I had heard it was a new experience, a whole new roller coaster. But I didn't believe the rumors. My cousin, Lisa, had been there just last month, and insisted that I give it a try.
"You Really should ride it", she said over the phone.
"I'm sure it's nothing new," was my reply.
"Oh, but it is! It's a new experience, full of meaning and..." She sounded somewhat restrained to say anything further.
"Oh, very well," I said, resigned. "I will check it out. Where will I find it and what is it called?" Funny, I had heard about this roller coaster, but never been told where it was.
"Oh, it has no name!" she exclaimed, sounding relieved. "Just go to the Rookindale's Experience Amusement Park and you'll know it at once."
I had been to Rookindale's before; it was famous for being open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But I had never heard of a roller coaster without a name.
"What kind of roller coaster has no name?"
I heard silence, and figured she was once again restraining herself from telling me something.
"Very well. I'll go this weekend. But I need you to come so you can show me where it is."
"Oh, no! I couldn't possibly go twice!"
"Are you sure I'm going to like this?" It wasn't sounding very promising...
"Yes, definitely."
I wasn't so sure.
I went to the Rookindale's Experience Park the next Sunday at about 3 in the afternoon. I entered the park, but didn't see an immediate answer as to where it was. I walked around for a while, and gave it up for a lost cause. I headed toward the exit.
Next to the exit, I saw a very dim blinking arrow pointing down into what looked like a shabby pub. It seemed like the last place for a famous roller coaster to be, but I had checked every other place, so this had to be it. I entered, and went down 2 flights of stairs. And indeed, down there I found a surprisingly short line. I picked second row from the first.
Just then, the next roller coaster came in. Maybe it was my imagination, but the people inside seemed to have a look of knowledge about them. As their restraints lifted, they got up and left. The two people in front of me got on the roller coaster. After a minute or so, the roller coaster set off at a steady pace, almost fast but rather slow.
The next roller coaster to come in was mine. I looked behind me. There was no one there, which meant I had the seat to myself. I got on. Looking back, I saw 7 rows of seats being filled.
And then we were off. As we entered the dark tunnel, I suddenly realized with shock that I wasn't restrained. I tried to buckle myself, but the buckle just came right back out. I started panicking, fumbling with belt and buckle. I couldn't see the buckle, and I reached down and tried to find it.
And then, all of the sudden, a message appeared above me in red. It said:
Please use finger and thumb to hold your belt to the buckle. |
I realized how slow we were moving. I looked back, and the message was at the second row behind me. It slowly approached the last people in the roller coaster, and then it flickered and disappeared. We continued slowly forward, no turns, no acceleration, until suddenly, I saw a glint of orange up ahead.
No sooner did I notice this than a message appeared over my head. It read:
Please take an orange ribbon. |
This time, the message moved forward with the roller coaster, illuminating the orange ribbons when we got there. The person in front of me grasped the ribbon and pulled it right out, and another came half way out. I took it and pulled it out hard. It was a bit more difficult than I expected, but I got it out, and I felt almost a surge of pride at being able to do this. Why, this might not turn out to be so bad after all!
Then the message disappeared. Once again in complete darkness, I sat back and exhaled. Okay, that was a fine and dandy. What's next?
After a short while, I saw an orange ribbon up ahead. It was very dim, but I could see it. When it came to me, I grabbed and pulled. Now I had 2 ribbons in my left hand, my right still holding my belt in place, and I was wondering what to do with these ribbons. Right on cue, a message appeared saying:
There are a total of 20 ribbons. You must get the first 8. But if you get at least 12, a prize at the end awaits. If you have more than 12, you will have a correspondingly better prize. |
I contemplated what kind of prize I would receive. Maybe a million dollars; I was definitely going to get all 20 ribbons, especially considering the pace at which we were moving.
3 more ribbons passed by. Now I had 5. Just then, a message appeared that said:
Warning: we are now going to speed up. |
But then we lurched forward. The next ribbon I saw at least 20 feet ahead, and 2 seconds later it passed me; I almost missed it. 7 ribbons were now grasped in my left hand, and a buckle still in my right. The next one flashed by even faster, and I once again only barely managed to grab it. The prize was only 4 ribbons away!
Very suddenly, I was pressed against the back of my seat as we accelerated forward astronomically. It got brighter as we moved forward, and I held on for dear life. I was sure we were going in circles. It was now so bright I could see the walls of the tunnel. But not for long. I could see the light at the end, and 2 seconds later that tiny dot engulfed my vision as we shot outside. Looking around, this place was not anywhere near Rookindale's, but I didn't have much time to see much more than that.
But it wasn't anywhere near over either; we still had 12 ribbons to go. I saw another ribbon slot ahead, and thoughtlessly reached out my right hand for a ribbon, as my left was occupied with the 8 I had already gotten. I saw it was 2 feet away and approaching at a minimum 25 Miles Per Hour, and just then my belt, no longer held in place, recoiled and slapped me across my face. In panic, I reached out aimlessly for the ribbon, and, much to my surprise, received my prize.
I transferred it to my left hand and looked out for the next ribbon. I still had 3 to go at the very minimum. I saw a loop ahead, and quickly grasped the side of the roller coaster for fear of falling. But that turned out to be the least of my worries; I was being pressed into my seat anyway. I took my hand away.
In almost no time, I had 16 ribbons in my left hand, having missed the last 4, and I saw ahead 1 more loop and then a tunnel leading to the end. I shut my eyes as we went around on the loop, and then it was dark upon entry into the tunnel. A red sign once again appeared, saying:
At the end, you will claim your prize if applicable, and then you will leave on our specialized exit specifically for this roller coaster. |
I stuffed the ribbons in my pocket, and decided to buckle up. I once again held belt to buckle. We once again entered the dimly lit room where we began. I got up and left. I almost claimed my prize, but upon taking out my ribbons, discovered that I had dropped a few of them, leaving me with only 11 in my hand. I left somberly.
Looking at my watch, I found it was 4:12. As I left, I had the words "Reality Coaster" on the tip of my tongue.
I like this story a lot. I think it's one of your best-written pieces. I like the way you convey emotion in here, with different feelings of panic, confidence, uncertainty, and so on. Reality certainly is a strange ride! Tuesday, Feb 21 2006 from Miriam Levenstein.
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