I Won't Let Him

Dream Within A Dream

INTERLUDE

"Ready, SUNNY?"

I looked towards my sister and gave a resolute nod.

MARI looked back at me with a smile, nodding back as she prepared her silver-coated plastic shovel in her hands.

I gave my shovel a quick look as well, testing its weight.

"Alright you two, you know the rules!" The instructor reminded us, "You each get five minutes to dig as many holes as you can! Only dig holes on the spot marked with a big X. Each spot will give you a random amount of sand dollars. Reach a certain amount of sand dollars, and you'll be able to win the big prize of bringing home your very own giant dinosaur plushie! One prize per player though, so better make your choice count! Good luck, have fun, and remember the golden rule!"

The instructor cheerfully pointed to the big sign near the exit.

"NO REFUNDS" written in plainly bold letters.

MARI and I worked really hard to earn this trip to visit the amusement park together. Ever since we saw the commercials, we've been begging for our parents to take us here for months.

Our parents finally relented, but only after we made a deal to do well on our schoolwork.

For MARI, that was no trouble. She easily breezed past all of her school assignments like they were nothing.

For me, I'll admit I had a bit of trouble overcoming such a steep obstacle. I was never one for schools and the like.

Still, with her help, I managed to pull it off and we finally got the trip we've been asking for.

"Remember the plan, SUNNY." MARI reminded, "We each only have five minutes to grab as many sand dollars as we can. To give us the greatest chance of earning the jackpot, we have to split up and do our best to dig as fast as possible. That way, we'll be able to get one plushie for each of us!" Turning to face him with a smile, she asked, "You got that?"

I nodded seriously.

The buzzer sounded, signaling the game had started.

"Oh! It's time!" MARI quickly went to work on the nearest X, "Let's dig like our lives depended on it!"

I went to work as well, splitting up from her and digging my own share of holes.

It was around halfway through that I realized that I may have the physical disadvantage here...

Looking over at MARI's side of the room, I could already see that she had already dug through three times the number of holes that I was able to do.

I felt a bit of frustration build up before I managed to shake it off and keep digging.

I didn't know why I was so surprised. It only made sense.

MARI was already twelve years old, three years older than me. Not only that, but she was athletic and fast from playing softball all the time.

Compared to me, who usually napped all day and played video games whenever I wasn't busy, it was no wonder why she was so much faster.

I had to remind myself that it wasn't a competition... We were both working together to get the same thing after all.

I just needed to work harder so that I didn't get dragged behind.

Only a minute was left, but I could still probably make it... if I was lucky, the last few holes I could dig might give me enough points to earn the big prize.