A/N: This is based on the book "Life Expectancy" by Dean Koontz. I'm telling Natalie Vivacenemte-Beezo's story. Prepare to be enchanted!
DISCLAIMER: Not mine, can't sue me…love Dean Koontz!
Vivacemente!
Prologue: A Great Aerialist
When I was born, I was supposed to be a wonderful aerialist. My father, Virgilio Vivacemente, was a great aerialist. My mother, Monica Vivacemente, was a great aerialist. In fact, my whole family were all great aerialists. We were the Immortal Flying Vivacementes.
But the wonder was a carefully constructed lie.
The circus always did wonderful when we did our flying acts. The sheer beauty of it delighted people of all ages. In fact, I was told more than once that someone wished they could have our life, to fly as easily as a bird does, as graceful as a dove.
But it wasn't something I was given as a gift. I was trained for it; I worked for it…every day of my life. I wanted to make my father proud. I wanted to make the whole family proud of me. I wanted to be the greatest aerialist ever!
My father was proud of me for this ambition, but always insisted he would ALWAYS be the best. No matter what. I truly believed he was immortal. A wonderful person later told me it wasn't true.
Da Vinci once said: "Many have made a trade of delusions and false miracles, deceiving the…multitude".
If anyone was ever a genius, it was Leonardo Da Vinci for saying that one thing. For that was the life of a Vivacemente: delusions and false miracles.
I was born with raven hair and green eyes. Lots of people said I was beautiful, but my father always said that was a family trait. I was always embarrassed of it. I was frail in so many ways, but never physically. To be a Flying Vivacemente, I had to be in top athletic condition.
By now, you are wondering who I am. I am a Vivacemente. But now I do not want to be. I want to be something else. And you know what? I did become something else. But that's a story for later.
I promise this will all make sense. But please stay for the story.
My name is Natalie Vivacemente-Beezo. I am a great aerialist. But at a terrible price. Do not be fooled by our flying wonder. Just hear my story.
Prepare to be enchanted. Or not.
VivacEmente!
Chapter One: Flying High Above the Crowds
I concentrated on the task at hand. I looked down at the safety net below me, and smirked. I only used the safety net when I fell on purpose. At the end of a show. But until that moment, I was going to fly. I would bring smiles to everyone in that circus tent.
I looked across the great chasm below me to see my brother at the other ladder, grinning at me. We both loved flying. Everyone in the troupe did. We would love it more if my father didn't insist on training day and night. Also, the almost anorexic diets we were put on from time to time. The occasional steroid.
But it was all for the troupe! Such lies we had been conceived on. It went like this. After eating our meager meals, the girls around my age (fifteen) would all go and simultaneously become bulimic. I hated this, but I loved to fly.
Then, we would run, anywhere, anytime, as long as we ran fast and hard for at least a half an hour. We had to stay fit! We had to stay perfect! And I believe that every one of the Flying Vivacementes is as close to perfection as a person can be. But we did not choose it. Virgilio did.
I was jerked out of my thoughtful reverie by the ringmaster's cry. "AND NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT… THE FLYING VIVACEMENTES!"
I took my cue and dove of the high platform, grabbing a trapeze swing, and throwing myself into the air. I felt the wind caress me as I went up, and was grabbed by my brother, Elliot. He threw me again, letting go himself. My knees bent around the swing, and I grabbed his ankles, tossing him lightly to our cousin.
It went on and on, I could feel adrenaline surging through my veins as I let the sheer joy of this art overtake me. As soon as it began though, it seemed to be over. I dropped gracefully into the net, and formed my arms into a point of my head, like some crazed ballerina.
In unison, we all shouted: "THE FLYING VIVACEMENTES FLY FOR YOU!"
Clapping and cheers erupted through the big top, and I felt a bubbly feeling in my chest, so happy, so wonderfully alive! Then, I caught the look on my father's face. My God, what had I done wrong! I had felt perfect!
Elliot was looking at me with doubtful glances, and other too, shared the apprehension. Oh…suddenly it came to me. I had flown to my mother instead of an aunt. Oh no, no, no…not this night, when I had felt so good.
We exited the ring, and my father caught hold of my wrist. While some clowns were going out to entertain the children, he would give me my lecture.
"Natalie." He hissed. "You went to the wrong person near the end." His voice dripped with venom. "How could you do this to us!" he demanded. "HOW!"
I shrank back, and my glance caught one of the younger clown's eyes. Konrad Beezo. I quickly looked away as my father slapped me, once with his palm, again with the back of his hand. I cried out, and he dropped me.
"You can sleep with the inferiors tonight." He said, stomping away with the other aerialists, leaving me with everyone else.
I saw Konrad look angrily at my father, and then come up to me. "Are you all right, Natalie?" he asked, his voice resonating with concern.
I nodded, putting a hand to my cheek. There was going to be a bruise there, I was sure of it. More stage makeup would fix that though. Konrad smiled, and made a funny face. I smiled, and he turned to go, leaving to do his act.
I knew then that the clowns would always welcome me.
My father had always looked down upon the clowns. He insisted they were the lowest of the low of circus life. I disagreed, but never said it aloud. I liked clowns. They put a smile on my face, as they delighted the children in the big top.
But if I ever told this to anyone, even my brother, I know they would tell my father. And then he would be so enraged that he might not let me fly anymore.
As I thought of this, I looked out on the crowd. The clowns ran around haphazardly, squirting each other with water and seltzer, and doing other pranks and jokes.
Clyde Beezo, Konrad's father, suddenly said, "Now, we will randomly select a member of the circus crew to be part of this next act…"
I glanced around. Konrad looked over at me and winked. Oh no. I begged God it let it be someone else… I would be in so much trouble…
"Natalie Vivacemente, wound you come out here please?"
I groaned. This would not be good. Two clowns came up behind me, and half escorted, half pushed me out into the circus ring again. I felt an anxious lump of tear forming in my throat. Father was going to be so angry! Konrad should have known better.
"Now, young Natalie here is one of the renowned Flying Vivacementes." Said Clyde. "She doesn't know much about clowning. We do a different sort of flying in the clown trade. We use CANNONS!"
I gulped. "You're not going to put me in a cannon, are you?" I said with a circus-like happiness.
"No, my dear Natalie," he replied in the same tone, "but we do need your help. My son, Beezo Junior here, is going to do his first cannon trick ever. We'd like YOU to light the cannon fuse."
I laughed a hardy, fake laugh. "Of course, Beezo Senior, I can do THAT."
Konrad smiled uneasily at me. I knew he could sense my fear. He was so sensitive. But all the same, he stepped into the cannon, and I went over to it. Instead of actually lighting a fuse and blowing poor Konrad up, I was merely to pull a rope, which would fire him out. As soon as he whispered, "I'm good." I pulled that rope.
Flying out came the second Beezo clown, and for one terrible minute, I thought he was going to fall back to the earth and be terribly hurt. But suddenly, out of his backpack, came a large parachute. It was blue, and had a huge red star on it.
I smiled, delighted. It was still flying, but so different. Clyde turned to me, shaking my hand vigorously. "Thank you, Miss Vivacemente. Please, take this flower for our sign of thanks."
Unwittingly, I took the flower, which promptly squirted me in the face. I stepped backwards, and ran off the side of the ring, hoping my family hadn't seen any of this. I wiped my face with a towel, and went to change.
An elephant rider about my age had heard all the fuss, and let me borrow her bathrobe to wear over my leotard. I couldn't go back to my trailer that I shared with other Vivacementes, so I had no clothes.
After the show was over, I was still sitting alone near the edge of the ring. Someone sat down next to me, but I didn't take any notice. A few tears began to form in my eyes, and before I knew it, I was crying.
The person put an arm around me, and I looked up. It was Konrad. But now he was looking normal, completely clown free. I smiled bitterly, but didn't say anything. I wanted to go home, to my small curtained room, where my personal things were…
He hugged me tightly for a few more minutes, and then he said, "You can stay in the clown areas if you want. We can pull out a cot for you. And Marionette could lend you a nightgown."
Marionette was the only female clown in the circus. She was eighteen. True, she was about my size. I always had the impression that if she had been born a Vivacemente, she could have been a wonderful flyer too. I smiled at Konrad for his thoughtfulness.
"Thanks Konrad. Sure, I'll stay with you guys. Promise me I wont get squirted with anything?"
"Just don't touch anymore flowers." He replied with a grin.
Right then, I knew something was happening. Something I couldn't control. But like a good circus performer, I could wear a mask without wearing one. I could hide my emotions. All of them.
Konrad escorted me to the clown area of the circus. They merely had a large tent. They never asked for trailers. He took me to Marionette's cot, and she smiled. "Natalie. I never thought I'd see you around these parts."
I could see her pity. Everyone knew what had happened. She winced when she saw my cheek. A bruise must have been forming there. Marionette quickly gave me a nightgown. It wasn't extraordinarily long. It came to a stop below my knees. It was a little tight, but I was glad for it all the same.
Konrad sat with me one my cot, and we spoke about many things. Mostly, he spoke about his work, and I about mine. But then, suddenly, he asked a question that made me shiver.
"Why does your father hit you guys?"
I looked away. "Because we aren't perfect."