Tell me if you spot any errors. I didn’t proofread. xD

Balloons of different colours flew into the afternoon sky, a child hopelessly jumped to try and catch them. There were strands of tents extending across the place, selling various items and offering queer games for children and those who are children at heart. The only rollercoaster ride was flocked, as if it wasn’t just a carnival ride. What made such a small rollercoaster challenging was its doubtful safety, and everyone brave enough (or pretending to look brave in front of their girlfriends) was willing to try it.

The Coastal City carnival only opens November to February. It was late November then, the leaves withered, trees were already bald and it was cold even during the day in Coastal City. The semester break had just started then; children were free to do whatever they pleased as their parents had taken the chance to be at peace without them.

Probably the most uninteresting person there that day was 14-year-old Nathan Zeneli.  He went with his boastful friends there; each of them brought along their girlfriends, but he was left sitting on a bench by the bumper cars because they all went to ride the rollercoaster. He didn’t have anyone to impress and neither did he want to risk falling off and going to straight to hell.

He clasped the blue cotton candy he’d bought from the stall beside where he sat, but he just let it melt before him without a single bite. He constantly checked his phone, as if there was someone he was prating with.

Metres away from him, a thin man in a plain white shirt stood. Nathan had already replied to the man’s waves with curious stares a few times. It was when the man gestured him to come to him did Nathan realise that he was acting like a mama’s boy. Of course, like any simpleton would do, he obliged to approach the man as to prove that he was dumb enough to believe that talking to queer strangers was okay. He threw the melted cotton candy aside and went to the man.

“Ya inarested in some sharks?”

“You sell sharks?”

“Sharks, goldfish, turtles, ya name it, boy.” Nathan raised his eyebrow.

“And you’re allowed to sell sharks and turtles?”

“I don’t need no permit, boy. They’re all from here.” The man took off his worn out straw hat and leaned on his shelf. “So are ya inarested?”

“Okay, I’m interested.”

But Nathan didn’t really want any pets; he was just letting time pass because he knew that his friends had already gone to some tunnel of love or something. It was getting dark, he was meaning to watch the sunset alone but it would have taken him ten minutes to get to the harbour, and it would have been too late. So he continued his dull conversation with the stranger, after about an hour and a half he would go home without his crumby friends.

For a moment, the carnival was really dark, the lights were delayed. Atop the bottommost shelf, there was a flicker, a flutter, it was a hodgepodge of vibrant colours; it was very noticeable despite being concealed by boxes of fish snacks. Nathan rubbed his eyelids, and when he opened his eyes, the whole carnival was already livened up with prancing lights.

“Hey, kid, are you gonna buy somethin’ or what? I’ve been talkin’ to ya for half an hour now and—“

“What’s that over there?” said Nathan, and he gestured to the thing behind the boxes.

“Oh, that? Ya want that?”

“Yea, let me see.”

The man shoved the boxes sideward, and he revealed a white stout goldfish look-alike. He placed the bowl on the counter, Nathan stared in enthrallment.

“It’s very unique, I guess. Caught it from the harbour, it was all colourful when I got it but my son put it in freshwater and it went like this.”

“Weird. I’ll take it anyway.”

“You sure? Say, I’ll give to ya for free if ya buy just one shark.”

“Whatever.”

And a deal was made. A tiny shark was placed into a plastic bag with salt water, while the white fish remained in the bowl, Nathan paid extra for that.

He left right after paying the man, right when the fireworks started. His friends were on the Ferris wheel, with their girlfriends. Idiots, thought Nathan.

He walked all the way to the harbour to free the shark. He didn’t want a shark, and he knew his mum wouldn’t allow him to have one. The tiny shark swam away; Nathan didn’t care if it would die or if a sailor would fall into the water and get his foot bit off by the puny shark, it would be their problem, not his, after all.

To be continued.