Is this destiny?

3:25 PM

Masika and Zack are in front of the haunted house.

After three hours in the huge hall filled with arcades, Masika and Zack were about evenly matched in scores, depending on the games they played.

Zack won in a game where they whacked zombies with virtual clubs, metal poles, and machetes. The game is played with virtual reality goggles, and the images and the sounds were vivid.

"You would not win if the game is not so scary." Masika sulked.

Zack stifled a laugh. Her pouty expression is adorable. "If I tell anyone that the fierce general of the Army of Chaos is afraid of ghosts and zombies, they would not believe me."

Masika was outraged. Why did he bring up ghosts? She will not admit to it. "Ghosts? Where did you get that?"

"Maybe you forgot the scavenger hunt, but I remember the basement and the clown and…"

"Stop it!" Masika hissed while her cheeks burned in embarrassment. At that time, she was so scared of the clown-ghost that she ended up jumping into Zack's arms. How undignifying. "Do you need to remind me?"

Zack laughed. "There is no shame in being afraid of something. Even if it does not exist."

Masika denied it. "I am not afraid."

"Yeah, right."

"I will prove it to you!"

Zack thought that Masika is silly. "Really? How can you do that? Will you summon a ghost or reanimate a corpse in order to prove your point?"

Masika looked at him defiantly. "The scary house!"

"You mean… the haunted house." He corrected her.

"That one! Let's go! We will go there, and I will not be afraid."

"Masika, there is no need to prove anything to me."

"I will prove it to myself. And to you. Let's go." She urged him.

"How about lunch first?" Zack suggested. It was past lunchtime. "And don't you want to pick the next ride?"

Masika huffed. "Fine. Lunch first, and then the scary house! I don't want a ride. As the next destination, I pick the scary house!"

"The haunted house..." Zack mumbled and followed after Masika who was heading out of the hall with arcades.

Back to the present…

Masika is looking at the entry door of the haunted house with a frown.

"We don't need to do this… Look to the right. I can see the entry to the carnival street. There are games and sweets. I will buy you caramel popcorn…" Zack said dotingly.

Masika shot him a side-glance. "We are doing this. Are you afraid?"

Zack exhaled, defeated by her stubbornness. Well, maybe she ends up jumping into his arms again. "I'm going with you."

The entry is spooky, and there are carts for customers to sit.

The guy in a vampire outfit explained that the carts move slowly following the rails, exposing people to all kinds of creepy sights, sounds, and smells. He warned them that under no circumstances they should leave the cart. And in case of an emergency, there is a panic button that will stop the cart and someone from the staff will come to help them.

Zack sat in the cart next to Zula and kept his left hand between them, palm up.

Masika glanced at his hand and then at him questionably.

"In case you get scared, feel free to hold on…" Zack said seriously.

Masika rolled her eyes in response while clutching the cart edge in front of her. There is no way she will be afraid and hold onto Zack. She is ready for this.

Zack smiled and tilted his head to get a better view of Masika's face. 

The cart moved and they entered a completely dark tunnel. The only sound was the squeaking of the wheels.

From that tunnel, they passed through the door which was decorated in spiderwebs, and they were passing through a room lit by candlelight, and there were spiders… and just when they were close to the tall cabinet, it opened abruptly and a skeleton popped out of it.

'HAHAHAHAHA!'

Creepy laugher echoed and Masika did her best not to scream. She almost punched the skeleton!

The next were bats and vampires and Masika was not sure if they are holograms, or robots, or something in between, but it was realistic and scary.

Masika reminded herself not to think about the panic button which will stop the cart. Her main mission is to hold on until the end of the ride. Only like that, she can look at Zack without feeling completely embarrassed.

Her grip on the cart intensified when they exited a dark tunnel and they were slowly passing through the cemetery. This was intense. It was dark and foggy and chilly, and the soil on the fresh grave moved and a gray arm popped out.

"Ah!" Masika exclaimed and clutched Zack's hand.

Zack thought that she is adorable. It seems that she is not only trying to prove herself, but also to fight against her fears. Truly, a girl worth admiring.

For the rest of the ride, Masika didn't scream, but she didn't let go of Zack's arm. Zack clearly felt her grip increasing whenever she was startled. He likes that she held onto him for support.

The ride reached its end, and Masika was proud that she didn't use the panic button.

When they got out of the cart, Masika's legs were shaky. 

She swayed slightly and in the next moment, Zack picked her up and carried her out, princess style.

"This is embarrassing. Let me down…" Masika whispered with urgency.

"Bear with it. There is a bench right there." Zack responded.

Zack got her a drink from the nearby stall and they sat in silence.

Masika was glad that Zack didn't mention her screaming or shaky legs. Or the fact that for the most of the ride she was holding onto him. 

"Thanks." Masika said after some time.

"Don't mention it. When you are done taking rest, we can go to the carnival street."

Masika looked in the direction he pointed and smiled. "I would like that."

About ten minutes later…

Masika and Zack stood at the beginning of a long crowded street with carnival games on each side. It looked like they stepped into a different world where a festival is taking place.

"Waah! Look at these!" Masika exclaimed at the sight of headpieces with Mickey Mouse ears. She swiftly got the money from her purse and purchased two; one for her and one for Zack.

"How can we say that we spent a day at Disneyland without dressing up a bit?" Masika asked cheerfully while putting one headpiece on her.

She gestured to Zack to lower his head, obviously wanting to put the second set of ears on him. Masika saw that Zack is not willing.

"It's either this or a princess' tiara. And you get to pick between Cinderella and Ariel." Masika warned him.

Zack was happy to see that Masika's mood improved. He obediently lowered his head and allowed Masika to put the second set of ears on his head.

She gave him a satisfied thumbs up and looked down the street.

"Let's walk first and see what games are available." Masika suggested.

Zack agreed. By now, he noticed that Masika is more interested in playing games than in taking the rides. That is why he suggested that they come here.

Zack is happy that Imani and Jamari didn't call so far. It feels like it's just the two of them in the sea of people.

Just as Zack was enjoying the thought of him and Masika on their own, he heard Nala's voice: "Nice to see familiar faces!"

Nala laughed at the sight of Masika and Zack. Both of them have big Mickey Mouse ears on top of their heads.

"You are blending in the surrounding well…" Nala said when she caught her breath.

Masika pointed at the princess crown on Nala's head. "You are not so bad yourself…"

"Oh… I forgot that I'm also wearing something."

Masika laughed and her attention was drawn to the six plush toys in Nala's arms. "What's with all the plushies?"

"We were playing a shooting game. If you hit the center three times, you get a toy, so…" Nala grinned and looked at the toys.

Haru joined them. "Here you go…" He told Nala and opened a Mickey Mouse backpack for her to put the toys in.

Masika giggled. Haru has a crown on his head!

"Haru went to buy the backpack so that my hands are free." Nala explained.

"What will you do with so many plushies?" Masika asked Nala.

"Not sure. I will keep one or two, and for the others… Maybe we can give them away to the kids at home." Nala looked at Haru who nodded in approval.

"But you don't have enough for everyone." Masika observed.

Nala smiled smugly. "There is still plenty of time to win more. My Haru is awesome."

Haru stuck his chest out proudly and grinned. Yup, he is awesome.

Masika glanced at Zack. "We can win some toys also."

"Absolutely. I see a ring toss game there, and they have toys as rewards." Zack pointed to the right.

Masika grabbed his hand and led the way. "Let's hurry…" Masika turned to Nala and shouted: "At the end of the day we will compare who won more toys!"

"You are on!" Nala shouted back and tugged Haru in the opposite direction from where Masika and Zack went.

Zack can't believe how competitive Masika is. She is eagerly looking for an opportunity to challenge someone… but then, she is holding his hand. This is not bad. He will get her all the plushies she wants.

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