Carousel
By: Queen Ace
Once, when I was little, my mother would take me on a carousel and sit me on top of the prettiest ponies because I insisted and would wait for me. I would smile and giggle joyfully when I saw her. She would call out to me and wave. As soon as my pony passed her, and I could no longer see my mother, I would cry. It always felt like eternity, but her face would appear again and I would dry my tears. This was the carousel.
A boy lived in a house on a stretch of sandy beach. He was my truest friend. He never looked down on me even though he was a couple years older than me. He always smiled warmly at me, and I of course smiled back. He called me "Sunshine" for that smile. It was only after my mother passed on did I realize that I never did cry in front of him. I always put on my best. I gave him that smile he said he treasured so much.
I grew up, he grew up, and we considered our friendship. It was more we concluded, we were in love. I came to understand that we could never be separated. I made sure we could stay together…always.
My father was so sad when my mother died. It was painful watching him. He had built a house near the ocean for me and mom. She was so fragile, my dad thought that the clean air would help my mom feel better. She only got to live there in paradise for a year before she closed her eyes for the last time. That is why I was so overcome with joy when he decided to get married. It was never meant to be however, and the woman died, leaving my dad to wallow in his misery. He drank liquor everyday until he too drew his last breath. I could not cry…
I remember feeling lonely and cold inside. Everyone was leaving me. I smiled and laughed with him, but inside I was falling apart. I cried the second time in my life, for him. He was to leave me too. We played in the sand all day. Remembering, making new memories. I brought a recorder and recorded his voice to comfort me when he was gone. I rode the carousel, him waiting. My face smiling when I saw him, frowning when I couldn't see his face. He never saw me frowning, no I was his "sunshine."
We sat together near the merry-go-round and did not talk for a long time. He stared at me with his violet eyes and softly said, "When I come back, we are going to meet right here, okay?" He pointed to the brightly lit carousel behind us. I nodded and smiled. "That's my sunshine." He said.
We parted. I waved to his departing car and kept waving until his car was a speck. I clutched the recorder to my heart and still smiled, even as the tears ran down my cheeks. I could taste the saltiness but did not wipe them away. I waited.
I waited for ten years. He never called, never wrote. I came to accept that he had forgotten me. I was truly alone now. I played the recorder. His cheerful voice filled my ears. "That's my sunshine!" I smiled with tears blurring my vision. I looked up to see the painted horses smiling at me…
...why carousel?…
AN: This is meant to be very sad. It kinda has to do with Kenshin leaving for Kyoto. This one-shot just suddenly popped into my head in the middle of writing the second chappy of Pride and Promises. I hope you thought it was okay…
-Q-Ace