The ceiling wasn't much to look at.
That was the conclusion Kiana reached after staring at the ceiling of Shu's room for a very long time.
She wasn't sure if her brain was this scrambled simply because she had just woken up, or if the sheer volume of information from that dream was just too much to process. Either way, her mind was a total mess.
The scenes from the dreamscape, the little girl watching Shu from afar, the truth behind this world, and...
The way to escape.
No, none of that was the most important thing right now.
Kiana turned her head slightly, looking at Shu beside her.
Congratulations were in order—she had successfully controlled herself today. She hadn't kicked the blankets away, and the two of them were still separated by a clearly defined no-man's-land, neither side violating the other's borders.
Truth be told, the distance between them was already highly suggestive. No matter how much anyone emphasized the two separate blankets, Kiana and Shu were in the exact same bed. No matter how tightly Shu bundled himself up, he couldn't avoid that fact.
Watching Shu's curled-up, sleeping back, Kiana's mind flashed with countless thoughts.
They played out like a reel of vintage film, projecting blurred, sepia-toned memories through a dusty old projector.
["Kiana Kaslana?"]
Kiana gently closed her eyes. Then, she raised her leg, viciously kicked her blanket away, and completely unreasonably tore through Shu's defenses, squeezing into his tiny world to enjoy the warmth his body had been building up all night.
The dream... started here.
—
GURGLE, GURGLE...
Sporting a serious case of bedhead, Kiana leaned over the sink and spat out her mouthwash along with the foaming toothpaste.
She set down the toothbrush she'd been using for the past few days, scooped up a handful of water to splash her face, and patted herself dry with the new towel Shu had bought for her.
She looked up, staring at her refreshed reflection in the mirror. Raising her hands, she used her index fingers to push the corners of her mouth up into the brightest possible smile.
Hello, new day!
—
"Shu! Hurry, hurry!"
Amidst the bustling crowd, Kiana—dressed in a vibrant, youthful tracksuit and a sun hat—held onto the brim of her hat, practically bouncing with excitement. Shu, looking utterly drained, was being dragged along as they sprinted toward the ornate carousel.
"Whoa—there are so many people!" It wasn't until they got right up close that Kiana realized there was a massive queue snaking out from the carousel's entrance.
Just looking at the line made Shu feel like he was going to pass out.
How come there weren't this many people when he came here by himself?
"How about..." Shu wanted to suggest switching to another ride. The amusement park was huge; there was no way every single line was like this.
"Oh, come on, this line is nothing!" Kiana beamed at him with total confidence. "It'll go by in a flash! Besides... if there are this many people, doesn't that just prove the carousel is super fun?"
That... actually made sense?
"Or maybe it's just a tourist trap and everyone is just here to snap photos for social media?" Shu countered.
"Then we'll snap photos too! It's not like it's embarrassing. We're already here, so we have to ride it!" Kiana declared self-righteously, having already dragged Shu to the very back of the line.
Shu helplessly took his place next to her. "Even if we just want a picture, we don't have to do it now. We could come back when the crowd dies down..."
"And what if I want to ride it right now?" Kiana was getting fed up with this total buzzkill. Why did he have to dump negative energy all over everything the moment he opened his mouth?
He was usually so good with words, too!
Shu sensed the sudden spike of murderous intent!
He flipped his expression in a nanosecond, adopting a face full of tender affection. His acting was so aggressively cheesy it circled back to feeling genuine.
"Then naturally, whatever the lady wants, the lady gets."
"Ew~" Kiana physically cringed, not even trying to hide her disgust. "I dare you to say that again."
"Maybe I should just rent out the entire park so you can ride whatever you want." Shu shrugged helplessly, deciding to just spout nonsense. "You're footing the bill, right, my lady?"
"I'm broke!" Kiana turned her head away. "Besides, an amusement park with only a couple of people in it is boring!"
She reached out and pushed Shu's face toward the giant pendulum ride in the distance. A wave of terrified shrieks, intertwined with exhilarated laughter, crashed over them. Kiana pointed at the source of the noise. "See? That's the soul of an amusement park!"
Shu stared at her, face scrunched up exactly like that meme of the old man squinting at his phone.
"You Dementors are just too hard to understand," Shu said, shaking his head with utmost gravity.
"Are you talking about the Dementors from Homu Potter?! How could I possibly be one of those things?!"
"...You all should just go marry Homu."
"My life belongs to Mei and everyone else! Homu is just an important part of my journey... Ah, and don't even think about asking the 'if Homu and Mei both fell into the water' question!"
Shu's question died before it even left his throat!
Kiana pressed a finger directly against his lips, physically silencing him. "And you can't substitute yourself for Homu, either! I'd obviously just save both of you!"
Didn't you just answer the question anyway?
The queue really did move incredibly fast. The winding, labyrinthine line was nothing in the face of the massive carousel's capacity.
After Shu and Kiana handed over their tickets and got their hands stamped, Kiana excitedly dragged him toward a large two-seater horse she'd had her eye on from the start.
With a single athletic leap, she vaulted right onto the back of the horse—which was nearly as tall as she was—leaving the nearby staff members staring in stunned silence.
"Come on!" Once Kiana was firmly seated, she displayed her sheer brute strength, yanking the sluggish Shu straight up onto the horse with her. The staff member, who had just grabbed the step stool to help them up, watched with wide eyes.
The one most caught off guard was Shu, who had suddenly gone airborne. His free hand flailed wildly, managing to grab the horse's head just in time to steady his body.
His heart was pounding. Pressed directly up against his chest, Kiana could clearly feel every single erratic beat.
As the music kicked in, the large white horse beneath them gave a distinct shudder.
Slightly tense, Shu tightened his grip on the horse's head, naturally enveloping Kiana in his arms in the process. Kiana merely wriggled backward a bit, adjusting so Shu could grip tighter and sit more comfortably.
A carousel was still a carousel, after all. It wasn't going to spin like a centrifuge, nor would it buck like a mechanical bull.
The lazy, leisurely pace made one's thoughts slow down along with it. Shu's grip gradually relaxed, and his racing heart settled back into a calm rhythm.
Then, Kiana grabbed Shu's hands and raised them high in the air.
"WOO-HOO!"
The beauty of an amusement park was that you were perfectly justified in screaming your lungs out and passing it off as pure joy.
"Right?" Sitting in front of him, Kiana turned her head and beamed up at him.
"So hurry up and smile with me!"