Cotton Candy

"W-what? Hey!" I say, as I'm being pulled through the crowds. I feel light weight as I run. I look forward and see my sister.
"But they're offering free cotton candy! And remember, this is a secret. I'm supposed to be in the hospital so you better let me have the fun of a lifetime!" Kris yells to me. I look at her and I smile.
"Fine... But only one cotton candy, alright? My parents will get suspicious," I tell her.
But really, Kris is supposed to be at the hospital. She has a disease which can make her faint easily which is why she's monitored by nurses everyday. But today, I'm looking after her.

It was the local Carnival which came once a year and stays for a week. It bustles with people every single day it opens because it's such a fun event.

I get Kris' cotton candy and I give it to her.
"What? There's one huge bite, Trevor!" She tells me. I try to keep the laugh inside. "Whatever, it's cotton candy!" She starts eating wildly and she looks at me.

"What's wrong?" She asks.

"O-oh, it's nothing. Just keep eating," I tell her. I feel concerned for her, almost feeling tired of having to keep track of her every move.

"You.. Think I'm annoying, right?" She asks curiously. She asks in a way that I feel like she's proud. "Like I'm hard to keep an eye on?"

She looks at me for a moment, but I don't say anything.

COTTON CANDY
- - - -

We rush to the hospital and sneak into Kris' hospital room. I sneak her in and I walk out of the hospital. Does she really think she's annoying? Maybe it was because of that day.

["What? You don't want to go to the carnival?" She asks me.
"We've been sneaking out too much, Kris. It's best we start slowing it down."
"But.. I want to go to the carnival!"
"Maybe some other day."
She starts tearing up. "Hey, don't cry like a little child! You're a strong child."
"N-No! *snivel* You're the strong child *sniff* so I thought..." She walks to the door.
"Strong people would be willing to be nice to younger children! But you're not like them at all! I hate you!" She rushes out the door.
"Hey!" I call out. She continues to run off.]

It can't be; I'm rushing it too hard. That was long gone... Right?

The next day, I visit Kris, but her door appears to be closed. A nurse walks by. "Are you trying to visit Kris Karyl?" She asks.
"Yes," I say. "She's my younger sister."
"She's currently in an operation. She appeared to have trouble in the heart and it seems like her heart has weakened. You may have to wait a while."
"Thank you."

Her heart was weakened? I find it hard to believe. I look through the glass of the door. Her face is enclosed in an oxygen mask and nurses surround her with trays with metal tools. Seeing the tools feel like torture. I try to look away but it feels hard to do so.

After a half hour, nurses started exiting and a nurse told me, "You may come in now." I walk in and she's sleeping. I set down my bag and she wakes up.

"Oh.. Did I wake you up?" I ask her.

"No, it's fine," she replies. "I want to go to the carnival."

"I actually asked the nurses. They said we can go out as long as I'm with you! So let's go!"

"Sure!" She says. She changes into the proper clothing and we head out.

The carnival was bustling with people as usual. I get her cotton candy.

She eats it wildly and as always asks "Let's go on the ferris wheel!"

"Sure!" I tell her as I smile. We walk to the ferris wheel.

I tell the employee that we want non-moving seats and he guided us to our cart. It starts up in a couple minutes. The whole view of the town is visible.

"That's an amazing view! I love seeing the view every time we visit this carnival," Kris says.

"It is amazing," I agree. A couple minutes later, the ferris wheel stops and we get off. "So what ride do you want to ride on next? Any is fine by me, just make sure it's OK with you before I agree."

"Heehee, that rhymed. Anyway, I think I want to go to that roller coaster, the one that gets you wet every time!" She says. Of course, we go there every time. She always asks that so we always go.

It is a long walk before we even reach the line, but we make it just before the big lines start. As I wait through the lines, I look up at the sky. The sun shines intensely through my eyes. Even if everyone always says to look away, the sun looks very pretty nonetheless.

The line starts to move and we get our seats. It moves up through a long ramp and it quickly dives through the other tracks. It loops and zips through a long river of water. Just like it looks like it will end, the ride keeps going. It goes through two loop de loops and the track bends up with cracks and the coaster zips through backwards. It stops at the place where it looked like it would end. The employee hands out brown bags and paper towels but Kris and I walk past.

"That was fun! I love just feeling the water and not even caring about it," Kris says.

"That's how boys act," I tell her. She playfully punches me.

However, her knees slowly start to buckle and she falls. Her eyes start to dim. "Kris?!" I yell. I shake her but she won't wake up. I pick her up and rush her to the hospital.

Once we got there, the nurses and I rushed to her room with her. Her breathing becomes more softer. I overhear a nurse calling my parents, but I don't give a care.

They let me in the room and the nurses leave to get more supplies. My parents come in shortly after. "Kris!" My mom says.

She runs over to her bed and she looks at me with an intense gaze. "What have you been doing with her? What happened?!"

"I... I took her to the carnival." Her eyes widen.

"But why?! You should have told us!" She yells.

"I wanted to be a strong person. One who would be willing to open their eyes and help out someone younger. Which I did."

My mom calms down after a while. We hear moaning noises from Kris and her eyes start to open. "It's true... He even bought me cotton candy." Her eyes slowly meet mine. I wonder if it was her talking. But I lean closer to her.

I hear the breath of her favorite; blueberry cotton candy.