It was the Christmas holidays in the beautiful city of Paris. Decorations littered the streets with holiday cheer. Families could be seen going from store to store, gathering the gifts their loved ones would soon receive on that faithful morning. It was indeed going to be a white Christmas. Paris was covered with snow. Kids from all around could be seen enjoying themselves with the delights of a good snowball fight.

Among such wondrous holiday cheer, a happy family was driving home after a day's worth of holiday shopping. "So champ, what do did you ask Santa to get you this year?" the father asked amusedly as he drove his family home.

A little boy in the backseat, no older than 7, had the biggest smile on his face. "I asked him for a big circus toy set with LOTS of animals, hoops, balls, clowns, trapezez..."

"But that's huge!" the mother interjected. "I don't think it'll fit under our tree", she teased.

The father threw his head back in a hearty laugh. "Well let's say Santa could only get you two of those things. Which would you choose?"

"Hmmm…" the boy hummed to himself. This was a very serious question. Santa could read minds and he had to be sure that he chose the ones he wanted most. "I want the animals and... the trapezez!"

"It's pronounced trapeze!" the father corrected.

"Oh really? Why is that?" the mother asked curiously, enjoying very much her son's passionate outbursts.

"Well…then... I can make the animals do trapezez!" the boy excitedly replied.

The grown ups in front very much enjoyed their son's imagination. Animals doing trapeze… what a load of nonsense. Only their son would be able to come up with something like that.

The boy simply loved the circus! Every year, they would take him to visit his uncle Zacarias Zaragoza to watch Circus Zaragoza. It was always the happiest times for them. The look on their little boy's face when the tiger jumped through the ring or when the trapeze artists flew through the air was simply the most amazing thing a parent could see. His eyes would always fill with wonder, hope, and curiosity as he watched them do what he thought was the impossible. It was mesmerizing! It was exciting! It was magical! It was the circus!

The father began to grip the wheel harder. "Hang on guys, it looks like the roads are getting icy." The car began to shake, pushing the son from side to side, as the father tried to readjust themselves on the road.

The boy started to feel scared, trembling as though his body was preparing itself for the worst.

"Don't worry honey, we're almost ho-" The sound of a horn rang through the air in alarm. His mother turned quickly to the front view window.

A pickup truck had lost control and swerved off from the opposing lane. It was heading right towards them!

"EVERYONE HANG ON!" the father yelled. Fear gripped his heart for the safety of his family.

Invisible forces were at work as they pushed and shoved the scared, little body.

The mother started to scream. "Baby Look out! LOOK OUT!-"

A muffled, beeping sound could be heard. Everything was a blur. He was in a daze. Feeling started to come back to his body as he tried to move his arms and legs. He was lying on something soft. He could feel something warm and wet being pressed gently on his forehead. As he began to open his eyes, the lights of the unknown environment were too bright for him to see and blurred his vision.

"He's starting to wake up!" a woman alerted. Her voice was feminine and gentle. It sounded quite nice.

His eyes began readjusting to the lighting of the room as he started to make out certain objects. It looked like a hospital. Only hospitals had those beeping machines.

The boy tried to lift himself from the bed. When using his arms to push, a surge of pain began stabbing at his shoulder. He flinched and collapsed back onto the bed. What was happening? How did he even get here? The last thing he remembered he-

"Excuses me."

The boy looked up. At the doorway stood a tall, dark man in uniform. The boy looked on in confusion.

"Are you Theo du Soleil?" the officer asked kindly.

The boy nodded in response.

The man deeply inhaled and exhaled and began walking towards his bedside. "How are you feeling?"

"My shoulder hurts", the boy replied bluntly.

"It is to be expected. But you should consider yourself lucky. No many boys, especially boys your age, are able to survive something like this. You must be very strong", the officer said kindly.

The boy nodded enthusiastically knowing full well, without a doubt, that he carried a strength beyond normal human capacity. "Yep! Mom ad Dad always tell me to eat my vegetables, and I always, always...wait...where is my Mom and Dad?" the boy asked, beginning to wonder. The last thing he remembered, he was in the car, they were driving and…and…

The officer placed a hand on his shoulder. His face looked grim. "I'm sorry Theo. But you're mother and father-" the officer paused. It brought him great pain to deliver such news to someone so young, "-they didn't make it."

Theo looked on towards the covers of the bed. His breathing began to quicken. "Mom…Dad…" Tears started to fill his eyes as his chest began to tremble. "M-MOM…D-DAD…." He gripped the bedsheets tightly. His hands were shaking. Tears fell down his soft features. His head lowered at the pain of losing the ones he loved. His world shattered.

The officer's heart broke at the sight. He wrapped his arms around the sobbing child, trying to provide comfort for his loss. "It's okay," the man said, closing his eyes. "It's okay."

Outside the room Zacarias Zaragoza waited. The tragic death of his sister was news most horrifying to receive. Theo was going to be placed under his care. "As much as you like the circus little Theo," he began to whisper, "it's not an easy life to live."