The Cable Car That Stopped

Kasia stands in line for the cable car. It goes up the mountain. At the top, there is a famous view. She waits for ten minutes.

The red car is small. Kasia gets in. An old man gets in too. A little girl and her father come in last. The door closes.

"Hello," says the old man. "My name is Hiro."

"I am Kasia," she says. "Nice to meet you."

The car leaves the station. It goes up slowly. The town gets small. The river looks like a blue string. The little girl puts her hands on the glass.

"Look, Papa!" she says. "The cars are like toys!"

Her father laughs. "Yes, they are."

Halfway up, the car shakes a little. Then it stops. Nobody speaks. The wind moves the car from side to side.

"Why are we not moving?" the girl asks.

Her father looks at his phone. "There is no signal," he says. He looks nervous.

Hiro points to a small speaker on the wall. "Listen," he says.

A kind voice speaks. "Hello, everyone. The cable car stops for a short time. It is a check. Please wait. Everything is fine. We go again in twenty minutes."

The father sits down. The little girl looks at her shoes.

"I do not like this," she says quietly.

Kasia thinks for a moment. She opens her bag. She has a bag of nuts and a map. "Do you like games?" she asks the girl.

"Yes."

"Good. This is the Colour Game. I say a colour. You look outside and find it. Then you tell me."

"Green!" says the girl. She points. "The trees are green!"

"Yes! Now blue."

"The river! And the sky!"

Hiro joins the game. "Yellow," he says. They all look. Far below, a small farm has yellow flowers around it.

"I see it!" the girl shouts. Her voice is not small now.

They play for ten minutes. They find pink, white, orange, and black. The father laughs and finds grey for the last colour. Kasia shares her nuts. The girl eats them one by one.

Then Hiro says, "Now look up."

A big bird flies near the car. It has long, wide wings. It moves slowly in the wind. Nobody speaks. The bird turns once and goes down to the valley.

"What is that?" the girl whispers.

"An eagle," says Hiro. "I come here every year. Today I see one from the car. It is my first time."

"We are lucky, then," says the father.

"Yes," says Hiro. "Maybe the cable car stops for us."

The car shakes again. Then it moves. Everyone cheers. The girl claps her hands. The car climbs higher, and the top station comes closer.

At the top, the door opens. Cold, clean air comes in. The girl runs out first. Her father follows her.

Kasia and Hiro walk slowly to the view. The valley lies below them, green and blue and gold.

"Do you go down by cable car too?" Hiro asks.

"Yes," says Kasia.

"Then I buy you tea first. And after that, we play the Colour Game again."