The man reminded him quietly.
Joker came back to himself, the smile still on his face.
"You know," he said, "I recently met a very polite kid."
The man did not dare ask.
But Joker clearly did not need him to.
"He said he liked smiles."
Joker raised a hand and lightly tapped the corner of his mouth with a fingertip.
"So I thought I ought to give him some."
A very bad feeling suddenly rose inside the man.
They continued forward.
A battered sign hung over the haunted house entrance, painted with a vampire and a zombie.
One of the vampire's fangs had broken off, and rain had washed the zombie's eyes into a blur. They looked more exhausted than frightening.
"This used to be the park's most popular attraction," the man said, hastily changing the subject. "The whole ride takes about seven minutes. There are animatronic ghosts, fake coffins, trick walls, and a section of track with a sudden drop."
"A sudden drop."
Joker repeated it, as though savoring the words.
"Life is like that too."
The man said, "...Yes."
"You keep walking, thinking you've finally reached somewhere safe, and then the ground vanishes beneath your feet. Wham-"
Joker mimed a fall with his hand.
"And you realize the designer never intended to let you find your footing in the first place."
The man felt his smile about to crack.
Right now, he desperately wished he were not this amusement park's temporary caretaker, and just as desperately wished he had never answered that phone call.
A few hours earlier, someone had told him an "investor" wanted to look around this abandoned amusement park.
The investor was very generous with his money.
At least, that was what they had said over the phone.
The man had originally thought this