Screams of terror and excitement filled the air the second they fell downwards into a dark abyss and suddenly, they would see flames being blown towards them and demonic faces appearing out of nowhere. The adventure was thrilling and most of the things they had inside the mansion were successful in startling her and every time, she had a jump scare with her heart skipping a beat. The moment that she was frightened the most was when an enormous scythe dropped down and flew across their heads. It was when she was so worried that her head might be chopped off that she ended up screaming and hid herself on the lap of Chelvaric’s. The pace of the ride slowed down afterwards and embarrassed, Snowflake quickly stood up and pretended nothing happened although her cheeks were flushed bright crimson colour from her silly action.

Snowflake barely got any time to think as the ride suddenly charged forward to the town of witches, or so it was called. Black cats were involved but she didn’t pay attention much since she never enjoyed the thought of witches. The ride was over shortly after, and she got off her seat with a content smile on her face. As they went outside, the rays of sunlight shone down upon them and being in the dark for so long, she would slowly lift a hand to her face, shielding herself from the blistering sun.

”That was pretty fun. But, I think I enjoyed the rollercoaster more though.” The youth admitted and gazed around the area until she caught a sight of a vendor selling cotton candy. The bright colours of the candy immediately seized her attention and she wasted no time making her decision.

”Let’s get cotton candy! I’ll buy one for you.”

Sweet, flavoured food had always been her favourite and it was no doubt that she would get at least one cotton candy at an amusement park. ”Can I get the pink one? And the white one.” She ordered, as if she was a young child although, to be truthfully honest, she did actually looked like one, if it wasn’t for the pretty dress that she had worn for the day. Pink cotton candy were mostly the sweetest and she didn’t care whether she was going to get a toothache out of it or if she gained a few pounds from it. Snowflake edged a hand into her purse to retrieve a few jewels for the candy that they had purchased and located it on the counter.

”You two are a very cute couple.” The man commented, chuckling before he handed out the specific candies that she had ordered. The remark caused her to avert her gaze away shyly and despite the fact that she wished to point out that they were indeed, not an item, the man walked away, busy to tend the other customers’ needs.

As Snowflake handed her partner the remaining cotton candy, she tried to not make any eye contact with him since she was aware of it herself that she would be flustered and she wanted to try her best not to know the embarrassing side of hers. ”Yeah, he’s nice.” She agreed, and immediately dragged Chelvaric onto the next ride to drop the discussion that was being raised. Her feelings were still unsorted and she did not want to decide on things that she was unsure about. It was not as though she did not like him, but more to know about Chelvaric and his personality, if she had actually decided to be together with him. Feelings were non-existential to a person like her and romance was a sensation that she had never experienced before, which is why she wanted to take things slow, until she would be able to understand her emotions.

The next ride was something called ‘The Drop’. Just like the name, those who ride on the vehicle would be dropped from meters off the ground. Even gazing up at the ride from the distance, she could see how frightening it would be and thrilling at the same time. Pushing her thoughts and worries away to the back of her mind, she focused on the rides itself and hauled herself towards the ride that she has been waiting for. The queue was once again, extremely long, but she took most of her time enjoying the cotton candy that she had purchased earlier.

”Are you afraid of heights?”

She began, her question directed to Chelvaric as a way of means to kill time and because she was curious as well. There were still tons of rides left and she wondered if the rest of the day would be enough to finish all the rides. In fact, she was beginning to get hungry too, despite the fact that she had just gobbled up the steak at lunch and now the cotton candy. It was funny to her, how cyborgs could eat this much, although it would probably just be her among the others. Shortly after, it was their turn to climb on board and gripping onto the metal rails that protected them from falling out with sweaty palms, she prepared herself of what was about to come next.

Snowflake commented when he mentioned that he spent most of his time meters above the ground, so this sort of would be a piece of cake for him. She was not afraid of heights either, although it might change after experiencing this ride, she never liked freefall after all since it mostly felt like it was falling to her death. Anxiety began to rush into her body and a lump rose up her throat as she sat herself on the seat while the employees fixed the belt around her body. Her palms grew sweaty and for some reason, there was a sheen of sweat that lined her temple even though the weather was not blaring hot. She tightened her grip against the metal rail as they slowly climbed upwards.

Bit by bit, the view of the entire town was revealed and the breath that she had been holding in since forever was finally released. The gentle breeze blew across the land and caressed her cheeks while she enjoyed the exquisite view of the town. The ride remained motionless at the highest point for a couple of minutes, until the terror finally began. The rail creaked slightly and before she knew, the ride had dropped entirely and Snowflake would be found screaming at the top of her lungs. The freefall was so frightening that she thought her soul was left at the top of the rail and she was screaming so much that her voice cracked and she finally lost her voice.

The pace was immensely reduced as they approached the end of the rail and Snowflake felt as if all the energy has been sucked out of her body. She leaned back in her seat, her arms hanging by her side loosely as she inhaled short intakes of breath. While Chelvaric seemed to have enjoyed his guts out, Snowflake was frightened for her life. ”I thought I was going to die for a second.” She was never aware that rides were that scary, however, truthfully, she did enjoy it if it wasn’t for the fact that her heart almost popped out of her throat.

”Do you want to have some waffles?”

She stated, her eyes fastened upon the store in a distance where people were flocking around. There was a huge waffle, obviously artificial, located on the top of the name board. It has been quite a while since they entered the amusement park so she figured they could take a break by having some snacks and wandering around the area. Her eyes flickered onto the shop next to it, where they sold accessories such as keychains, souvenirs and other necessities for the beach located further inside the park.

Snowflake could not help but chuckle at the comment that Chelvaric made and suddenly, she noticed how she had been showing her emotions more often than she used to before. Back then, she wouldn’t even smile if someone cracked a hilarious joke but somehow, with Chelvaric’s presence, she was more comfortable around him and she felt like she could be herself with him. Little by little, a girl with a cold heart, who did not know what feelings were, nor emotions, was growing up and learning to open her heart to people.

Upon reaching the waffle shop, they had to line up in queue before it was their turn. While Chelvaric picked waffles with walnuts and maple syrup, Snowflake decided to settle with a sweeter one; chocolate sauce with chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream on top. Having a sweet tooth, it was no doubt that Snowflake was going to pick the sweetest one among all the waffles that were listed on the menu. She also like how the store was decorated with artificial waffles, which actually looked so real and fantastic that she was even surprised by the creativity.

Despite how the season may be summer, she was not one to stop eating waffles or warm food just because of some season. Perhaps, the food would be best when eaten in winter yet, she preferred it if she was able to eat any kind of food in any season. After they received their orders, they walked over to where the benches were located and seated themselves. Cutting a piece with the fork, Snowflake placed the waffle inside of her mouth. The warmth and the savory taste of the chocolate sauce spread within her mouth and she let it sit on her tongue before swallowing it.

”Mmm, it’s really yummy.” She licked the ice-cream off her lips, clearly amazed by the taste of the food. ”Would you like to try some?” She cut another piece from the waffle once again and raised it up towards his lips.

The waffle was immensely sweet and entirely covered with chocolate sauce, just like she wanted it to be. When she had raised a piece of waffle to his lips, Chelvaric gladly took a bite out of the fork. Cerulean hues crossed over his scarlet gaze and somehow, she felt strange from his stare. It was as if he was doing something with his eyes but she couldn’t put her feet to what exactly it was, though she was not bothered by it much. Pushing the thought to the back of her mind, Snowflake continued to dig into her waffle and shortly after, she would be done with her snack while she observed the people around her. It was a bizarre and loud place, although it was not necessarily bad since amusement parks are supposed to be filled with excitement and laughter.

In the middle of the park were huge arrow indicators, pointing into different directions, displaying where each of the path would lead to. The word ‘Beach’ was carved onto one of the wooden indicators and her eyebrows shot upwards in curiosity. Snowflake was not aware that Crocus had a beach, especially not inside the amusement park.

”Let’s go to the beach.”

The youth declared, immediately tossed away her empty plastic plate into the nearest bin and dragged Chelvaric all the way to the destination. It was not that far from the where they were located, despite how large the amusement park was but it was most likely because she was distracted with all the interesting things around her. Upon their arrival, they would be introduced to the sight of a beautiful open beach with palm trees decorated by the site and some large rocks located by the edge to prevent people from going further. She had not expected it to be an artificial beach however, the technology had certainly exceeded her expectations.

Everything was almost real and it felt like she was almost at a beach, just not an artificial one. Shuffling towards the shore, the maiden’s advancement was suddenly blocked by an arm of one of the security, abruptly causing herself to collide with his arm. ”Sorry, ma’am. You need to change your clothes to enter the beach.”

”Oh.” The word left her lips, almost in a whisper and she was slightly disappointed that her excitement was swiftly brought to a distraught by the security. However, she figured that as long as she change her clothes into a swimming outfit, she would be permitted inside. ”I’ll go inside and change. I’ll be fast.” She turned to face Chelvaric and quickly scuttled away to buy some swimming clothes and entered the bathroom that was located right by the side of the store.

Not wanting to take too long, Snowflake quickly scanned through all the bathing suits that were hung all over the stands inside the store. She did not want to be really picking about bathing suits although she did want to look her best in a bikini. Picking out a light cyan two-piece set, she let her eyes wander over the entire outfit, making sure that she liked it enough to purchase it for herself. Black was her favourite colour but she decided to go for a slight change this time and it wouldn’t hurt to try out a new colour as well. The bikini straps were supposed to be tied around the neck and the panties had tiny ribbons on the side as adornments.

There were changing rooms and bathrooms installed in the same space, specifically built for the beach and upon her entrance, she would see numerous girls changing their outfits, some into bathing suits and others back into their casual outfit. She entered a vacant cubicle before locking the door behind her and quickly slipped onto the outfit. Staring at her own reflection, Snowflake would see herself in a bikini, that revealed much of her cleavage and exposed a lot of skin. Her pale skin glistened underneath the night and she figured that she would take off her eye-band since she did not want to get it wet.

Snowflake twirled in front of the large mirror, making sure she looked decent enough in the bikini she had just purchased. The silver haired youth had always been insecure about her eyes and taking them off in public was quite uncomfortable for her, though she could start learning to get used to it. Nervous, she absently brushed aside a wisp of hair that came loose and neatly tucked it behind her ear before exiting the building. Once she exited, she would see Chelvaric standing in a distance, just in swimming trucks, its colour matching with her bathing suit coincidentally.

Without realisation, her eyes wandered over his torso, which was packed with nicely toned muscles in his arms and chest. Snowflake could feel the heat rising up her face but instantly pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind and approached him. ”Let’s cool ourselves in the water.” She looked up at her partner, shielding her eyes from the sun rays that shone down upon the area. It was summer and Snowflake loathed getting tanned, so she was determined not to stay too long at the beach.

”Thank you”, she mumbled, her voice barely a whisper but she was content with the compliment that Chelvaric had given to her. She had left her clothes back in the locked cabinet inside the changing rooms, as well as her shoes. Snowflake scrunched up her toes, feeling the soft texture of the sand underneath her feet. The wave settled right in front of their feet, climbing up the shore and drenching their legs wet. A shiver cascaded down her spine when the cold water splashed upon her and she bestows her gaze to the far-off distance. The sand blurs out in a blissful trance, the shore fading into liquid gold, vivid in the brilliant light.

The enormous stone stood in the background, underneath the flaring hues of the sun melting into the sky and sea like a diving painting. Slowly, she pushed her legs forward into the sea and deeper and deeper, the water goes, until her entire body was covered, up till her neck. A cold sensation spread within her body, however, the water was still slightly warm but it was perfect for the summer season. She walked further into the deeper part of the sea, but making sure to stay away from people since it’s always best for her to not get involved in them.

The beach had decent amount of people, not too crowded and not too little either, which made it just perfect for the both of them to hang out. The ends of her silver hair was wet from the small tides that passed by, most likely due to the wind that blew across the vicinity. Her eyes glided over to Chelvaric and it seemed that he was enjoying the sea as well but, she never knew that he would love spending his time by the oceans.

Snowflake was already in the far edge of the sea when Chelvaric decided to cease in his tracks and suddenly, panicked before letting out a scream. Tilting her head, she wondered what was wrong with him until a sudden realisation struck her that Chelvaric was a neko, which meant that he was scared of water. Oh, god, she thought, mentally slapping herself in the forehead. Snowflake had entirely forgotten about his race and his fear of water, which caused her entire mistake of bringing him to the beach. She was quite disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to enjoy beaches nor go swimming in the sea with him, but now that she was here at the artificial beach, she figured that she would have fun for both of them instead.

There wasn’t much to do in the sea to be honest, and with Chelvaric just sitting by the shore, it was boring for her. The tides would carry her further into the deeper part of the ocean and Chelvaric would yell over at her to not travel far away from the shore. Snowflake waved into his direction, indicating that she was safe. She submerged herself into the water and swam underneath, towards the shore where the sea bed was closer to her body. Fingers gently grazed over the sand below her before she collected a handful amount of the golden particles before it slipped through her fingers.

When Snowflake surfaced herself onto the water, her eyes drifted towards the direction of the rides where the screams would come from. They were rides involved with water and since it was one of the biggest fears of Chelvaric’s, they wouldn’t be able to get onto those rides anymore. Albeit, there were still other rides that they could enjoy.

The water was warm, yet cooling on her skin as the white haired woman swan underneath the water, feeling the soft texture of the skin brushing against her skin and glancing over at people’s legs. She held her breath for as long as she could before she came to the surface of the water, finally gasping for air. Droplets of water cascade down her hair and onto her shoulders as she pushed her hair to the back of her head. It felt so soothing and peaceful under the water, much different from the world up above and if it was possible, she would have preferred to live as a mermaid.

When she first became an android, she had her doubts of entering the water despite the fact that her doctor reassured her that it was completely fine. She was made up of machines after all, and if even a drop of water enters into her body, it would cause severe damage to her body but she was informed that the skin of her body is a protective layer to prevent water from entering her body and damage all the machines that was built inside. It took her a while to get used to it but after being at the beach a couple of times, she was no longer afraid of being in the water anymore.

Snowflake trudged towards the shore, where Chelvaric would await for her sitting by the sand, enjoying the view of the see. When she approached him, she cupped a handful of water in her hands and splashed it onto his body to see his reaction. The thought suddenly crossed her mind as she pondered on how Chelvaric would even take a shower if he was scared of water. Just then, a loud voice emerged through the speakers declaring that the amusement park would be closing in 30 minutes.

”Would you like to go on another ride as the final one?”

Snowflake could not help but burst into laughter at his reaction upon touching water. It was very rare of her to actually smile – not to mention, to even laugh, which means that she was enjoying a lot with Chelvaric. She watched him roll onto the sand and she would erupt into fits of giggles. After they’re agreement to take upon one last ride, Snowflake would enter the changing room once again and dry herself off with the towels she was given with.

The woman nervously glanced around the area and since there were still a few people left in the bathroom, she decided that she would enter a cubicle to change her clothes. She never liked people seeing her body, especially after her transformation as she thinks that people would begin to freak out when they found that she was not human. There were multiple cracks and lines on her body, them being metal plates which made up her entire body.

After she slid on the dress that she had worn previously, she pushed the door of the cubicle open and glanced around once again, only to find out that she was the only person remaining in the building. Being a perfectionist, the young maiden gazed at her own reflection in the mirror and made sure she looked well-dressed before walking out of the changing room. Her hair was still slightly wet, so she ruffled it slightly to make it dry faster.

Upon exiting the changing rooms, her and Chelvaric would approach towards the last ride, which was called ‘The Claw’. Since there weren’t a lot of people left in the park anymore, the queue was faster than she had expected and before she knew, it was already their turn. It seemed to be one of the best thrill rides in the park, seeing how people were screaming their lungs out. The workers fixed the belts and protectors around their bodies before the ride began and there was a loud beep and the gates that prevented the ride from travelling further opened. The thrill was just about to start.

Compared to the other rides they were on, this one was slightly different; it was shaped circular and people were seated by the edge, facing outwards with their legs dangling below them. She pulled down the protector above her head and fixed the belt around her body whereas the worker who was responsible of the ride would come around and tighten their belts to prevent them from any dangerous situations. There was a loud beep once again, and the ride would begin to move sideways like a pendulum, gathering speed and momentum each turn. At first, it felt like riding a swing, until the ride began to swing further into the distance, almost 180 degrees.

Screams erupted from the rest of ride and Snowflake grasped tightly on the handles of the protector, embracing for the thrill that was about to strike her. Each turn they would go higher and higher, until they reached the top of the ride. All of them were placed upside down, her hair falling downwards as she let out a rather surprised laugh. The ride remained still in that location for one whole minute before it suddenly fell down in a one single swoop, causing all of them to scream their lungs out. Once it was done, the metal bars that protected her body were automatically lifted up and she would take off the belt before getting off the ride.

Fingers glide through her silky, white hair as she attempted to comb through the tangles and messed that was caused by the ride. Her heart was still thumping loudly from the adrenaline and she was glad that she was able to experience the final thrilling ride. ”It felt great! I loved it.” She responded to his question. Though Chelvaric declared that the ride made him dizzy, he seemed to have enjoyed it nonetheless.

The sky was a shade darker than before as the sun casted its neon, golden rays down upon the clouds billowing smoke, turning them bright red; fire red. The hues of the empyreans above was coloured in different shades of red, yellow and orange, spreading over the vast sky that seemed to stretch for eons endlessly. Her eyes were steady to the horizon, face aglow with the last orange rays before twilight beckons the stars. The day had been very enjoyable to her and it had been a long, long while since she actually laughed, smiled and had fun with someone else’s presence with hers. Most of the time she was alone, travelling to places but now that she was accompanied with a person whom she doesn’t mind being with, it was a different feeling experiencing all the things with a stranger.

However, Chelvaric was no stranger to her and the date for the day had given her a chance to know more about the man as well as given her a tiny peek into his personality, although it was pretty easy to guess how he was like. Snowflake eased the straps of her purse over her shoulder and gazed out into the horizon. ”I had lots of fun as well.” She responded, her eyes slightly dazed and her voice dreamy as if she was distracted with something else.

As night deepened, random lights of fireflies emerged from the thick gorses of bushes and trees that grew wildly around her and blinked more frequently under a star-speckled sky. It took her a moment to register the words that Chelvaric had said into her mind and when it finally reached her head, the girl would turn to face at him in a slight angle with a small genuine smile on her face. ”Thank you.” His compliment may just be words spoken, albeit, it meant a lot to her and receiving compliments was not often so she planned to engrave the words into her mind, letter by letter and perhaps, she might even lose her sleep over it. The night was silent and the sounds that could be heard was the soft whisper of the wind and the low howling of the night.

”I love them.” She’d say, turning her attention back towards the sky once again and watched them flicker above her. ”We should do night-gazing one time. I think it’ll be really fun.” She added, as they proceeded further onto the roads paved with cobblestones and rocks, towards their home.