The crowd thickened as showtime approached.
We’d claimed a spot on the lawn early, but each new arrival stole another inch of our view until all we could see were the backs of winter coats.
Dani looked around.
“The Restaurant. There.”
She pointed to a second-floor balcony overlooking the stage.
Dinner service had just ended. The tables were empty.
Dani found a staff member sweeping under the tables.
“Mind if we stay here to watch?”
She shrugged, so we leaned over the balcony railing.
For a few minutes, we had the best seats in Tivoli.
~
Below us, families drifted between flowerbeds and glowing rides. Music floated up from somewhere beyond the trees. The roller coaster rattled past every few minutes, disappearing behind the rooftops before the screams caught up.
From up there, the crowd looked different.
People moved in every direction, but the plaza itself stayed strangely calm. Everyone seemed to be waiting for something.
Then I noticed two young men in dark hoodies.
They wandered into the plaza below, shoving one another, climbing onto planters, laughing louder than everyone else.
They didn’t look like they belonged there.
One of them stopped beside a lamppost and looked around.
The other pointed toward the stage.
They started walking.
Without meaning to, we stopped talking. We weren’t watching Tivoli anymore.
They were.
One of them grabbed a railing and vaulted over it.
The other followed.
They disappeared behind a building.
Dani leaned forward.
“What are they doing?”
“I don’t know.”
A moment later, we saw them again.
They were climbing onto the roof above the stage.
They moved easily, ducking behind signs and scrambling over the edge as though they’d done it before.
They reached the top and sat down.
Their legs dangled over the roof.
Below them, more people gathered.
Dani nudged me.
“Well, that’s one way to get a better view.”
I laughed.
They looked down at the stage and waited.
From the balcony, we waited too.
~
Then the music started.
Three zombies shuffled into the light.
They wore torn clothes and moved with their arms hanging loose at their sides.
They began to dance.
More zombies joined them from the shadows.
The crowd cheered.
From the balcony we could see everything, including the two men on the roof.
They hadn’t moved.
They just watched.
The song ended.
The stage went dark for a beat.
Then the two men stood.
One stepped to the edge of the roof.
He looked down.
Then he jumped.
He dropped several feet, caught the edge of a lower platform, swung beneath it, and landed in the middle of the stage.
The second man followed.
Music hit. Purple spotlights snapped in. And everything changed
The hoodlums were gone. In their place, they’d become martial artists.
The zombies became opponents.
They fought—every punch and kick landing exactly where it was supposed to.
They vaulted over one another.
They spun through the air.
Someone disappeared behind a prop and came back swinging a weapon.
The crowd roared.
then everyone danced.