The Fairground Prologue

A long time ago (yonks and yonks, to be precise), I wrote a short introduction that didn’t really go anywhere after I initially started it, but thanks to the inimitable Penny urging me to get creative, I have pulled it out of the old laptop, blown the metaphorical dust off, tidied it up and added a few words for your enjoyment. Although this was written a while ago and is essentially the same piece I like to think of it as the remastered edition, however I still feel the urge to cringe when I read it back, so go easy on me:

Flashing lights were blinding her, screams rent the air amidst the confusion. Pushing her way through the crowd, a sought after space suddenly appeared in front of her. She moved swiftly into cover and around the corner of a shack.

Leaning against the frame she took a breath and looked at the orange band around her wrist with something akin to vague recognition.  After taking a few more slow, deep breaths she realised her eyes were becoming more accustomed to the gloom. she began to take in her surroundings. Pushing herself off the dusty wooden wall she peered intothe gloom,  It was a featureless place that filled her gaze, an alleyway between two rickety buildings. After a while her thoughts ordered themselves. Who am I? The question that had haunted her since she woke. It felt like so long ago but in reality must only have been twenty minutes or so.

The sounds that had receded when she hid here caught her attention again, creeping slowly to the edge of the wall, she cautiously peered round the side of the building, unconsciously holding her breath. A thundering roar above her head made her instinctively duck, hands to her ears. She felt the tears roll down her face as she heard the screams again. A sense of helplessness set in. The sounds faded, her attention went once again to the background noises, a kind of roaring cacophony of waves smashing on long suffering rocks.

Slowly raising her head, she took up her previous crouching position by the wall, a vague recognition of the sight before her eyes flickered in her memory, though her brain felt inexplicably heavy. Taking it all in the bright colours, the huge metal structures, moving impossibly fast, the smells of food and the happiness, yes that’s what she saw happiness on the faces of children and adults alike. For one blissful moment everything made sense,  “a fun fair “, she laughed. Everything seemed alright, a place of happiness and joy, thrills and fond memories.

Only that wasn’t right at least not for her…

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