The employee who checked the golden ticket I gave spread his arms wide and said,
“Welcome~ Welcome to the world of the Little Magician Lumi! Have a great time!”
As soon as the employee finished speaking, the door opened, and the scenery inside the theme park began to appear. My heart was pounding. I remember being drawn to animations with robots or cars back in the day…
But now, those things didn’t interest me at all. Instead, I found dolls or princess stories more fun. I wanted to watch something like *The Little Mermaid* at the movie theater later. I heard they were making one somewhere… and that the protagonist was special.
Anyway, I shook off those random thoughts and was blown away by the interior the employee showed me. Starlight decorations were sparkling, and children were running around, laughing. I wanted to run too, but I had to maintain my dignity as an adult. I coughed awkwardly, clasped my hands behind my back, and waited for Haru and Bora to arrive.
The large screen at the entrance was showing dazzling effects that I couldn’t take my eyes off. I was so focused on it that I almost forgot Haru and Bora were coming.
“Hana looks so happy.”
“Yeah, if I knew it’d be like this, I should’ve taken her out earlier, but because of the law…”
Haru and Bora were chatting as they entered. I grabbed their hands and pulled them, saying,
“Bora! Haru! Let’s go inside!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
As we stepped in, there was a huge map-like display showing various theme parks. It was so big that even looking up, I couldn’t take it all in at once.
The moment I arrived at the scene I’d only seen on internet blogs, I felt a huge surge of emotion. Feeling an atmosphere that photos couldn’t capture, I decided what to do first.
“I want to go here!”
I pointed at a spot on the map. Of course, my finger didn’t reach since the map was so big. I just pointed from afar.
“Lumi’s Tram Train?”
It was a ride where you could slowly circle the entire theme park from high above. The train had Lumi’s cute illustration on the front. It was the same train from the animation. Unable to hide my excitement, I ran toward it.
With quick footsteps, I arrived at the boarding area. Despite my speed, Haru and Bora kept up. Showing the golden ticket, we got to board first, even though the line was long.
Chugga chugga, choo choo!
The train moved forward with a rhythmic sound. The sparkling lights illuminated us, and since we were high up, the scenery below was clear. There were Lumi’s drawings everywhere, and below, I could hear children chatting and laughing excitedly.
Feeling my mood lift, I leaned out of the train to get a better view. Haru pulled me back, but I wasn’t about to give in.
A pleasant breeze blew, and before I knew it, the train had already circled the park and returned to the starting point. I really wanted to ride it again, but we had other attractions to enjoy, so I reluctantly got off.
Then, Haru, Bora, and I explored everywhere. There were rides like a carousel and places similar to where Lumi fought. I demanded photos everywhere, dragging them along. Since I slept well last night, my energy was overflowing.
Soon, I found a cotton candy stand. After running around for so long, I craved something sweet. I licked my lips just looking at the cotton candy. The sweet taste was already swirling in my mouth, even though I hadn’t eaten it yet.
My eyes were glued to the cotton candy stand, and like a zombie drawn to blood, I walked toward the small shop. It had an illustration of Lumi wearing knuckles, looking tough.
I showed the golden ticket and said to the shop owner,
“One cotton candy, please!”
I planned to buy some for Haru and Bora too. Sharing makes things tastier, after all. But the shop owner looked awkward and smiled, saying,
“Kid, you can’t use the golden ticket here. Do you have any money? Or is your guardian here?”
Hearing that, it seemed the golden ticket wasn’t valid here. With a gloomy expression, I ran to Haru and Bora, who were walking over. They must have money.
“Bora! Haru! I want cotton candy!”
I pointed to the store with my finger. Haru, who saw the cotton candy store, patted my head and handed me a card.
“Will this work…?”
“Yep!”
I took the card Haru gave me and ran to the cotton candy store. Of course, Haru and Bora were right behind me. I felt bad for accidentally pushing the golden ticket to the store owner earlier, so I planned to buy all the cotton candy.
“Give me all of these!!”
I confidently handed over the card and spoke. I planned to buy all the cotton candy sold in this store. That way, even if it was shared with Bora and Haru, there would still be plenty left for me to eat.
But Haru snatched my card. I looked up at her with a confused expression. Haru had shattered my grand plan to eat a lot of cotton candy.
“No. Just three cotton candies, please.”
Ugh!
I had to watch as dozens of cotton candies turned into just three. The store owner, as if expecting this, made three cotton candies with a familiar expression.
My plan to eat ten was canceled by Haru’s single sentence.
“Three is too little…”
I said in a dejected voice. Haru then patted my head and said,
“If you eat more, Hana, your teeth will rot, won’t they?”
Haru spoke as if to scare me. I nodded, showing Haru that I agreed. Eating ten and rotting my teeth seemed more painful. Pulling teeth was excruciating, and the dentist was like a dreaded castle I never wanted to visit.
“Then I’ll just eat one…”
“Hana is so good~”
The store employee showed us how the cotton candy machine worked. As they twirled a wooden chopstick in the empty space, white threads began to slowly wrap around it.
I drooled as I watched the scene. It was fascinating. And I loved how Lumi’s OST played when the machine was running.
The store owner handed us cotton candy that looked as fluffy as clouds. Just looking at the pure white cotton candy made it seem incredibly sweet.
Bora, Haru, and I each received one cotton candy.
“It feels like it’s been a while since we had this, huh?”
“Yeah. We don’t come to theme parks often as we get older.”
Bora and Haru chatted while eating their cotton candy. I prepared to slowly tear into mine. It looked too pretty to eat, but since it was in my hands, it was destined to be eaten.
After taking a bite, I opened my eyes wide and said,
“So sweet!”
I was intoxicated by the sweetness of the cotton candy, like a drunkard after drinking. Replenished with energy from the cotton candy, I ran around the theme park like it was my own home.
Haru seemed overwhelmed and sat on a bench to rest for a while. Bora was the only one who could keep up with me. It felt like I had ridden every ride in Lumi’s theme park. It seemed like I had completely forgotten everything and had a fun day.
Before I knew it, the sun, which had been high in the sky, was now disappearing beyond the horizon. The lights in the theme park grew brighter, but as the sun set, I started to feel incredibly sleepy and prepared to go home.
My legs were shaking from running around all day. Even for an energizer like me, running around all day was quite a burden.
Haru went to the restroom for a moment, and Bora and I sat on a bench, watching the children play.
“Was it fun?”
“Yeah! I want to come back again sometime.”
I nodded in response to Bora’s question. It was time to head home. I watched the fireworks go off, wrapping up the day.
Of course, I didn’t remember how I got home. As soon as I got in the car, I passed out and fell asleep.
