Jacob worked as a ride operator at Cedar Point in Ohio, and several times a week, he saw a little girl with her grandmother, who only rode the carousel once. When he learned about their financial struggles, he decided to buy her tickets every day. Sixteen years later, the little girl looked for him with a huge surprise planned.
Natalie searched through her old boxes, looking for something she remembered storing there. She was in her house’s attic, and daylight shone from the one tiny light on the ceiling. There was dust flying around the room, tickling her nose and making her sneeze every once in a while. But she was adamant about her quest.
She took out papers, old gadgets, old books, and tons of other things from those boxes. Some of these items had become beige with age, and a musty smell permeated the area. It wasn’t pleasant, and Natalie wanted to get out of there quickly, but she wouldn’t until she found what she needed.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash
Finally, she found it at the bottom of one of the last boxes in the attic. It was an old polaroid that she hoped was still in good condition. Luckily, the image was still intact despite being stored so poorly. And Natalie smiled as she stared at it. The back read, “Cedar Point, Summer 2006.”
“Why would you that? It’s too much money,” the older woman asked, holding her fingers to her chin in concern.
Memories started flooding her mind like a beautiful movie she could never forget although she had not thought about it in a long time.
Cedar Point was an amusement park in Ohio that she frequented as a child. As a ten-year-old, she remembered the metallic sound of the rides, the sweet scent of cotton candy in the air, and the yells of the excited children running around.
Everything about that time was perfect, and she mostly felt grateful. Her grandmother saved a little bit of money here and there to take her there every day of that summer. But someone else discovered her story and changed everything. That was why she was looking for that polaroid in the attic. She wanted to remember that man and what he had done for her.
“Grandma! Look!” ten-year-old Natalie yelled at her grandmother when they arrived at the park for the first time. Kids were flying around, eating caramel popcorn and blowing bubbles, and the little girl’s eyes widened in delight at the idea. She wanted to do all those things, but she knew they didn’t have enough money.
