact that he was in its presence again after so many years that gave him a chill.

"I can't believe they still make these things," Jeanne scoffed. "It's like a relic from the sixties".

"Aw c'mon, this was the most badass ride back in the day, everyone wanted to go on it." Billy said, but Jeanne had a point. Last time Josh had been here, the line had been so long that he'd had to wait nearly an hour just to get to the front. Now, it consisted of only about a dozen people. It seemed, like all things in life, that the Super Loops had simply seen its day. The thought made Josh sad again as he thought about his long-ago adventures, how long he'd been holding on to hope. A hope that might have also seen its day, and was now all for naught. The others, unaware of his inner turmoil, went on with the debate.

"Well I think it looks pretty cool," Lacy said supportively, which was enough for Billy to retain his self-satisfied grin. He glanced expectantly to Jeanne, whom Josh was pretty sure he had already been zeroing in on.

"You're too easily impressed," she replied flatly, which quickly deflated that smile. "Well, whatever, I guess it won't hurt."

"Look, this is gonna blow your mind, I promise. You'll thank me when it's over."

Billy was persistent, Josh had to give him that.

When they finally reached the front of the line, Josh hung back while Billy and the girls stepped into the car without incident. Josh was about to go, only to freeze momentarily as he reached the bored looking attendant. He glanced at the ragged middle aged man, not quite sure what to expect, until the attendant began to berate him.

"What, do I have somethin' in my teeth? Get a move on, kid!"

Josh shook his head and boarded the car next to Lacy, behind Billy and Jeanne in the front. Once a few more passengers had been let on, the ride began, a slow ascent, then a dizzying series of loops at an unreal pace. In hindsight, perhaps had he gotten on this ride as a thirteen year old, he would've ended up losing his lunch on Cynthia's lap, and that wouldn't have exactly helped his situation either. As it was, the experience was suitably thrilling for all of them, even Jeanne seemed to have a good time, and Josh had to admit that it was nice to finally get a measure of closure after all these years.

"Well, did I tell ya, or did I tell ya?" Billy nudged Jeanne slightly as they walked away from the Super Loops and deeper into the colorful array of games and attractions.

"Fine, I guess it wasn't half bad, for a creaky old thing, I'll give you that," she replied nonchalantly. These two, Josh figured, were just made for each other.

"How about you, Josh, aren't you gonna back your old pal up here?"

"It was...it was nice."

"See? Josh said it was nice. I mean he could've said it was badass, or rockin', or epic, any of those terms would've been just as fitting, but you know…"

Josh wasn't really paying attention to what Billy was saying anymore, they were walking near the bay now, and his eyes were continually being drawn to the dark waters that lay just beyond his line of sight. To the old abandoned banks where nothing had stood for years…

He thought he caught a flash of something out there, something familiar, something wondrous yet terrifying. Maybe it was just a trick of the light, or his overactive imagination at work, but something in his mind knew that was not so. He'd seen this before, he knew in his heart, and he had to find out.

Josh glanced back at Billy, still deep in conversation with the girls, no doubt trying to convince them that the next thing they were going to do would be even cooler than the Super Loops. He knew he was really going to get it for ditching them but...well, maybe nobody would notice if he slipped away for a few moments. He just had to have closure, to confirm with his own eyes that his experience had been real and not just one long hallucination. So he discreetly peeled away from the group and rushed towards it.

Pushing his way through carnival goers, winding around large colorful stands and tents, finally, breaking out into the open air by the bay...and there it was, just as he had remembered it. Tall and dignified, like an artifact from another time altogether, with his name displayed in fantastical Wizard of Oz-esque carnival font, the eerie face of Zoltar peeked back at him behind the glass walls of the machine. Josh took a cautious step forward, almost afraid that if he made any sudden movements, the machine would dissolve before his eyes and vanish again. He approached it cautiously, reverently, placing his hands on the wooden finish and confirming it was really there.

Now that he knew it was true, he felt himself swept away by emotion, by the tears that had wanted so desperately to come out for so long. This machine had taken everything away from him once, then it had given him something just as wonderful, only to take that away too. He knew it was foolish to blame it, he'd made both wishes, after all. But why? Why did Zoltar make his wishes come true? Did he do this for everyone? And…Josh forced himself to raise his eyes to the disembodied head and torso of the supposed fortune teller...and would he grant yet another wish for Josh now?

The machine was not, of course, plugged in, but he'd already suspected that its magical powers only worked when it was in this condition. So he did the same thing he'd done before, he shook the machine violently until the lights suddenly came on. So it was real...

Josh fumbled through his pocket, numbly reaching for a quarter and finding it, held it in his palm for what seemed an eternity. Did he really want to do this? Throw his life back on this particular roller coaster? What would he even wish for? Surely he wouldn't wish to be "big" again, he was close enough to that anyways. He gazed out at the city beyond the bridge, its lights always shining brightly, its citizens constantly at work or play, at all hours of the night, and amongst them…

Susan.

That's when he knew, he knew what his wish was going to be, how he was going to get closure. Before he could change his mind, he stuck the coin in the slot and watched it slide down the ramp towards the waiting Zoltar. Inside the machine, the panel lit up, "Make your wish".

"I...I wish Susan Lawrence was here, right now."

The coin finished its slide, entering Zoltar's gaping maw. This was followed moments later by the familiar sight of a small card popping out, which Josh could not grab fast enough. He flipped it over to its reverse side.

Zoltar works magic, not miracles.

Josh sighed. Maybe he should've felt angry, or betrayed, but what did he really expect was going to happen? A magical machine that grants people's wishes, it's not something that could ever exist in reality, and even if it did, there was nothing that said it had to do anything more for Josh. It had already granted him two wishes, to ask for more would've been selfish, wouldn't it? What if this was a sign that it was time for him to finally give up this fantasy of his, like Billy had been telling him all these years? Josh shoved the card in his pocket and had just about resolved to try to find Billy and the girls again and apologize for wandering off, but something about this Zoltar machine still would not let him go.

Okay, he thought to himself, his mind going into that rapid fire state of mind he'd learned all those years ago while working at the toy company, Zoltar can't make people teleport, or take them out of one place and put them in another, makes sense. So what can he do?...

The idea came to him like a dull lightbulb, of course, what had he wished for the first time? He wished to be big, Zoltar made him big. Then he wished to be young, and Zoltar made it so. These were wishes he knew could be granted overnight. If the machine could do this for him, then maybe it could do it for someone else. He knew Susan was going to hate him for this wish, if she even remembered him, if they even found each other again. But Josh was a man possessed now, his love for her had lain dormant too long, he couldn't have stopped himself even if he had tried.

He dug out another quarter and repeated the process. This time, when Zoltar told him to make his wish, Josh said

"I wish Susan Lawrence was my age."

Again, the coin fell into Zoltar's mouth. Again, the card popped out, and this time when Josh flipped it over…

Your wish is granted