Almost Alive

The carnival was bursting and bubbling. The sounds of laughter, conversation, and the clicks of rides and tents were lapping into Pete’s ears. People were whirling in colors around him. Lights cascaded down, blanketing the night in a fuzzy glow. It smelled like sugar. It felt crowded. Pete never cared much for carnivals. He never understood their purpose. All the people around him ever got out of it were empty wallets and stomach pains from various candies. Yet, it seemed like all of Nevada was in this stadium parking lot.

His eyes strained to find him. The reason he traveled all the way from Chicago to Nevada. The reason he was in this dreaded place. The reason he was there was him. But, when he saw him, after hours of waiting, sitting, and pushing past people, he let himself smile in the slightest.

He was small, short, and thin. His brown hair was falling into his face. His brown eyes were sparkling. He was nine. He liked the color red. He liked dogs, not cats. Pete knew that much. What Pete wasn’t sure of was how the boy would react to him being there.

His father placed him by one of the carnival booths, and went a couple feet over to get a drink. The boy stood in front of one of the workers, and handed the guy a few dollars. He took the rings the man handed him, and carefully eyed the bottles. He planned it carefully, but his first ring missed. When the second one missed, Pete finally took his tentative steps to the boy.

“You won’t get it if you hold the ring like that,” Pete said, looking down at him from the corner of his eyes.

He looked up at Pete, and scrunched up his face. “I’m not allowed to talk to strangers,” he stated, and then went back to eyeing the bottles. The boy bit his lip in concentration, but kept stealing glances at Pete.

“But I’m not a stranger,” Pete replied, and called the worker over. He paid for three rings, and lifted his wrist. “See, you snap it like this.” Pete flicked his wrist, and the ring landed on the bottle. Pete handed his other two rings to him.

“Thanks,” he whispered. He took the rings, and flicked his wrist like Pete. When he yet again only had one ring left, still without getting one on a bottle, he took a shaky breath. “You’re from the dreams.” He turned to Pete, and stared at him. “You’re not real.”

Pete took a quick glance around. The boy’s father was still preoccupied, so he poked the boy’s side. “See? I’m real.”

The boy shied away from him slightly. “What are you doing here?” he gasped.

Pete leaned down then, and pulled a pocket watch out of his sweatshirt. He dangled the clock in front of the boy. “I came to give you this.”

His eyes glowed, and he reached out to touch the clock, but stopped before his fingers could graze the metal. “It’s not clicking.”

Pete tugged on the boy’s hand, and opened his palm. When the pocket watch fell into his hand it clicked again. “It’s for you. It’ll be our secret, so don’t tell anyone you have it.”

“Why am I getting this?” he asked, pulling it closer to his face so he could examine it. He twirled it around, getting a view of both sides. It really was pretty. Pete knew that. He made sure the boy would get it, that’s why Pete was here. He was only here for this boy.

“You need to keep it safe,” he whispered, and took another look at the boy’s father. “I won’t be in your dreams. I need to go, but as long as you have this you’ll be able to find me again.”

“What-” the he began, but stopped when Pete closed the boy’s hand around the pocket watch. Pete stood up, and took a step back.

“Shh,” Pete whispered. “Don’t lose it.”