Sofia Matthews felt like she was floating—in the worst way possible. Her head felt like she was spinning in a million different directions and as if her stomach had been left a few paces behind. How could this have happened? Her father and brother were by her side just a few seconds ago, and now she was lost amidst the chaos of overly upbeat families, and the endless waves of roaring roller coasters. Her heartbeat quickened, she could hear it echoing in her head, and her vision narrowed until all she saw was a blurry tunnel. Suddenly the world felt huge. she was just a little girl and already, her worst fears were coming true. Her chest rose up and down quicker and quicker. She needed oxygen, she was drowning on land, with air surrounding her. So why couldn't she breathe? Now she couldn't remember where she was, how she got here. Her legs acted as if they had minds of their own, and she found herself in the line to the Ferris wheel. She looked up at it, tears brimming in her eyes. How was it already sunset? The sun was high in the sky last she checked, which was minutes ago. So why did it seem more like hours? Her legs took her to the front of the line, where she stood, her cheeks shiny.

A man with a mustache grinned at her, showing every one of his blinding white teeth. He reminded her of those picture books with wolves meant to scare children. She was Little Red Riding Hood, come to meet her doom.

"Hey kid, are you lost? You're shaking," he placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her. She flinched away, but his grip remained. "Come here." He tugged her out of line and spoke to a woman nearby, with hair piled at least a food above her head, and a scowl pasted permanently on her face. She continued taking people's tickets while Mustache Man led her away from the lights and people.

"No!" Sofia screamed, tugging out of his grasp. She ran to the lady and repeated "Please, please, please..." over and over again, refusing to let go of her arm. Mustache Man and he lady shared a long look, but the little girl didn't notice fresh tears ran new rivers down her cheeks, and finally she saw the lady's lip curl. She led Sofia away, back to the darkness, uttering her complaints about 'this stupid job' the whole time. Se was cruel, but for some reason Sofia felt safer around her than the other man. They reached a booth with an ugly, run-down 'Information' sign barely hanging on to the top of the hut, and the woman barked a few words at the two young guys working there. She proceeded to shove Sofia at them, leaving abruptly. The sky was so dark that Sofia could see stars, and her family was nowhere to be found, even half an hour after the announcement the guys said repeatedly throughout the park. They were closing down, and her family had clearly forgotten about her. She was alone and terribly afraid. Her family was never coming back for her, were they?