Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Isabella
Isabella peeked inside the darkened tent. In the center was a large six and half foot tall cage. In the center a five year old boy huddled into the corner of the cage. He wore a burlap sack over his head and was picking aimlessly at the straw floor.
Isabella walked into the tent fully and stared at the child. He was so young and with his face hidden you never would have guessed what a devil he was. When she had first seen him, she had fainted in disgust… or was it fright? He was only a baby then but his deformities were so prominent.
She couldn't bear to tell anyone that she was the child's mother. She had been so ashamed when he was born. Her boyfriend, Tyboeh, and the father of their son had abandoned her at the sight of him and the doctor's who knew not of her boyfriend were clearly sure that she had mated with an animal.
They refused to help her child and her neighbors and close friends began to turn their backs on her. They plainly saw her as a freak, a low-life and gossiped about her when they thought she wasn't around. But she heard them.
Their words were what kept her up crying all night. She would've loved her son. She really could've but he was destroying her.
She had to quit her job because no one would baby-sit or adopt him. She couldn't even abandon or kill him; she didn't have the heart to do that.
So it was a relief when the carnival came into town. The gypsies were magical people. When she had visited them she kept her son's face hidden in the blankets and went from tent to tent to view the shows. There was a man born a woman and a child with a tail and other…creatures.
At seeing these, Isabella's gaze fell to her son in her arms. She knew what she had to do. She was granted a private meeting with the carnival manager and begged him for a job. He refused at first and tried to sympathize with her but she would not—could not—take no for an answer.
She finally showed the face of her son and the manager instantly froze. He stared at him…no it…with wide eyes and his mouth slightly open. He was staring hungrily at the baby.
He than gazed up at her and she knew her fate was sealed and there was no going back now.
So here she was now, staring at her son. She visited him everyday and she knew he was aware of her but he always ignored her. She wasn't sure if it was fear or hatred but when she would visit him he would turn his back to her.
Sometimes when she watched him she'd imagine herself breaking him out and the two escaping. But that could never happen. In fact he probably had no idea that she was his mother.
What do you think? This story was inspired by a friend telling me that Erik's mother was one of the gypsies in the carnival.