For the Unicorn Challenge…

“What’s going on? What are you doing to the carousel?” Abigail asked. The carousel, which she’s ridden as a child and her daughter’s been riding for the 5 years, looked like it was closed.

A man arrived, he was carrying a metal sign and a large wooden spike, “We’re closing, lady.” He grabbed the drill from the tool kit on the ground and began drill pilot holes into the wood for the screw.

“Closing?”

“You know, shutting down. This carousel isn’t making a dime. Kids are more interested nowadays about what’s on their phones than to go round and round on a plastic horse.”

Abigail opened her mouth to protest but then looked down at her daughter who was looking around. The man was right, just look at her friends’ kids, they all got phones at the age of 7 and were staring at it the whole time she was hanging out with her friends. Abigail didn’t get her daughter a phone because she felt her daughter’s too young to have a smartphone. She didn’t have a phone until her late 20’s, why should her daughter get one before college?

Without saying another word, the man walked away the moment the sign was up. “Come on, honey,” Abigail said to her daughter, “let’s go to the park.”

(217 words)