I follow the freckled, red-haired child through the crowd of beautiful figures — styled, pierced, and tattooed, all in their summer night attire.  Her unusually delicate hand intertwined with mine as she led me on. The scent of fresh-baked funnel cakes, hotdogs, and popcorn fills the air from all directions, keeping my head on a swivel.  

The child’s piercing, emerald-green eyes glance back over her shoulder to make sure I,
the stranger, am still following her as promised. The shudder of cogwheels turning, twisting, and rolling gradually becomes louder as rides come alive beside me. Glass bottles clink in the
distance as rings loop around their necks and another winner is declared. The luminescent colors of the strobe lights lining the carousel make the fair-skinned child shine brighter in the dark surroundings.

We trample along the faded grass on the way to who-knows-where. Suddenly, Little Red breaks from my grasp and bounds cheerfully into the night, giggling wildly with excitement. Her strides elongate as she runs faster into what I thought was the uncertainty of darkness. With the smells and lights faint behind me, she enthusiastically halts at a splintered, dark oak door at the edge of the festival. The door stands as the gateway of a small worn-down shack, no more than seven-feet tall, four wide, and four deep.  And though impossible-seeming, the shed was not present just moments prior.  The girl’s flashing eyes flicker from me to the frail, mysterious hut and back again.  She flings the door open and golden beams tear through the abyss of darkness, as if her treasure lay beyond the doorway. Slipping inside with a lasting smile, the child was swallowed whole. 

Approaching the building further, the voices of the carnival seem to fade even more as the carnival’s fragrances dissipate in the air along with them. I open the door with excitement, hoping to see the wonders that the unusual child saw. In the dim light, I could make out the dangling ceiling lamp swaying left and right, flickering before it sizzled on and blinded me. The wooden walls of the shack instantly fade away, replaced by nature’s beauty. What a sight to behold.  

Looming before the land, mighty oaks stand tall, swaying in the wind. Nearby, silver fish swim freely in the clear blue stream. Flowers of every color imaginable are strewn about the land, creating a picturesque landscape. So engulfed in the land’s attraction, I don’t notice as the doorway behind me shrinks slowly, withdrawing me from the world before.  The red-haired lass is seen on the other side of the brook, frolicking in faded lavender flowers in the middle of the prairie. The warmth of midday sunshine hits my shoulders, reminding me of summertime as a kid. A strange déjà vu hits me, but I rub it off as I rush out to meet the child who’s taken me to this heaven. She takes my hand and twirls me with ease. I dance familiarly with her under the big blue sky, which houses cotton candy-like clouds and majestically colored birds. Though my dancing partner led me to this unknown place randomly, I feel comfortable in the universe of sun and nature — and in the company of this stranger. 

At last, I see the flowered prairie for what it really was. I pinpoint where the colorful carousel took the place of the stream, and the towering trees became the Tilt-O-Whirl ride. Where the lush grass was turned to gravel, and the vibrant yellow, orange, and violet flowers became crushed beneath the soles of thousands of families visiting the carnival every year.  

Before I knew it, I recognized the stranger before me. From the way her freckles spotted
up her neck and ended at her cheeks, to the star-shaped birthmark on her forearm. And how her nose laid softly between her unmistakable green eyes. There I stood, dancing in a field with my younger self.