Dear Diary

My eyes fluttered open slightly in the new morning light. Dad was already awake; driving our rickety home to where ever the circus was going. And my story begins here.

Dear diary, did you know?

Today dad and I are going to see a traveling circus! I think gone everywhere in the country riding in our wobbly little RV, but we've never stumbled upon a circus; and one that travels like us, no doubt! I wonder what those people's reason is for constantly moving are, why they decided to become nomads. I know that you already know dad and I's reason; but I wonder what's theirs...I might find out later when we go see the show! We bought tickets when the circus stopped in the last town and now we're following them to the next town because we accidentally bought the wrong tickets. Dad says he's getting rusty and we know what that means; rest time. I expect after the circus, instead of driving off like we normally do, we'll stay in the area for about 2 weeks until dad recovers.

Dear diary, did you know?

I think I'm going to love the circus!

That was my starter to the day. The spark to the fire; my diary entry. I sit up in my bed and yawn vigorously, placing my diary on the nightstand. My eyes seemed to be heavy and they felt crusty. My mouth tasted weird too. Those are some of the joys of waking up. I swung off the covers and slowly flopped my feet over to my bunny slippers.

I skidded around the bed to the bathroom where the mirror stood above the sink. The mirror seemed to stare down on my it glared at me and threatened to fall as it swished left and right with the RV's direction. Oh wait, the mirror wasn't glaring at me; it was only me glaring at myself.

My hair was a rat's nest. Each lock was flying out randomly and seemed to look crust. And speaking of crusty my eyes looked like they were rotting. I was squinting so all you could see was the drags of sleepy in my eyes and the dark undertone of my eyes that signified working too hard.

I took cold water and splashed it in my face, taking my fingers and whipping away the sleepy which sealed my eyes nearly shut. Then I took my tooth brush in my hand. It's rough blue surface remind me of the feeling of the sand when you walk on the beach bare foot. I took the crest and spun off the cap, taking the minty substance and squirting it on the tooth brush. I began to saw down on my teeth. I hate that new morning, slimy, bad smelling, taste in your mouth.

When I looked up I was almost back to normal. My huge purple eyes stared back at me and in my refection my teeth where white as they'd ever been. All that's left is...My curly, matted, hair. I picked up my brush(not the toothbrush, the other kind), and quickly slashed through my hair. Sure it hurt, it definitely hurt, but I don't wanna spend 2 hours getting through little pricks of pain, I'd rather just shred through all the knots here and now.

My slick hair stopped at my shoulders and sort of spiked out along them. And as I ran my brush through my hair one last time, that same unruly lock of hair fell in between my eyes. My hair was your standard raven-type that spiked out at the ends. And my hair was your standard black. Nothing really special about me..Except for maybe my eyes.

I snagged my robe off the door and wrapped it around myself. Then I proceeded to skid back to the front of the RV, where dad was driving. As I made my way around the bed and to the door way, I was jerked to the right and the jolted up in a forced jump.

"Sorry! Big bump in the road! Tried to avoid it! Ah-oh here comes another!" I hear dad yell.

And when I land on the ground there's another big bump and It seems like someone is picking me up and purposely dropping me like a piece of trash. This time I landed hard on my face. And when I feel how much it hurt to nearly break your nose on the tough carpet of the RV, I snapped back into reality.

I seized my head up, in rage, and yelled, "The hell was that for, dad?"

"Sorry!" He said again.

I haul my butt up and walked over to the seat beside dad. I sat next to him and sighed, "Dad, you really need to re-take the driver's ed course. You drive horribly!"

"I'll listen to that statement when you drive this bus!" He says eyeballing the rode.

I laugh, stretching myself out, "Well that won't be too far off, I am almost 16, that is."

Without taking his gaze off the rode dad says, "But Rukia, you still look like you're 12."

I slap the back of his head, "Shut up!"

"Owe! Don't abuse your father! Especially when he's driving!"

"You call this driving," I laugh.

"Well, it's something along those lines..."

We watched the circus, with its many cars and animal and tents, lead us onward to the next town which seemed like we'd never reach. Finally we stopped in a small, remote town near Ayame's Meadow. This town was different from the last, it was a small, cute little place where everyone seemed to know one another. I looked at the welcome sigh and it said, "Welcome to Aio-tan village. Population-287"

Aio-tan? What a strange name..Like the way children pronounce -san or -chan. Such and odd looking town. Well It'd be perfect for the circus!

I ran to the back of the RV and slammed open the drawer with all my clothes in it. I dug my hands through all the clothing and finally settled on something to wear. When I put that on, dad and I decided we'd go to some sort of bath house; small towns in these parts normally had them. Dad and I grabbed our towels and other things we thought we might need.

As dad and I unloading out of the RV, we also saw the circus getting set up in the back of the town. People started spilling out of the cars and animals came out of cages. But something caught my eye from on of the cars. It was someone with very strange hair. It's as if he had my hair a bleached it. A guy, with a scowl on his face, and orange hair. Did he dye it for the show? Why does he look so angry?

I stopped and stared at him. What an interesting person, I don't even know him and yet my mind is spinning out questions just because of his hair color.....I smiled. Well I look forward to seeing him in the show. I tightened my grip on my towel and walked off.

Night fell quickly and thus, the show. I don't know why but I actually look forward to seeing the guy with the orange hair more than the actual show. Probably because his act must be pretty special to have to dye his hair like that.

Dad and I handed in the tickets to the recipient and walked into the grand tent. It was like all other circuses you see on the TV shows, but much more exiting. Tall bleachers that wrapped around the outer part of a open area in the center, smiling down on the show, and in the center, hula-hoops and bowling pins with playground balls.

Dad and I found seats in the front row and as we sat down the lights began to dim as did the voices around. A spotlight came down and focused on a blurb of black behind a curtain, when they stepped out it was apparent; the host. A man with cropped black hair and a shaved beard long since needing to be shaved again. He wore a tight purple suit with a purple top hat. The dress shirt beneath his suit was pail purple and his tie was dark purple. Purple, Purple purple.

"Hello and Welcome! I am your host, Mr. purple."

My head sunk, of course it is. I laughed out loud looking back up.

"So then I wonder where you all think you are right now? Any guesses?" He takes his figure and points at a little girl and moves it around the tent, to spin around and land on me.

"Well miss, where are you?"

I looked left an right, there was still a chance he was pointing to another girl and suddenly my face lit up, I didn't exactly know what to say. My mind had gone black. I stuttered out of pure instinct, "A land where dreams come true!"

Now I felt as if I was going to have to stab myself in the eye with a fork. You're in a circus you idiot! A land where dreams come true is what dad and I have been searching for, not where I am. I was expecting the man to boom over the speakers a huge, taunting laugh but it was quiet, all but the echoes off a few people whispering. The man was frozen staring at me. Did I say something wrong? No that wasn't it-

"You're exactly right..." The host said in dismay not in his usual sing-song voice.

Then he coughed an began, "Well without further ado I give you our opening act!"

He flaps his arm out to the curtain where a dark skinned woman with long black hair steps out into the light. She holds her arms out, welcoming the thousands of screams that came with it. She was wearing middle-eastern belly dancing clothing..What was she planning to do?

She stood in the position until the man exited the stage. Weird I would have expected the host to say more and actually go somewhere when he asked the audience a question... The man seemed in a hurry to leave and I guess he didn't know his mike was one because as soon as he went behind the curtain, everyone could hear what he said in such a serious voice.

"She's back." What was that suppose to mean?

And then after that I suppose he turned the mike off because I couldn't hear anything more.

The woman in the front looked back at the curtain for a split second, frowning, and the she turned back to the crowd, letting her arms fall down at her sides. She stretched out one arm and snapped her fingers. The lights dimed and music came on. It was up beat with a string instrument unlike any other plucking away a ominous tune in the background. She lay her hand out and from behind the curtain someone dressed in black came out and gave her a lighter and fluid, placing the items in her hand. They backed away behind the curtain.

The woman walked over to the hula-hoop laying on the ground a few feet over and picked it up. She popped the cap off the fluid and dunked it all over the hoop then she took her lighter and set the hoop a flame. I gasped, wouldn't it have set her hand on fire too? No her hand was fine. Everyone watched into amazement and she threw the hoop in the air and caught it in her hand to spin it on her arm and to transfer it through to the other.

He face was lit up with a smile as the music dimed into a beating of drums. Bum.....Bum... And the drums sped up as she threw the hoop once again and it flew in the air. She spun around in a circle, her hands lifted up against her head. And as the flaming hoop fell in a spiral it began to shutter and fall horizontally. Bum, bum bum bum... The hula-hoop fell down the woman's body to her waist and that's when she started to move as the hoop twirled around her waist. She was hula-hooping with a burning hoop!

As the music sped up more she began to walk with the hoop still circling around her waist. Then she dipped down on her knees and the hula-hoop traveled up to her chest. She stopped moving her hips or waist as the hula-hoop fell off her body. Everyone watching gasped. Her expression had changed as if she had given up..And right as the hula-hoop was about to hit the ground she swooped up her left foot and jumped up and over the hoop with her right. She smiled and twirled her leg high with the hula-hoop now spinning around it!

She grabbed the burning hoop off her foot and put it around her waist, as she hula-hooped, she went over to the fluid and poured it all over herself. I gasped, she she going to light herself on fire? When she lit the lighter suddenly the lights went out and the music stopped. The fire went out too and at first I was freaking out. But in five seconds everything clicked back on and the woman's outfit as well as everything on the stage was on fire. She smiled brightly as everyone cheered. The music rose to its peek and stopped. The woman snapped her fingers again and the lights where off once more. When they came back on, she was gone, the equipment was too, and all the was left was a bouquet of flowers on the ground.

"We will now have a short intermission." We heard the speakers say in a very familiar voice; the host's voice.

I heard a lot people boo as everyone started to clear out of the tent. I heard someone say next to me, "In a circus the intermission is after every 5 shows, they only had the opening act! Do you think something is going on backstage?"

"Who knows.." Another person said to them.

What was going on, I wonder?

As dad and I went with the stampede of people (it seemed like the whole town was here!)we soon found ourselves outside. Dad began, "What do you think's up back there?"

I shrug, "I don' know,"

Dad said, "Well I'm going to buy some cotton candy, you wait here."

"Why would I wait here? Is there some sort of danger to walk around and check things out? And why can't I come with you?"

"Just stay here."

So I stood and waited...And waited...And I got bored. So I left. I wanted to see if there was a problem I could help with in the circus, so as I headed toward the back of the tent I felt someone's hand over my mouth and one arm around my waist.

"You really shouldn't snoop around to much, this isn't really a place for children," I heard in my ear.

I panicked. I don't know that voice. Not the host's, not my dad's...It's a guys voice...A stalker? Cause I don't know this person...But wait a minute..Did they just call me a 'child'.

The person was big because they where leaning down to whisper in my ear and I didn't really matter to turn back to see who it was. Should I hit them? Scream? Play cool?

And all I can think to do right now, even if it's pointless, is to get a good look at who ever's trying to assault me or kidnap me.. errr what not....

I turn my head back and my eyes widen. I almost forgot about hid because of the amazing performance. He was the very person who caught my eye when I set foot in this town. The man with the orange hair before. His eyes, now, seemed to laugh at me for some reason. And this is to my diary is I survive:

Dear Diary,

My trip to the circus; not really so fun after all..