Song 21

The day came, and Meloria and Lucan stood at the bottom of the hill, waiting along the dirt path for their ride to show up. Behind them, Edward and Evelyn tried to hide in the tears; Finn was already sniffling, whereas the twins were smirking, excited to be getting their own rooms finally. Meloria smirked, turning to Lucan and grabbing his hand. “Not too late to turn back,” she advised as she gestured toward the wagon that was on route towards them. “I can take care of myself.”

Lucan chuckled, bumping his shoulder with Meloria’s. “And miss the adventure of a lifetime?” He teased. “Oh, heck no. And I can’t go back to school anyway,” he coughed into his closed mouth, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

“Ah,” Meloria shook her head with a chuckle. “I suppose someone’s Casanova ways have finally caught up to him. It was no secret in school that Lucan was quite the ladies’ man, with a new girl on his arm every month, sometimes even two a month, which was probably the real reason why Lucan was adamant about dropping out of school. When he came to Meloria with the idea about joining her on her travels, she was hesitant at first, but it meant she wouldn’t need to travel alone and she would have some much-needed protection, and, more importantly, good food. “Well, I’m glad you’re here with me.”

The carriage pulled up in front of them, the driver giving them a thumbs up. “Hey there, Meloria,” the driver said, giving a welcoming smile. “You ready, kiddo?”

Meloria turned to her family, kneeling with her arms wide open as Finn ran and jumped into her arms. She patted his head, allowing Finn to cry onto her shoulder. “Don’t worry,” she assured, pulling away, holding out her pinkie. “I promise you, I will write once a month and call you all the time.” Finn nodded, tears and snot streaming down his face as he interlocked his pinkie with Meloria’s.

“Come on, sis,” Lucan called out from the back of the carriage. “We have to leave now if we want to make it by sundown.”

“Coming,” Meloria called out as everyone showered her with kisses on the cheek before letting her enter the back of the carriage.

“Settle in, kids,” the driver called to the back as she got the horses to begin walking again. “It’ll be a few hours before we hit Umculo. If you start to feel like you’re going to vomit, head out of the back and hold on tightly.”

Meloria smiled, watching the world pass by as the carriage made its way down the rocky dirt path. Her eyes teared up as she watched the view of her hometown getting smaller. She waved at the town; her heart swelled up as she bid goodbye to her comfy farm life and into an unknown adventure.

She wasn’t sure when it happened, but through the ride, Meloria had fallen asleep. Surprisingly, she was able to do so despite all the bumps. As she woke up, she noticed the ride had started to become smoother. Peaking her head out the back of the carriage, Meloria’s eyes opened in awe as she saw the lights of the big city, Umculo, in front of her. She turned, throwing an apple from the nearby barrel at a sleeping Lucan’s head. Lucan jumped up with a snort, wiping his eyes as he sat up. “Come look,” Meloria waved her hand to beckon Lucan over to witness what she was seeing.

Lucan grumbled, his hair disheveled, sticking up in all directions as he poked his head out. “Sis,” he laughed, shaking her. “We’re in the big city!”

The icty of Umculo was worlds apart from Meloria and Lucan’s small farm hometown. The bustling lights, with everyone seemingly owning a car as they made their way to work or school. The building is new and chic. “We’re not in Kansas anymore,” Meloria whispered, her eyes following the patterns of the lights that began to sparkle in the dusk.

“What’s Kan-sas?” Lucan raised a brow, scrunching his face.

Laughing nervously, Meloria sat back down. “Don’t worry about it,” she insisted, using her hand to wave the conversation off. “I can’t believe how big this city is.”

“I can’t believe we’re actually here,” Lucan giggled, stomping his feet like an excitable child. “I can't believe we’re actually going to see concrete paths and state-of-the-art buildings! No more hay bales for us.”

The driver couldn’t help but burst out laughing as he could overhear the conversation. He found it amusing how excited someone could become just by seeing a city. “You kids need any recommendations to stay?” He asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

Meloria thought for a moment, a hand resting under her chin. Ideally, they would need somewhere affordable to start with, until they could then find somewhere that offered better value. As she opened her mouth, she could hear a familiar tune playing outside the carriage. Intrigued, Meloria stuck her head out of the back again, looking around the source of the sound. In the distance, she could make out the familiar sight of a large golden wheel, with seating pods attached all around. “A Ferris wheel,” she awed, her eyes reflecting the lights. “But it's not moving.”

“Ah, some whack job built that many years ago,” the driver explained. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen it with lights on. It’s never been open for as long as I’ve been doing deliveries in this city. Perhaps you kids should check it out while you’re in town.”

If there’s a Ferris wheel, that might mean there’s a theme park attached to it, Meloria grinned, remembering how she had a fondness for the theme parks in her previous life. Winning giant teddy bears, riding all the rides, then eating cotton candy until she was sick. “I think we should, Lucan,” Meloria grinned. “It could be the first step in our new adventure. Attacking something unknown to us.”

Lucan cringed seeing the height of the Ferris wheel, his knees wobbling at the sheer thought of being so high up. “I might leave you to do that one all on your own,” he mumbled, looking away.

“Aw, don’t be such a baby,” Meloria teased with a grin. “What are you scared of, some heights?”

“I am not being a baby,” Lucan tried to defend himself.

Meloria chuckled, settling into her seat, letting herself relax as she watched the cityscape, taking in every building and landmark she could see. She started to hum, tapping her fingers against her knee;

And so I see in front of me, a city where my dreams begin

Even in the dark, the city lights stand out

Drawing me into a wonder I didn’t know

People to meet, places to see

And I couldn’t be more glad

Meloria smiled, looking up at Lucan.

That you’re here with me

Together, we will have new journeys

Together we will reach our dreams

Together, we will shine so bright

That even on the darkest nights

No matter how far

I will always know that we are together

Even in our dreams

“Pretty good song, sis,” Lucan smiled, giving Meloria a slight nudge on the arm. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, bringing her in close for a cuddle. “Thanks for letting me come along.”

“No problem, little bro,” Meloria chuckled, putting her head on his shoulder. She was prepared to take on this new adventure on her own, but having Lucan with her wasn’t such a bad idea after all.