The Amusement Park

William Lincoln, an impatient businessman in his 20s, casually asks a small-town coffee shop barista about a carousel horse atop its roof. Within earshot, an elderly man asks William if he would like to learn about the history of the sprawling amusement park that once stood on that spot, the carousel horse the final reminder of its existence. They settle into a conversation that immediately disturbs young William. It is the story of an elderly man hoping to experience the amusement park one last time to recapture childhood memories, to relish the rapidly fleeting remaining moments. Instead of pleasant memories, each attraction becomes a surreal microcosm of aging and its inherent challenges as bodies and minds begin to break down. The elderly man is abused, pushed in a seemingly endless throng of elderly people through attractions that mimic the final stages of life. Finally, he winds up right back where he started, battered both mentally and physically. Instead of being able to leave the park, he realizes he is trapped in a loop, forced to relive the harrowing experience over and over. At the end of the elderly man’s tale, William is puzzled, concerned, and annoyed, irritated to have had his time wasted on such a story. William quickly realizes that not everything in the coffee shop is as it seems. The elderly man with whom young William has been conversing shares his name. It is William Lincoln. Perplexed and scared now, young William attempts to leave, fleeing through the coffee shop’s front door. When the door closes behind him, William is back in the amusement park, transformed again into his elderly self, still trapped in the loop, forced to reconcile the reality of aging and ultimately, his own mortality.

William Lincoln, an impatient businessman in his 20s, casually asks a small-town coffee shop barista about a carousel horse atop its roof. Within earshot, an elderly man asks William if he would like to learn about the history of the sprawling amusement park that once stood on that spot, the carousel horse the final reminder of its existence. They settle into a conversation that immediately disturbs young William. It is the story of an elderly man hoping to experience the amusement park one last time to recapture childhood memories, to relish the rapidly fleeting remaining moments.

Instead of pleasant memories, each attraction becomes a surreal microcosm of aging and its inherent challenges as bodies and minds begin to break down. The elderly man is abused, pushed in a seemingly endless throng of elderly people through attractions that mimic the final stages of life. Finally, he winds up right back where he started, battered both mentally and physically. Instead of being able to leave the park, he realizes he is trapped in a loop, forced to relive the harrowing experience over and over. At the end of the elderly man’s tale, William is puzzled, concerned, and annoyed, irritated to have had his time wasted on such a story.

William quickly realizes that not everything in the coffee shop is as it seems. The elderly man with whom young William has been conversing shares his name. It is William Lincoln. Perplexed and scared now, young William attempts to leave, fleeing through the coffee shop’s front door. When the door closes behind him, William is back in the amusement park, transformed again into his elderly self, still trapped in the loop, forced to reconcile the reality of aging and ultimately, his own mortality.