pulled them to her. She found herself chatting and laughing with the fans while putting her name with a flourish onto the inside cover of the book they had just bought. Hannah realized that she was actually enjoying being near complete strangers when the last of the line walked away from the table, reading what Hannah had written.
Hannah glanced at her watch and gasped, seeing that it was nearly time to be inside the park. She jumped up, grabbing her bag, and practically tripped over the leg of the table in her hurry to be on her way, losing her sandal in the process.
Missing the irony, Hannah quickly slid the shoe back on her foot and headed in the same direction as most of the people around her.
The fact that Hannah was going to be late actually helped her in her nervousness as she was so intent on navigating the crowd and the line to get her bag checked that she barely registered that there was a crowd and a line. Besides, the excitement of the people around her was catching and she couldn’t help but begin to smile. She felt happy to be part of a common purpose. When she handed her ticket to the person at the ticket booth she felt like she was about to embark on the biggest adventure of her life! And just like that she was spit out the other side along with what seemed like thousands of other adventurers.
Just for a moment Hannah was lost, until straight ahead she saw a Mickey Mouse figure designed into the plants of a hillside just below a train station. And right in front of the Mickey Mouse, as promised, stood Daniel. She had worried she wouldn’t recognize him when surrounded by so many people, but there he was, standing with his profile to her.
Hannah stopped. Daniel was letting go of the hand of a little girl while leaning to kiss a woman on the cheek. For just a split moment it seemed as though everything froze, but then the bustle of the thousands of people entering the park and pushing past Hannah, now stopped in the middle of it all, brought her back to reality.
Flushed, she turned immediately and tried to push her way upstream and back out the gates through which she had just so excitedly passed. It was useless. Though she was trying to move forward, in fact she was being pushed backwards.
“There you are!” H is voice was distinguished from the rest of the crowd’s. “I was worried you were going to stand me up.”
Hannah turned and faced Daniel, biting her lips, trying to keep control. She didn’t know what to do, though every nerve ending in her body was screaming “ru n!” “I was caught signing books,” she muttered, not wanting to fall apart in this mass of people.
“That’s alright; I was just worried about you. My sister’s kids couldn’t stand hanging out here waiting so I just sent them in. We will meet up with them in a little bit if that is okay.”
All this took Hannah a moment to register. His sister. His sister’s kids. Hannah felt as though she were trying to think while sound asleep. Daniel’s voice pulled her back.
“Are you ready?” H e smiled at her in a way that slowed her racing heart in some ways, and sped it up more in others.
“Um, yea, I guess so.” Hannah felt Daniel take her hand and begin to pull her slowly, gently, along with him, along with the crowd. They were all funneling through a tunnel-like opening under the train tracks. Hannah could not yet see the other end, and choked back the anxiety that threatened to cut off her airflow. She focused on Daniel’s voice wafting back through the general din of the crowd.
“This is always my favorite part, when you first pass through the tunnel to get into Disneyland. You can get into the park from the monorail as well, but I prefer to enter through the tunnel.”
By the time his sentence was over, they had made it out the other side and the crowd dispersed some. Hannah had kept her eyes on the back of Daniel’s shirt, a white polo, and had not looked up at all yet.
“You okay?”
S he looked into
Hannah glanced at her watch and gasped, seeing that it was nearly time to be inside the park. She jumped up, grabbing her bag, and practically tripped over the leg of the table in her hurry to be on her way, losing her sandal in the process.
Missing the irony, Hannah quickly slid the shoe back on her foot and headed in the same direction as most of the people around her.
The fact that Hannah was going to be late actually helped her in her nervousness as she was so intent on navigating the crowd and the line to get her bag checked that she barely registered that there was a crowd and a line. Besides, the excitement of the people around her was catching and she couldn’t help but begin to smile. She felt happy to be part of a common purpose. When she handed her ticket to the person at the ticket booth she felt like she was about to embark on the biggest adventure of her life! And just like that she was spit out the other side along with what seemed like thousands of other adventurers.
Just for a moment Hannah was lost, until straight ahead she saw a Mickey Mouse figure designed into the plants of a hillside just below a train station. And right in front of the Mickey Mouse, as promised, stood Daniel. She had worried she wouldn’t recognize him when surrounded by so many people, but there he was, standing with his profile to her.
Hannah stopped. Daniel was letting go of the hand of a little girl while leaning to kiss a woman on the cheek. For just a split moment it seemed as though everything froze, but then the bustle of the thousands of people entering the park and pushing past Hannah, now stopped in the middle of it all, brought her back to reality.
Flushed, she turned immediately and tried to push her way upstream and back out the gates through which she had just so excitedly passed. It was useless. Though she was trying to move forward, in fact she was being pushed backwards.
“There you are!” H is voice was distinguished from the rest of the crowd’s. “I was worried you were going to stand me up.”
Hannah turned and faced Daniel, biting her lips, trying to keep control. She didn’t know what to do, though every nerve ending in her body was screaming “ru n!” “I was caught signing books,” she muttered, not wanting to fall apart in this mass of people.
“That’s alright; I was just worried about you. My sister’s kids couldn’t stand hanging out here waiting so I just sent them in. We will meet up with them in a little bit if that is okay.”
All this took Hannah a moment to register. His sister. His sister’s kids. Hannah felt as though she were trying to think while sound asleep. Daniel’s voice pulled her back.
“Are you ready?” H e smiled at her in a way that slowed her racing heart in some ways, and sped it up more in others.
“Um, yea, I guess so.” Hannah felt Daniel take her hand and begin to pull her slowly, gently, along with him, along with the crowd. They were all funneling through a tunnel-like opening under the train tracks. Hannah could not yet see the other end, and choked back the anxiety that threatened to cut off her airflow. She focused on Daniel’s voice wafting back through the general din of the crowd.
“This is always my favorite part, when you first pass through the tunnel to get into Disneyland. You can get into the park from the monorail as well, but I prefer to enter through the tunnel.”
By the time his sentence was over, they had made it out the other side and the crowd dispersed some. Hannah had kept her eyes on the back of Daniel’s shirt, a white polo, and had not looked up at all yet.
“You okay?”
S he looked into
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