Perfect Day with Sis

"Wake up, Oliver, it's time to get up." He feels a pair of small hands shacking him. He opens his eyes,
confused at what he sees. Above him is a dark ceiling, speckled with the various stars and planets;
supported by chocolate colored walls. He looks around spotting a small bookcase in one corner next to a
simple desk. Standing next to the bed is the same little girl from before, her blazing red hair radiant
in the early afternoon light streaming through the window above the bed.

"Come on, brother, you promised to take me to the park today," she says. Shaking his head to clear it,
Oliver wonders which is real and which is the dream, the darkness or the light? He decides that it
doesn't much matter. "Go on and get ready, I'll be out in a couple of minutes," he says.

Rising, he quickly smooths out the dark blue comforter emblazoned with stars before moving to the foot
of the bed. Opening the trunk he finds there he spots a small leather bound journal with 'Read Me'
embossed on the cover. Setting it aside for now, Oliver quickly pulls on a pair of dark slacks and
a short sleeved, deep green t-shirt.

He heads down the stairs to find his sister waiting, having changed into a dark green sundress with a
black lightning pattern around the hem. "Alright Mom, Oliver's gonna take me to the park now," she
calls out. "Okay honey, have fun," a woman calls out. "And Oliver, you keep your eyes on Lilah while
your there, there'll be a lot of people going to the fair today."

The pair walks out the door hand in hand, quietly talking about their plans for the day. Oliver mostly
just listens, wondering what of all had happened. Already the darkness begins to seem naught but a dream,
being pushed to the back of his mind by the prospect of spending the entire day just him and his sister.
After a little while they start to crest a gentle hill, the lights of the fair coming into view.

They follow the street down to the park, Oliver paying the man at the gate for both of their admissions.
Then they head on inside, starting a circuit of the outside edge of everything so they have a better idea
of whats there and where everything is. Once they complete their circle they start down the main through-
fare, looking at the various items on display that people have for sale.

Lilah lets out a small squeal and rushes over to one of the displays, staring intently inside a small
case. Oliver walks up to see a selection of hand-crafted rings, set with different color stones and
styles. He looks them all over to try and spot her favorite, on hand gently counting his money.
"Alright I give up, which one do you like best sis?" "It's this black one with the dark green stone,
see it?" "Yes it is very nice indeed." He glances at the card behind the ring and walks into the tent,
briefly looking through the other displays until he reaches the table set up in the back. He leans in
to speak with the man seated there, pulling out a handful of coins and sorting them before handing over
several. The man rises and walks up to the case, taking out the ring in question and then returning to
his seat.

Oliver heads back out to stand next to his sister, putting his arm around her shoulder as she turns back
from watching the jeweler. "Sorry sis, turns out he's already sold it, he just forgot to take it out of
the case. "That's alright, I wouldn't want you to waste all of your money on me. And besides that I still
get to spend all day with you, that's all I really want." She wraps her arms around him and hugs him
tightly, then they turn and continue down the through fare.

They look around as they walk, pointing out different attractions to visit and games to try. They stop
at a few of the smaller ones, saving the major attractions for after lunch. Oliver tries his hand at a
couple games but comes away empty handed each time. They continue their wandering until mid-day, finally
stopping to get some lunch together.

As they eat Oliver watches Lilah closely, idly toying with the few coins he has left. Seeing that she is
nearly finished he starts eating quickly, managing to finish just before she does so they can return
to the rest of the fair. He gathers their trash together and tosses it into a nearby can, taking her hand
as they make their way back to the through fare.

The day passes quickly as they go from tent to tent, laughing at the different shows being put on. Turning
the corner the pair spots a jet black tent, nestled in a small space behind a couple of larger exhibits.
"I don't remember seeing this one before big brother let's check it out." "Alright sis, I'm rather
curious as to whats inside as well. There's no sign or anything to even give you a hint as to what kind
of attraction it is." They head inside and find it pitch black, with a faint scuffling noise coming
from directly in front of them.

As the tent flap closes and the last bit of light fades, Oliver takes an involuntary step backwards. He
panics for a moment until he feels Lilah squeeze his hand. A light blooms at the back of the tent behind
a screen, revealing a small table with a chair behind it. On the table is a small wooden box with a series
of slits for ventilation cut into the sides. The faint scuffling sound speeds up as if agitated by the
sudden light, the noise emanating from the box on the table.

A woman's voice sounds, "You've shown up much sooner than I expected Oliver, it's not yet time for us to
speak. Trust me on this Oliver, you will know when our time has come. Now run along and have fun today,
you deserve it after all that has happened. And you will need it even more after what is yet to come.
Goodbye for now dear, until we meet again. Oh and best of luck to you Lilah, though you don't actually need
my help with that."

As the light goes out Lilah steps closer to her brother and wraps her arms around his waist, looking up at
him. "I'm scared Oliver, who was that and how did she know our names?" "I'd like to know that myself sis,
but lets just get out of here for now." They slowly turn and step back outside, turning to see the tent
collapse to the ground. It falls flat, with no trace of the things they had seen inside. "Wh-what just
happened here brother?", Lilah asks. "I honestly have no idea what happened, but we should get out of here.
I really don't want to meet whomever it was that was speaking to us."

The couple hurries away, glancing over their shoulders to see that now even the tent is gone without a trace.
They then realize that the sun has almost completely set despite the fact that it was hours away from dark
when they had entered. "But we can't have been in there that long, it's just not possible." They walk
deeper into the park, finding a section that is unoccupied by the fair or other people. They sit down
beneath a tree, Oliver putting his arm around Lilah as the watch the sun finish setting.

They sit together for a while and watch the lights of the fair come on, neither one speaking. Finally Oliver
stands and brushes himself off before helping his sister up. "You ready to go home sis?" "Please can we
stay a little longer, we should go on at least one ride while we're here." "Of course sis, which ones
did you want to try while we're here?" She turns to look at the fair once more, turning back with a smile.
"How about the merry-go-round?" "Well alright sis, how about I walk you over and then you can ride while I
watch. It isn't really something I'd enjoy myself, and there's something else I need to take care of while
you ride." "What could you possibly have to do today Oliver?" "Well if you just have to know then I'll tell
you I guess," he leans in close to her and whispers, "I just need to use the restroom and I didn't want you
to have to wait for me." "Oh, well okay then big brother. Let's go!"

They wander over to the merry-go-round and Oliver gets her a ticket before he heads off to the bathroom. Once
he finishes relieving himself he heads back to the jewelers tent and speaks with him for a couple of minutes
before waking away with a small box in his hands. He checks inside then quickly stuffs it into his pocket,
making his way back to the ride. As he spots Lilah come back around he smiles and waves to her, seeing her
face light up when she spots him.

After a couple more rounds she gets off and bounds to Oliver's side, taking his hand and pulling him towards
the rest of the rides. As they walk Lilah spots a huge stuffed whale hanging from a game stall, rushing over
to it and dragging Oliver along with her. "Do you think you can get it big brother?" "Well I can try sis, no
promises though." He sets a coin on the table and proceeds to watch the shifting targets before hurling a ball
and striking the smallest one at the back and taking the whale as his prize. He hands it to Lilah, laughing
as she lets out a squeal and hugs it tight. "Thank you so much Oliver, I absolutely love it." "Of course sis,
I'm just surprised that I won it in one shot."

Lilah grabs his hand again and starts to walk deeper into the fair, Oliver at her side. "We should probably
head home soon sis, is there anything else you want to do?" "Just one last thing Oliver, then it will have
been the perfect day." "Oh? And just what might that be Lilah?" "I want to ride the Ferris Wheel together,
just the two of us. Do you think we can big brother?" "Absolutely sis, that sounds perfect indeed." The pair
heads over to the Ferris Wheel, Oliver speaking to the guy running the ride before handing over the last
couple coins he has.

The pair gets into the next empty car, sitting side by side and watching the town unfold in front of them. As
they near the top Lilah scoots closer to Oliver, holding her new whale close to her chest. Oliver puts one
arm around his sister, digging into his pocket for the small box he had picked up earlier. He opens it and
holds it out in front of Lilah as the car stops at the top, leaning in and kissing the top of her head
before whispering to her. "I know you really wanted this so here, I even got your name engraved inside it."
"Oh brother, you really shouldn't have done this. You must have spent all of your money on me today." "The time
with you was well worth it sis, a truly perfect day." "Oliver I love you so much, this is the best day of my
life." "I love you too sis, so very much." She lays her head on his chest after slipping the ring onto her
finger. He puts his other arm around her and hugs her tight as the car begins to move once more.

They reach the bottom and Lilah moves to sit up when she sees the car ahead of them being emptied. Oliver just
gives her a squeeze and kisses the top of her head again. "We get to go around once more, then it will be time
to go home," She lays her head on his chest again and gives her whale a squeeze, sighing happily as they rise
into the air once more. As they reach the top again Lilah drops her whale onto the floor of the car. Oliver
leans down to get it and as he rises back up he turns to face her, his eyes widening in shock as she places a
gentle kiss upon his lips. Her face flushing scarlet she snatches the whale from him and buries her face in
his chest, one arm snaking around him while the other holds her present close. He puts his arms around her,
still shocked by her sudden kiss.

Once they arrive at the bottom they get out, hand in hand as they make their way to the park exit. Reaching
the exit Oliver stops and turns to face sis sister, tousling her hair. "You must be tired from walking all
day sis, hop on my back and I'll carry you home.? He turns and kneels, taking her whale so she can put her
arms around his neck. He stands and begins waking home, chuckling softly when he feels her grip loosen as she
falls asleep. He reaches their home and eases open the door, ducking some when he steps inside to avoid
hitting Lilah's head against the door frame. Gently closing the door he heads for the stairs but stops when he
hears his mother call softly. He steps into the sitting room to find his mother sitting in a chair by the
fireplace, the fire having burnt down to mere coals.

"Oh my, I hadn't realized she was asleep. Go ahead and put her to bed, then go to sleep yourself. You must have
had quite a day together to have stayed out so late. Goodnight dear." "Goodnight mother."He carries Lilah up
the stairs and lays her on her bed. He pulls off her shoes and sets them aside, before laying her whale next
to her and pulling the covers up over her. Finally he trudges off to his own room, asleep the moment his head
hits the pillow.