London's Eye

It was majestic, taller than she imagined, grander than the pictures. The pictures, they didn't do any justice to the structure that stood tall in front of her. She stood, jaw slack and eyes wide, still unable to comprehend the fact that she was going to be on it. Her neck strained as she put her head back to check the top of the thing. Is she really going to be on it? For the hundredth time she checked her watch hoping that the time would run slowly till she got off the millennium wheel.

It had been a dream, a bucket list wish from when she was ten years old and saw the picture of the wheel in a magazine. She promised herself that if she ever went to London, she would definitely be on it. And today it was about to come true. Ever since, she has been on every giant wheel in every theme park in every country she ever visited. She felt as excited as she did fifteen years ago and she was one step short of a victory dance. The business trip had taken her here but her schedule was packed and now before she could catch a flight back, she had a few minutes to spare. Straight on the wheel, then off and beeline to the airport.

The wheel at last, she couldn't contain her glee, her legs wouldn't stand in place and the wide stretched grin on her face nobody could wipe. She had to try hard to compose herself to keep herself from screaming in joy. Her hands were getting sweaty in excitement and the ticket she held in her hands were blotting. She blew at it hoping to not wet the tickets with her body fluids. Unfortunately, she blew a little harder than intended, not hard enough to blow the ticket away with her breath, but enough to make the hair of the guy in front of her dance. Cringe! He turned a little to glare at her, his side profile visible to her. She facepalmed herself in embarrassment.

The guy who was standing in front of this weird twittering lady in the line was already nervous. Losing a bet was a hard thing to deal with as is, but the bet involved him getting on this monstrosity, thinking about it made him want to pee his pants. His friends were booing at him, laughing at his scared sight. Parts of him were sweating, parts he didn't even know existed. The wet blotch on his shirt was getting impossible to hide and he was shifting his weight and adjusting his hair to keep himself from having a panic attack. He wished they would stop booing. The perfume did very little to hide the strong scents that emanated from him and he had to stay in place to make sure nobody could whiff it. Also he hoped his bladder was still in his control.

The line was growing smaller as people started getting on the wheel. She was hoping that her thrill wouldn't get the best of her and jump in front of the line. She hoped that she wouldn't have to share the cabin with the guy who was scared more than a lamb for slaughter. Lucky her, as the last person in that ride, it was either that or wait thirty minutes for the next ride. Time was not on her side that day. Riding with a guy who was probably gonna puke is better than not getting on the wheel at all.

The wheel started and her excitement grew and she was grinning probably much wider than the Cheshire cat. She took in the sight of London cityscape feeling happier as the wheel went up. If this is how dreams felt when they come true, she wished she had dreamt more. A couple of selfies on her phone would serve as her reminder of that moment. As the ride kept climbing higher and higher, the more it was getting difficult to ignore the guy in front of her who was paler than a piece of paper blood draining from his face. Helplessly she glanced at her expensive brand new coat that she bought for the London trip. He looked like he might pass out any second or worse puke all over her new coat.

The ride started and he closed his eyes to keep himself from passing out. He did not know if he still had a control over his bladder. His legs felt weak and his hands gripped his seat, his knuckles whiter than mountain tops. Every single movement felt amplified to him and he mumbled a silent prayer to the gods that they let him live to see another day. He felt lightheaded. A voice broke his prayer.

"Are you alright?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Do I seem alright?" his English was heavily accented and his voice was small. He didn't turn to glance at her, instead he had his eyes tightly closed. A few tendrils of his hair had stuck to his forehead due to his perspiration. His well built body was now visible as the shirt clung to him. He was what you would call English hot. She scooted closer to him, the movement jerking his eyes open and intensifying his prayer on his lips.

"I'M GOING TO DIE!" he shrieked as the cabin rocked. She smiled at his accented English and his scream of despair. It was comical. He looked utterly helpless and his legs were now visibly trembling.

"You're not." She said reassuringly. She turned her head and glanced around at the London's beauty that lay before her. She still couldn't believe she was here.

"You'd regret not looking around." She said her voice a few octaves lower. She slowly moved to hold his hand as if to reassure him. He was not convinced.

"Come on, we're not even on a rollercoaster. It is not even moving that fast. Open your eyes and check out the beauty of the London cityscape." She sounded cheerful.

"We're on top of a huge wheel that's just fixed on one end. And we're climbing higher and higher. We will be out of air when we reach the top. What if the oxygen levels are too low? And what if a spoke fails? The whole wheel will be in Thames. We'll all die suffocated in these little cabins when the water comes in! Worse, imagine being stuck on the top and the wheel wouldn't move and we'll be stuck in this cabin for eternity! I'll grow old in here and die in here because nobody could get us out!" His nervousness made him rant a lot really fast that his words blurred as he freaked out. He closed his eyes and started mumbling his prayer again. She couldn't help chuckle.

"Dude. First, it's not even that high that you'll be gasping for air. Half a kilometre at its most. Second, these are air-conditioned so you won't have a problem breathing. Third, these things are continuously mend so a fault involving a spoke fail is highly unlikely unless of course a terrorist bombing of sorts."

"TERRORIST BOMBING!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. Oh lord! Poor chap. God save his soul.

"Come on. It's alright. Look around for once. If anything happens of that sort, I would also be dead. If that's reassuring. Also you're holding on to me, so I'm here if anything happens." She smiled at him, his hand in hers.

He slowly lifted his head, letting his blue eyes graze her awestruck face and then turned to look around. His pounding heart stopped and slowed. It was breathtaking. It was London's cityscape after all. She still stared jaw slack at the sea and at the tall buildings. He stared at her face that was busy looking up at the whole of london in awe. He looked down at his friends who looked like ants from up above. She turned to him excitedly and she would've jumped in joy if she hadn't remembered that he'd die of a panic attack if she did.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She asked in pure glee. He just nodded. A part of him that wasn't freaking out was glad that he did look around. The other part of him, held her hand tightly and the seat in other. The wheel was now halfway at its highest point.

"Why are you here if you are this scared?" She glanced at his hands that still gripped tightly onto his seat. Even though his eyes were scanning the cityscape, you could tell from his eyes that they were scared.

"They dared me to talk to a girl, failing so I should take a trip in this monstrosity." He said pointing at his friends who stood on the ground staring at the wheel probably making comments.

"You can't talk to girls?"

"Just pretty girls. I get all nervous and forget everything I went to say."

"Woah. Thanks." She said as she stood and walked away from the seat to look at the view. She wasn't mad, but she didn't want to waste time either when she was in the ride of her dreams.

"AHHHHHhhhhh…." He screamed, "I didn't mean it like that. You're pretty, but I think it is my fear of heights that's making me talk to you. I am glad I'm here with you instead of someone else." His sentences came out rapidly and his voice was rushed, shaky, his lip quivered and his eyes were tightly shut again.

"Please hold my hand, till I get down. I feel better if you do." She couldn't help but smile.

"Only if you promise not to close your eyes." She held his hand for the rest of the ride. They both were now staring through the glass of the capsule, he no longer felt scared. Probably because he still held the hands of someone and probably also because London was breathtaking. He was glad for this ride.

As the ride was over and they got down, his legs still shaking but he had a victory smile plastered on his face. He looked dorky with that nervous smile. His friends came over, a little surprised but laughing nonetheless at the sight of him. He had done the dare, thanks to her help. She took leave telling him she had a flight to catch. She was content about her dream coming true. She had finally been on the millennium wheel. The grin that was now plastered on her face would be stuck there forever. As she walked out to catch herself a cab to the airport she heard a voice. She turned to see him running to her.

"My name is Daniel. What's yours?" His voice was breathless as he caught up to her. He rubbed nervously at the back of his head hoping he didn't make a fool out of himself. His friends were staring at him unable to comprehend what was happening. He was talking to a girl. The bet that led him to the dare. How on Earth did it happen?

"Luna.", she said, handing over her card. She reached over his tall frame and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. He was taken aback. The jaws that went slack were not just his.

"My bike is faster than a cab." He said snapping out of the trance. He got on a ride with his fear of heights, talked to a girl without backing out and now is offering her a ride to the airport. Today was a day of miracles after all. He walked to get his bike. As he arrived in his bike, donning a leather jacket and the black helmet that was spray painted, he looked badass. She took a step back in fear.

"On this motorbike? This beastly two wheeled monstrosity?" She asked, alarmed.

"Don't tell me you're scared of these. This is far safer than a Giant wheel that is just mounted on one end." He said laughing at her who backed away at the sight of it.

"No. I am never getting on one of these."

"You made me get over the fear of heights. Let me help you get over the fear of bikes. I'm a safe driver and you can trust me. Now hop on." He handed her the helmet and helped her get on.

"Now hold on to me like your life depends on me." He said. She closed her eyes and hugged him from behind like she was going to die.

"AAAAAAaaaahhhhhh…." She screamed as the bike whizzed through traffic.