“I’m not sure,” she said. “It looks like a big drop.”
“I’ve heard it’s fun.”
She squinted. “Do you think it goes upside down?”
He followed her gaze. “Might do.”
The couple behind her in line coughed and she waved them past.
“Is it ok if I stay here a while longer? I’m still not sure if I want to ride.”
“Take your time.”
Ahead, people cheered and whooped as the ride began. She watched them until they vanished behind the curve.
“Do you think it’s silly?”
“To be afraid? Of course not. Most people are afraid, if they’re being honest.”
She bit her lip. “Everyone seems so excited about it. I wish I had someone to ride with.”
She looked so hopeful that he felt his heart stir for her, but he shook his head nevertheless. “I can’t. It’s against the rules.”
She nodded, looked out west to where the sun was dipping into a perpetual sunset. “Have you been here long?”
“Forever.”
“Have I been here long?”
“Longer than some,” he admitted.
She took a deep breath. “I think I’m ready.”
He smiled and held out his hand. She placed a small, silver token in his palm, and he let her through the turnstile.
She settled herself in the carriage, pulled the safety bar down over her lap and raised her hand to him in a small, uncertain wave.
As the ride jolted into life, he kept his eyes on her face and ignored the small, stylised logo on the carriage, the one that read ‘Styx’.
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