The tour

Chapter 16

Kristina was in awe of what she saw around her. They were riding a little golf cart with a chauffeur, and around her were lights, flowers, fields and statues all over. To her right she could see the blinking lights of an amusement park and she could hear the roar of an elephant somewhere to her left. She was silent the entire way, just taking in the view, and it amused Michael.

When they arrived at the main house, which was also huge, Michael helped her off the wagon and took her inside his beautiful mansion. There his chef has prepared yet another delicious meal for them.

'Have you had dinner yet?' Michael asked.

Kristina shook her head. Although her diet for the past month had mainly been Ramon noodles and white toast she was in no mood to eat. She was ready to explore. Michael could tell by her looks, and he laughed a little as he took her outside the front and got in the golf cart once again with her to ride towards the amusement park.

'So what do you think?' he asked. Kristina just shook her head.

'I've read about this place, of course, but to actually see it is really unreal. This place is totally surreal, Michael!'

He laughed and smiled at her.

'People keep saying that. I guess I've just gotten used to it,' he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Kristina watched him as they drove in the dark fields. His big hands steered the wheel with ease, and she felt like brushing away his curls and kissing his cute nosetip. Where did all of this come from? She usually wasn't a very mooshy-gooshy kind of person, but all she could think about at that moment was to feel Michaels body as close as possible to hers. The thought lingered so much in her mind that she didn't even notice they had arrived at the park.

'Oh my God, it's so beautiful,' Kristina whispered with eyes wide open.

Michael bit his lip and smiled.

'I'm glad you like it. Now, come on,' he said as he took her hand and led her towards a carousel. Kristina was very aware of his touch, but she liked it. She was happy that they were once again talking, although she still didn't know why he had acted towards her like that earlier. Michael avoided the need to intertwine their fingers and helped her on one of the biggest horses on the ride. He sat on the one next to her, and he felt joy when he saw how much she enjoyed it. The fact that he did confused him once again, but he ignored the thoughts. He had big plan for later on.

For the next hours they tried out all the rides and the games in the park, ate candy and candyfloss and had fun. One of the highlights was when Kristina pulled a slot and won 400 dollars. What she didn't know was that Michael had placed the money there for her to win, to help with her situation. The machine didn't usually give money, it gave out tokens.

For a december evening, which was quickly turning in to night without any of them noticing, the air was warm and the moon shone brightly above them. Kristina smiled at Michael, as he helped her onto a cart of the ferris wheel, and she gasped when they were at the top and she had a great view of the shining Neverland, the stars and the moon in the sky. Suddenly, while on top, the wheel stopped moving. Kristina looked at Michael puzzled.

'I'm sorry. My workers do this sometimes to kid around. They'll start it again in a minute.'

Truth was Michael had asked the operator of the ride to stop it for five minutes when they were up there.

'I still can't believe I'm here,' Kristina said, shaking her head, smiling.

'This is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Thank you so much for bringing me here,' she said, looking at Michael. He had that look in his eyes again.