This is a preview chapter.

First: this story is written in first person, mostly. A little unusual for fanfiction, but it's a made up character, so I can do whatever I want.

Second: Most of the characters in TMI are dead by the time this story rolls around. The ones that appear are the immortal ones. Prepare for feels.

Third: I'm super excited about this story. It's, like, one of my fantasies. Except I'm not an orphan. Nor am I Greek.

Fourth: This is my second story. The other one is not as good as this one will be. Look forward to some long chapters, but unfortunately, they take longer to write. Sorry. You can't have everything.

Okay. Okay? Okay. Preview time.

"Are you sure about this, Lena?" Papa says worriedly to Mama, holding me balanced on his hip.

She flashes him a smile. "Come on, Will. It's a fun ride. We're here to have fun, remember?"

"Are we gonna go, Mama?" says Alix, tugging on her hand. He's seven now, with bright dark eyes and curly black hair, like Mama's.

"Yes, Alix, we're just going to get in line now." She looks meaningfully at Papa.

"Papa," I say, leaning in closer to his ear. "I have to go."

"Come on, William. We're going to miss this ride," calls Mama, already a few feet from the entrance of the short line.

"Saffy has to go," he calls back. I hide my face in his sleeve, embarrassed.

"Will, I can hold her. You go ahead." Aunt Alexandra holds out her arms. Gratefully, Papa shifts me into her grip and hurries to catch up with Mama.

"Be back soon, Saffy," he says, before taking Alix's hand and disappearing behind the gates of the roller coaster.

Alexandra takes me into the ladies' bathroom, and I'm just standing on my tiptoes to wash my hands when we hear a commotion outside.

People stop what they're doing to look around. I tug on Alexandra's thin hand. "What happened, Auntie?"

"Shhh, Saffy, let's go outside and look." She lifts me up, moving through the masses of people out of the bathroom.

There's a fire up in the high towers of the roller coaster, with thick black smoke billowing out in every direction. It's hard to see what's going on, but it's clear at once that something's wrong, even to five-year-old me.

"Oh my God," says Alexandra, covering her mouth with one hand. Her face is too pale. "Oh my God." Tears start to fill her eyes as her face crumples.

An ambulance is coming through the yellow paved streets of the amusement park, blaring every light and horn available. Fire trucks follow soon after, but there's not much for them to do. The fire soon goes out, revealing the burnt out chassis of the coaster car, stuck in a valley, between two mountain-high hills.

I start to cry because Auntie's crying. I don't understand what's going on at all. People all around us are crowding around, trying to get a better look. A few look concernedly at us, leaning against the bathroom wall and sobbing, but I don't notice.

After a few minutes, Auntie pulls herself together. She pulls me away, toward a bench a few rides away. She picks me up and sets me on the hard wooden seat, kneeling in front of me. "Shhh, shhh," she says, stroking my hair. "Everything will be all right." She tries in vain to wipe the tears off of my face.

But by then I understand, and I only cry harder. I know, with the most certainty that I've ever had, that they're gone.