It must be a dream. Yeah, a dream. If not, then, there was no other logical explanation of the situation that Rigel was in.
Just a moment ago, Rigel was on the hospital room to visit his friend. He did not remember the details, but he remembered dozing off since he was sleepy. Maybe he fell asleep after that. Then, when he opened his eyes, he was standing in the middle of somewhere totally different.
That place was most likely an amusement park. From his place, Rigel could see roller coaster far in the back, souvenir stalls on the right, the merry-go-round on the left, ferris wheel somewhere behind it, and many other rides that you could see on any amusement park. Those rides were painted in bright colors just like colorful candies and colorful lamps. Each of the rides had their own music played, indicating that the were operating. The music were mixing together along with another vibrant song played on the main speakers which was probably the park's theme song and creating a lively atmosphere.
In his whole life, Rigel only visited amusement park around twice. He was not too interested in that place either. Because of that, he could not possibly willingly walk there by himself. But then, why did he come to an amusement park? How did he get there? It was a dream….. right?
"Right, at a time like this… "
At a time like this, usually in comic books, one would do reality check by pinching himself. Rigel pinched his left hand with his right hand.
The sensation of his own pinching was unbelievably realistic. Indeed, he felt like it was hurt. But, he was not sure if what he felt was the real pain, or just he believed it was painful even though it actually was not.
"Oh, well." We would wake up soon anyway if it was really a dream. Iit would probably be fine if he just waited for a while longer.
He kinda noticed it before, but there was something wrong about that place. Something about that place made him uneasy.
Before he could put it into words, Rigel felt something tugging his clothes from behind. By reflex, he turned around. Much to his surprise, he found a little girl standing behind him.
That little girl had pink hair tied on one side with cat hairpin. Her hair color was not the color you would see everyday. It could not be genetic. As for her attire, she was wearing a pale yellow turtleneck and pink overall with cats motif imprinted on it. She was holding a doll on her hands. Despite wearing so many cats motif and accessories, the doll she had with her was not a cat, but a rabbit. Also, even though she was wearing pastel-colored clothes, her doll was in monochrome color, making that certain item looked like a mismatch.
Rigel crouched down to match her eyes level. What crossed on his mind was the possibility that she might be a lost kid. If that was the case, he could not be of much help for her since he was lost kid himself. A gigantic one, on top of that.
"Mister, why are you wearing a mask?" asked the little girl.
That was an unexpected question.
"Mask?"
Rigel put his hand on his face. That girl was right. He was wearing a mask on his face and he just realized it. What was worse, he could not take that mask off.
Aside from the mask, Rigel was wearing a red shirt and black vest. If there was a mirror, he would want to take a look at his appearance. He must be looking like a death game organizer, a mafia member, or a psychopath right now. It would not be weird if people thought he was kidnapping that little girl.
"Let's say this is just an accessory."
Rigel tried to brush off things about his weird appearance. Not that he knew why he was wearing those clothes and mask. He did not choose to dress that way. He prefered something more casual.
"Anyway, little girl. Can you tell me where is this?"
Dream world would be the ideal response that Rigel was looking for. But, he highly doubt that he would get such an answer. Even so, it was better than knowing nothing.
After hearing Rigel's question, the little girl tilted her head. She looked somehow confused.
"Mister Mask, you never heard of Neverland?" she replied Rigel's question with a question.
Neverland? If she was talking about Neverland in Peter Pan, then yes he had heard about it. If that was not the case, Rigel had no idea what she was talking about.
"Looks like you didn't. Then, Mira will tell you." Mira, probably her own name, said that while wearing a wide smile on her face.
Neverland was the amusement park. The amusement park was Neverland.
When he heard those words, Rigel's eyes widened. He felt like someone told him something like that before.
Almost. He almost could remember something important.
What was it again?
Right. That certain person told Rigel. The person who was lying unconscious on the hospital bed. The same person that he visited before.
That person, she once told him about a place called Neverland. Also, about a little girl with a rabbit doll.
About a story that she wrote, World's End Ferris Wheel.