departures:d6f

The boardwalk broadens as it approaches the tall wheel. Game stalls line one side: rings tossed over glass bottles, a row of painted ducks circling slowly in a tin channel, three wooden targets that fold backward when struck. The prize shelves are crowded with improbable animals in bright fabric, none corresponding very closely to any known species. On the other side, food counters glow beneath enamel signs. Paper cones of sugared nuts sit beneath warm lamps. A machine turns glossy red apples through a curtain of caramel. Behind one counter, a metal basket rises from oil by itself, drains for ten seconds, then descends empty again. The wheel ahead turns with a low electric hum. Its cars are enclosed in glass and painted cream. At ground level, one door stands open whenever the wheel stops. No barrier prevents boarding. Just before the wheel, the public boardwalk continues forward toward a darker section where the lights become sparse and the sea seems louder. To the right, steps lead up to the wheel platform. To the left, a brightly lit game booth bears a sign consisting only of a painted gold star with one point missing; it has no separate through-route beyond the stall itself.

From city records