To begin with our date, it was a bit of a surprise to us both since neither of us knew what to expect from a date. We decided to visit the local amusement park. The place was packed with families and children. Pets are also allowed in this establishment.
Contrasting in this beautiful day, the theme park has all sorts of entertainment; rides, games, food, karaoke, and even a huge frozen lake for ice skaters. The atmosphere is filled with laughter, screams and excitement because this was one of the few days in which parents allow their kids and pets to play freely without much supervision.
It is a pleasant sight to behold, there is not even an empty seat or bench to sit on while watching all these people enjoy themselves. There are many happy faces all around, not to mention the young couples that are holding hands or even kissing passionately.
Although, when she saw young and old couples doing romantic things, Eve couldn’t help but blush and smile; imagining herself with me as a couple.
“Nice place to remove ourselves from the daily problems,” I commented with a sigh of relief. If only the world is like here, where everything is bright and cheerful. Unfortunately, the world isn’t like that. Even though the world has its ups and downs, it is still a place that can be full of happiness or despair.
Sadly, this rock we all live in has more suffering and hatred than joy and hope. Eve nodded happily, “it sure is…this place reminds of home,” her response made me feel a little surprised and curious.
Reminds of her home? No, that cannot be right. Is she implying that Eve has some speculation with theme parks or something along those lines? Appears reasonable when she acted a little bit strange after previously mentioning the term ‘amusement park.’
“It reminds you of your childhood?” I asked. She gave a slight nod of affirmation. Her eyes were far away; reminiscing about the past. For a brief second, I was afraid that perhaps it was a painful or sad memory of hers.
In her apprehensive, “I want to talk about that later, Adam,” she replied. It seemed like a bad time to bring it up. After all—we are going to have a lot of fun together today.
Breaking her troubled memories, “how about we play some shooting game?” The idea came to mind because of the large number of people gathered in this amusement park and it is perfect for a couple like us to blend in the crowd.
Eve agreed to the suggestion and with a lighthearted chuckle, said, “let’s start with the easy one.”
Complying with her answer, we approach to find any shooting games. Through our short search, I found a man behind the counter in his shop, where there is wired fake guns attached on the table and balloons engraved inside the back of him.
“Customers? And couple altogether?! I am not selling these to children; no offense!” the elderly-aged man shouted. With a surprised look on his face, he pointed at us with a finger in the shape of a gun and added, “This is only meant for adults,” he continued. Not only did he speak with a thick accent, and his tone was also rude.
Rolling my eyes, “we are not children. She and I are grown adults,” I retorted at his rudeness. The fact that he was pointing a finger at two unarmed individuals is a cause of concern for his stupidity.
Then he laughed, “I was just joking! You are welcome to try this shooting game, so let me give you the instructions of how to play my game,” the old-aged man spoke with a friendly voice. He even went as to offer to teach us the rules of this shooting game.
The man guided us how to use these fake guns, which I already know and is easy to handle. When he mention about the balloons though, that was a different story.
“These balloons sticking on my the back of my wall, yeah? All of them switch to color red rapidly in just two seconds and you have to keeping shooting them when they turned red until of them are gone. Blowing any color that isn’t red is instant fail and you will be forced to pay…$400!”
What the hell? $400 if we lose, is he out of his fucking mind? Then again, this city is expensive as hell. But might as well try our luck on this one.
“And if we won?” His face darkened from hearing me say those words. “If you won, then I’m forced to pay you the amount I mentioned earlier,” he answered coldly. His mouth was a thin line and his dark brown eyes were narrowed into slits. It was clear to me that this old guy wasn’t too happy to be talking about losing some cash.
Grinning confidently, “I’ll take your challenge,” I replied. Eve and I are both willing to put a few hundred dollars on the line to test our skills. If we lost, then it was no big deal—it would be like spending a night in a casino and taking a chance to gamble.
He smirked, “we shall see about that, so both of you are going to play together?” The man asked. Eve then nodded; she appeared to be enjoying the fact that there is a real possibility of winning something here.
Air of an arrogant aristocrat, the man said, “okay, take your gun and I’ll tell you when, if neither of you guys lose; the other person can still continue the game. But if both of you lost altogether, then you have to pay, got it?” He told the young couple.
“Let’s get this over,” I muttered.
With a deep breath, we pulled grabbed the rifle and aimed it at one of the hundreds of balloons at display on his wall. My hands was trembling as the tension grew.
“Begin!”At blinding speed, Eve and I shot each balloon that turned red, popping it and revealing the green balloon beneath. We kept doing that, and the same thing happened for a while, and suddenly, Eve’s gun jammed.
Noticing this means that she lost the game, I still has the chance of winning. After that, it was only me firing the bullet. The moment the next balloon popped; there was another red one. With a quick movement, I shoot it. Another pop sound rang out as I continued doing more.
I want to say this but when the moment I held a gun, even if it was fake like this; I just became a master sharpshooter. Every time the target is revealed, it was only me that was able to hit it. Although, I never held or taught to use a gun; just holding one makes me master of it within instant.
My heart was beating fast and my palms was sweating profusely. Even if it was a simulation, it still felt genuine. The feeling of fear and nervousness was overwhelming until eventually, every balloon has been successfully popped.
“End!” The man ordered.
Eve and myself looked at the results, and then to the man. He smiled and gave a thumbs-up before continuing to say, “I cannot believe to say this, you won $400,” he said while taking the cash from his pockets before handing it over to us, “h-here,” the man felt defeated and lost.
“Thanks, I guess,” taking the $400, I put in my pockets before leaving with Eve. Walking one side to another, Eve commented about our winnings, “we…won, I thought we would lose from game of shooting. I was really never a firearm person,” she admitted.
Smiling, “don’t worry about it, you did your best and that is all that matters in the end. Besides, everyone has their own unique talents and skills, and even if we cannot do them ourselves; we can still be proficient at them,” I told her. “That is what I am proud of you for.” My honey words resulted in a crimson red blush on her cheeks.
“Thank you,” Eve replied in a shy voice. She seemed embarrassed by my compliment, which made me feel happy like how much I love her as a treasured person.
Continuing onward, Eve caught a glimpse of a vendor selling cotton candy, alerting me of its delicious sight, “Adam! Let’s buy some cotton candy,” she exclaimed happily as soon as she saw it.
“Of course. If it is okay with you?”
“Yes. That sounds great to me. Thanks,” Eve answered with a joyful smile.With that, the two of us walked towards the stall. When we were close enough, the young lady of the booth greeted us with a cheerful face, “Welcome to my stand, enjoy the cotton candy, sirs and madam. There is many flavors, vanilla and chocolate or perhaps strawberry?” the woman asked. Her appearance reminded me of an old-fashioned grandmother; though with her eyes looking like those of a cat—a feline that is extremely intelligent.
“What do you want, Eve?” I asked.
“Oh, the vanilla one please.”
“Then I’ll take the chocolate,” I added.
The vendor nodded, smiling, “I will prepare it for you, then. Please wait a moment.” With that, the woman went inside the tent and came back with a bag full of white, fluffy, sweet, and sugary goodness as she mixed it in blender of sorts with stick in hand.
After completing the order, she hand it over to us, “here you two are, that would be $100 dollars,” the woman said. I paid and took the stuff from the vendor. After that, the two of us ate the tasty treat as we walk away from the stand. It was surprisingly nice. A little too sticky and sweet but it was still worth eating.
Finishing our snack, Eve pointed towards a ferris wheel, “let’s go there! I always dream of riding on it with you, Adam!” Eve gushed excitedly.
Seeing her change of demeanor from assassin to normal excited person, I giggled and smiled. “All right, let’s ride it together then,” I agreed.As we approached toward the Ferris wheel; the large structure with bright colors and lights illuminated the night, I suddenly bumped onto a person. Before I could apologize and move aside, the said person began to introduce herself.
