Hanging by a Thread

"Mommy! Look!" Hazel scrambled onto the hard plastic bench and pressed her small palms against the scratched glass of the Ferris wheel car. Below them, the amusement park unfolded in a dizzying spread of bright colors and flashing lights. The little girl clapped her hands, her eyes sparkling with uncontainable excitement. "I never knew the amusement park was this huge!"

The gondola swayed gently