Estimated reading time — 9 minutes

“C’mon, Jeremy! Hurry up!” I could hear Marcus whine from the other side of the bathroom door. I simply rolled my eyes, and continued to comb my hair to perfection, and apply my cologne. I opened the door and peered down at my seven year old brother, as an expression of annoyance dominated his face. “We’re gonna be late ‘cuz of you!” He grumbled.

Dad walked by, making final preparations in the house, and ruffled his hair. “Relax, kiddo. Joy’s Jubilee isn’t going anywhere.”

I nodded, agreeing. I don’t know why Marcus is so worked up, the dumb amusement park is open until 10 tonight, and we’ll still probably make it right when it opens. I could tell there was no logic in Marcus’ fidgeting and frustration. The fact of the matter to him was simple: we were supposed to be at a theme park today, and at that moment, we weren’t.

When I walked down the hall to get my shoes on, Marcus nearly knocked me over rushing to the front door. “Joy’s Jubilee: Where a kid like me, can be totally free!” He sang, like he’s heard in the jingle countless times.

“Ah, that reminds me, honey- we have headache medicine in the car, yeah?” My mom asked as she turned to dad. He simply nodded, pouring the pot of coffee into two separate containers.

“Here, you’ll need this too.” He laughed, handing her the container. With one last check around the house, we piled into the van, and hit the road, ready for a two hour journey. We spent most of the time listening to Marcus excitedly planning what he wants to do first, and listening to him loudly watch videos starring Joy the Juniper Tree. I found myself staring out the window as the countryside rolled by. While I found Joy’s Jubilee fun, I’d always get a small pit in my stomach whenever we went. Dad assured me that we picked a good time of the year, and that there was nothing to worry about, but as I watched the clouds roll by, I couldn’t shake my tiny feeling of unease. I tried to think about all the people that’d be there that day, in hopes that it’d help. Before I knew it, however, we passed by a sign with a cartoon tree on it, with the words “Howdy, folks! This way to Joy’s Jubilee!” plastered in colorful writing.

“It’s Joy!” Marcus squealed, as if it’s the first time he’d seen it. We managed to slowly drift in a sea of parked cars, before we found a spot. The four of us wobbled out of the car, stretching our legs, before we were hit with a spray of white mist.

“Dad! Warn me next time, geez! I almost had my mouth open.” I coughed and sputtered. The smell of bananas and coconut overpowered my nose, as dad shook the spray-can of sunscreen, before hitting us with another dose, like an exterminator to a persistent roach.
“Can’t be too careful, boys! Close your eyes!” He said over the hiss of the can, before he turned to my mother. She eyed him coldly.

She only uttered, “No.” Before snatching the can away from him, and spraying herself down.
With the whole family properly coated, we began the trek to the front gates of Joy’s Jubilee. The large coasters, and other various attractions crested over the treeline as we were faced with the large, colorful sign of Joy and her seedlings, at the entrance of Joy’s Jubilee. Marcus could barely stop moving, jumping in place excitedly as Dad paid for the tickets. Dad had us all sign the waiver, before handing it back to the ticket person. The person handing my dad the tickets smiled, with their awkward, wooden smile. “It’s a Joy to have you here!” They chirped with a rehearsed cadence.

With a swing of the turnstile, we were past the front gates, into the main part of the park, Joy’s Junction, filled with food stalls of all kinds, and plenty of overpriced merchandise, all to the theme of a fairy grove. “Park Map? Buttons? Balloons?” The seedlings were every few feet or so, each with a chipper grin, and the same, clear cadence. The older I got, the more unnerving I found the seedlings to be. They were so lifelike, from a distance. The closer you got, however, the more their skin looked like bark, and their eyes seemed too glossy. “How about a shirt, commemorating our newest seedling, Glenda?” One held up a shirt, a cartoonish seedling girl’s face in the middle of the shirt, with the words “Glenda” in a cutesy font underneath, and the Joy’s Jubilee logo next to it.

Marcus had no time for the seedlings, however, as he rushed past them to the center of Joy’s Junction, where there she stood herself- Joy the Juniper. A gigantic, towering tree,a crown of branches with berries, she stood in the middle of the plaza, fenced off on all sides. Her eyes were currently closed. A small wave of calm ran through my shoulders.

“HIIIIIII JOOOOOY!” Marcus called out to the tree, and waved. Dad came up to him, and placed his hand on Marcus’ shoulder. “Marcus, don’t tell me you asked to come here for your birthday, just to say hi to a tree, hmm? I bet the line to Forest Flyers is pretty low, if we hurry.” Marcus spun around excitedly, giggling, and started running in the direction he knew the coaster was in. “Hurry, hurry!” He called to us over his shoulder.

From Forest Flyers, we hit Spinning Sunflowers next, followed by The Boar, one of the newer, high speed roller coasters, all with little to no wait, as usual for the park. Dad insisted we hit the Atrium of Legendary Botanists next, despite the fact that he always slept through the show. By now, we were getting pretty hungry, and so we sat down for a bite to eat over at Oakey-Dokey. As the seedlings catered to us, bringing the food over in a quick and expert manner, I was enjoying myself thoroughly. I did notice my berry smoothie tasting a bit off, which was weird, as it was usually my favorite thing to get. Beyond that, the worries of the day seemed so far away in that moment. It was when I heard Joy’s voice over the speakers, that my gut did a flip.

“Howdy ya’ll! This is your good friend Joy speaking! In just 30 minutes, we’re going to have a special seedling ceremony! Now ain’t ya’ll just lucky?” It was clearly a recording, but it didn’t make me feel any better. “Not sure where to go? Don’t worry, my pals, the seedlings, should be able to git you back on over to Joy’s Junction lickety quick! Remember folks, attendance is mandatory- Not like you’d want to miss it anyway! Later, ya’ll!”

The crowd of people around us at the Oakey-Dokey started murmuring to themselves, some getting up right away to secure good seats to the ceremony. I looked over to my Mom and Dad, who snuck a concerned look to each other, before putting a smile on for me and my brother. “Wow, what are the chances?” My mother started, beaming at us.

Marcus hopped up. “Oh boy! A seedling ceremony?! I haven’t seen one in like, forever!” He cheered. It’s true, we hadn’t seen a seedling ceremony over the last four or five times we’ve been, though it doesn’t make the process any easier. We quickly finished our meal, as the seedlings corralled us all back to the plaza near the front of the park, where rows of seats were lined up. We were ushered into a row towards the middle, as more and more guests were packed in. The crowd bustled with an excited, nervous energy.

When no more people seemed to be seated, a rustling, creaking noise had murmured the whole crowd. All eyes looked forward, as the Juniper tree groaned, and shook. Two large, oaken eyelids split open, revealing the dark, amber eyes underneath. More crackling of bark shook the air around us, as the tree opened it’s woody, maw. “Acthoo Garuuuuum De Ogoraaaaaa.” A booming, ancient voice echoed amongst the crowd. Overhead, the cutesy voice of Joy from the cartoons called out over the loudspeakers. “For years, I, Joy, the spirit of whimsy, have made Joy’s Jubilee a place for all manner o’ folk to come and take a load off. Joy’s Jubilee is a place where kids can be free to be how they want to be, without the cares of the outside world. Don’t worry, adults, that goes for the kids in all of us.” This line garnered some polite chuckles from the crowd. The loudspeaker voice continued.

“Today, we got something special for you folks- a seedling ceremony! We’ll start by saying goodbye to our oldest seedling, our dear Agatha.” The crowd applauded, as a creaky, slower seedling made their way down the rows, past the opened gate, and up to Joy. On stage, near the other seedlings, there was a clear difference in Agatha’s appearance, the wood of their skin chipped and discolored, their posture more hunched, compared to the rest of cheery seedlings on stage.

“Agatha has provided over 100 years of fantastic service to our friends visiting us every day here at Joy’s Jubilee, and with that, we give a hearty, Joy filled ‘Thank you!’” The speaker voice exclaimed, as the crowd cheered and clapped at the seedling, who bowed with what little energy they had left.

“And now, join as all as we wave goodbye to Agatha, as she returns to where all seedlings start- back to my heart.” The speakers crackle out overhead, as the real Joy opens her mouth wide, the wood splintering to reveal a dark, pitch black chasm. With one last wave goodbye to the crowd, the withered seedling took measured steps, entering inside the shadowy maw, before Joy clamped down, with no trace of the seedling remaining. There was a moment of creaking, and silence, before the speakers started back up.

“Well now, folks, if there’s one thing ol’ Joy knows, is that nature is a cycle- to every end, there is a neeeeewwww beginning!” The crowd cheered with a nervous energy, some people fidgeting in their seats. My heart caught in my throat.

“Now ya’ll, listen carefully. Can you hear me? Can you understand me?” The cartoon voice overhead giggled, as the tree in front of us, opened it’s mouth again. “Acthoo Garuuuuum De Ogoraaaaaa. Acthoo Garuuuuum De Ogoraaaaaa.” It repeated, with a deep rumbling and shuddering. With every repetition, I sighed in relief. I couldn’t understand what she was saying. What I heard next to me had my heart shatter.

“I’m right here, Joy!” Marcus laughed playfully. “I’m right here!” He attempted to get out of his seat, and I tried to stop him. “Marcus, no, stop. Don’t move.” I whispered, trying not to call attention to the seedlings who were walking up and down the rows. Marcus looked up at me and frowned, folding his arms. Our parents quickly realized what was happening, and looked on in horror.

“How come? Jeremy, Joy is looking for me!” He whined loudly, wiggling further out of his seat, despite my attempts to push him to sit back down. By now, a few seedlings started walking into our row, seeing the commotion. They took one look at Marcus, and they all nodded. By now, mom was inconsolable, as dad stood to try to reason with the incoming seedlings. “Now listen here, maybe he’s just making it up-” He tried to rationalize, but the seedlings brushed past him easily, with a strength that betrayed their smaller, childlike shapes. One of the seedlings held Marcus by his hand.

I stood up, ready to swing at the seedling who had my brother, and I threw my fist, my nerves fried, my brain going in a million directions. The seedling didn’t react to the impact, and two more rushed over to me, and held me down in the seat. “Marcus! No! Please!” I screamed, as Marcus waddled down the aisle, hand in hand with the seedling. The seedling took Marcus to the front of the tree. The crowd cheered as the little boy, my brother, stood before the stretching Juniper, with some of the crowd whispering to each other, some hugged their own children tightly in relief. Marcus waved to the crowd, before the loud, groaning voice of the tree rumbled again. “Korunnnn Goruvta…..”

I saw Marcus say something to the tree, which I can guess were the words “My name is Marcus.” The tree stood motionless for a moment, and as much as I struggled and screamed, I couldn’t break free of the seedlings who held me, as Joy’s mouth creaked open once again, widely, enough to accommodate a person. Marcus hesitated, before he stepped inside. When Joy’s mouth closed, I felt my whole body go numb, and limp in shock. I could barely register the overhead speaker talking once more.

“Everyone, please join me in a Joyful welcome as we meet Marcus, our newest seedling!” The crowd erupted in cheers, as numerous amounts of berries grew in a rapid frenzy on Joy’s branches, before falling to the floor, for the seedlings to collect for various recipes around the park. Joy’s mouth creaked open, and out stepped a seedling, identical in size, clothing, and hair as the rest of the seedlings. It’s his face that caused me to shudder, sobbing silently, and have my mother’s wails carry through the crowd. It was Marcus’ face.
Marcus waved to the crowd, before joining the other seedlings in a joyous hug. Without even glancing our way, he ran off to who knows where with a group of them. A jingle played overhead, before Joy closed her eyes, signifying the end of the celebration. One final time, the chipper speaker voice comes to life, with accompanying cheesy music. “Thank you all for joining us in our special Seedling ceremony. I hope ya’ll will join us again real soon!” I turned to face my parents, speechless, as the crowds dispersed. I noticed a good chunk of the crowd heading to the closest shirt stall crowding to buy something. One member of the crowd turned to reveal their latest purchase. A shirt, with a caricature of my brother’s face in the middle of the shirt, with the words “Marcus” in a cutesy font underneath, and the Joy’s Jubilee logo next to it.

Credit: Derek Llovet

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