part of a book

"Ya like my little Spongebob window cling, doncha?" the haggard trucker whistled through a sly grin of missing teeth and gum disease. He motioned to a small fabric reproduction of Spongebob Squarepants which hug with suction cup hands and stared blankly into infinity. Infinity, or perhaps oblivion.

There were times when this old trucker would laugh away the miles and hours, locked in an intriguing dialogue with Mr. Pants. Neither of them were going anywhere for a while, atleast not in the spacial sense, so what better way to pass the time and distance than with good conversation among old friends?

This time, however, he was not speaking to Bob. Instead, he was speaking to Penny. Penny was a small, gangly girl, age 11. Her coal black hair hung heavy and wet around her face, except on the left side which was bitten back with a skull-headed clip. This was normally the sign of a dark and twisted youth, but in Penny's case it wasn't so. To the contrary, Penny had quite an elevated spirit. Her grandfather had always taught her -

Her grandfather.

Penny's elevated spirit dropped. She felt herself melt into the truck's springy passenger seat as her head wilted towards her lap. She could hardly hold herself upright any longer.

"You look tired, missy," snaggletooth trucker guy said. In reality, his name was Herman. He had spotted Penny walking through a torrential downpour along the edge of I-109 and had actually turned his truck around to pick her up. He wasn't a bad person, in fact he was quite the good samaritan. He asked Penny where she was going and asked if she'd like a ride.

Penny had spoken about a place called Mesmer Mansion.

"Oh yeah, the haunted mansion at the Mesmer Carnival Site," trucker had replied, without missing a beat. He knew very well of Mesmer Carnival, as he had visited it many times as a kid. Most everyone in Clearwater and surrounding areas had been there. It was a big deal in it's days of operation, which - as far as trucker Hermin knew - stretched all the way back to 1892.

Penny went on to explain that after the fire of 1947 which destroyed 90% of Mesmer Carnival, it's mysterious curator and namesake - Alfred Mesmer - simply vanished, and a young caretaker left at the carnival grounds, remained in Mesmer Mansion awaiting the return of his boss.

This caretaker was Penny's grandfather, Daniel Lennon. He had stayed in Mesmer Mansion long after accepting the fact that his boss wasn't coming back. He had raised a family in Mesmer Mansion, watched them grow up and move out on their own. He watched from Mesmer Hall as his children each had their own families and children, and grew particularly interested in Penny. She was always quick and bright - sharp as a tack - and he just knew there was something special inside her that would literally change the world.

Penny loved her grandfather dearly, and was practically raised by him. One year ago her grandfather vanished from his home at Mesmer Mansion and although the family still felt a small ember of hope in their heart, they were all slowly coming to the agreement that grandfather was gone forever. In an effort to accept this, today was the day of his mock funeral. People would cry, songs would be sung and nice words said, but it would all be in the presence of an empty box.

To be continued...