Set This Circus Down

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Chapter 2, Moth and a Flame

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"I—I thought animals like you were just a legend…" Taylor managed to get out after a few moments. In fact she was reading about such an animal in her books at night…except in that case it was a talking dog.

"Just a legend? Oh dear, in this world of wonders, anything is possible!"

Taylor was still pretty certain the statement still excluded something like time travel, but Taylor went with it. "So…I…know you?"

"Yes, when you were very little you came in here and got lost."

"Oh—yeah…"

"Still don't remember me?"

"Well…I don't know. I remember a really big tree…and…I know I'd found this really old candy wrapper...and then my father found me and carried me out."

"Then please, allow me to show you something."

"…Okay," Taylor agreed.

She followed the little owl on a long walk through the forest. Stepping over rocks and limbs, the owl simply glided from one limb to the next. "…How long have you been here?" Taylor wondered softly.

"A long time," replied the owl, "But not as long as some," she added. Taylor could feel the presence of other animals nearby, but non came forward quite like Michiko.

"So—there are others like you? Who can speak?"

"Oh yes," she said.

Finally Taylor saw the appearance of a very, very large tree in the center of the forest. The trunk was wider than grandpa's homemade shrine/time machine and very dark brown, devoid of any vines or moss—something Taylor thought a little odd. It was also very familiar, and she felt a queer sensation when she was near it. Walking up to it, she looked at it from all angles. "Here is where you were," the owl said quietly.

She was here before—the little red and white headband was tattered and still looped around a branch hanging down in front of her face. Taylor smiled at it. All the boughs were sad and drooping on this tree which wasn't a willow, but it wasn't an oak either, but somewhere in between with medium green foliage and deep grooves in the bark.

There was one groove in particular that caught the young girl's eyes immediately—it was more like a knot, a pale scar in the shape of a diamond starring her in the eyes, it's edges perfect and clean. Taylor's skin quivered nervously, in excitement. She looked down. There was a giant root grown out of the soil, looking a bit like the back of a turtle. "…Did I…trip on that?" she wondered.

"I'm afraid you did."

Taylor rolled her eyes, "Typical."

But her gaze, every time, was drawn back to the diamond in the tree. "Hey…" she remembered, "Were there…lights?"

"There were. Blues and yellows…And greens too I think."

"My power? But my power light is blue. A light blue…like ice. How could there have been other colors?" Taylor wondered for a moment if grandpa knew about these 'lights' and if that was the reason he stayed away.

"I remember you touched the tree with your power and it reacted with lights. You made butterflies and all kinds of pretty things," Michiko smiled.

"Really?" Taylor took a small, curious step forward. "How come I don't remember? I mean—I think I do, but yet I don't."

"Perhaps…" the owl thought, "No," she changed her mind slowly. "That would be impossible."

Taylor laughed a little, "My grandpa is building a time machine. Try that one for impossible."

"Oh! How lovely!" Michiko smiled.

Taylor chuckled again. Finally she reached out her hand to touch the bark—as soon as her fingers laid the slightest touch she saw an amber glow mixed with ice blue.

"Whoa!" she withdrew her hand, conscious of her surroundings, trying to feel for any danger. But the warm color vanished as quickly as it'd come. "Michiko…what's up with this tree?"

"I've been trying to figure that one out for a long time. As far as I know, this tree reacts with someone's energy—though you're the only one to try. And I daresay it likes yours."

Taylor smiled a little and like a moth to a flame, she hesitantly, carefully, touched the tree again. This time the light reacted with her energy—a low input, a dim, steady glow of different colors. Higher, brighter. Higher she pushed, higher—

WHIZZ!

Taylor withdrew her hand and massaged it, but caught a glimpse of something strange—an image of bright lights and stripped colors, round orbs and movement. "What…?" Taylor whispered. Hesitant to recall the image but wanting answers, she reached out her hand again, hoping to control the energy output.

Suddenly she was on the other side and saw the circus as was in a blur under a warm yellow sun and no trees—or very few except for this one. Quickly she turned and saw the portal from which she'd come—the cold green and blue darkness and Michiko, curiously looking on. Then Taylor turned and everything became clear.

Sound began to come to her ears, first like through underwater, then loud in laughter and crowd noise, the distant drum of a good time rolling down a high rise and a giant Ferris wheel on her left. The sunshine intensified on her clothes, instantly heating her core to where she was almost perspiring. "…Wait…" her body senses came back to her as if she'd been a statue and she looked behind her—the portal was no longer there. Just the tree. And it was much, much smaller. It was barely the size of her small waist growing straight with summer leaves on downward, drifting boughs. "…What…?! No! No…!" She touched the three, but nothing happened. Frantically she tried multiple times, but no results. No light shows—no Michiko. No grandpa. No father. No…home!

"Oh…shit," she swore quietly. "Oh shit. Oh shit. This can't be. This just can't be possible!" she whispered.

"…So what'll we have to eat?"

"I've heard the hot dogs are good!"

"I want mine with no onion. I can't stand onions."

"Baka! You can build them how you want!"

Taylor turned to her left slowly and saw the pair in shorts and tank tops, waiting for fair food. On her right was a long, wide alley way lined with so many game tents she didn't know exactly where any of this ended. "Oh boy…" tears welled up in her eyes from looking about so much and staring but really she knew they'd come soon enough anyway for as much trouble as she believed she was in.

Slowly, she turned her attention back to the food cart, her eyes glossing over the consumers and workers to find their little calendar hanging on the wall…

Her heart sunk into the pit of her stomach to find the date sixty-seven years in reverse. That would have made grandpa only eleven years old.

Suddenly sick to her stomach, she looked around herself again and found a vacant little bench behind the food truck. Seizing it at once she hid her face in her palms, trying to talk herself out of a panic attack. Ok if I got here, there is every reason why I should be able to get back! There's got to be…! This cannot be a one-way ride! Even though that positive self-talk couldn't quite manage the devastation of leaving behind her home and lying to grandpa about going to see that forest in the first place…

She cried.

And in her sorrow, was oblivious to the crowd sound and food smells and warm sunshine on a beautiful day at the circus.

Her face was red and her head a little light when she looked up:

A very, very tall man was standing before her, a sort of serious expressing etched onto his face, "Hello," he said quietly. "May I sit next to you?"

"Um—mm-hm," she squeaked in agreement, quickly drying her face.

"I was wondering…would you like to hear a joke followed by a piece of advice?"

"Um—okay."

"The joke is this: one day a man named Dalzen Moreno was asked by a friend to fill a special position. Dalzen needed work, and so he accepted his friend's offer. Little did Dalzen know…he'd have to wear this to work."

'This' referred to his striking…jacket…cape…thing.

He was obviously a magician or illusionist or something, except the cape part was in front with two tails and green triangles bordering the zipper pull. There was also some faint green-yellow pin-striping and the back was cut high. Other than that he looked normal in long black sleeves of a cuffed shirt and black pants. His hair was also that color…sort of. It was beginning to gray and lighten, and it hung jaw-length. His eyes were small and dark and Taylor blushed a little. Even though he did look terribly ridiculous, he was quite handsome.

He apologized. "I'm sorry. That wasn't much of a joke. I can't tell them well, but I thought I'd try. You looked so sad."

Taylor smiled a little and Dalzen continued, "The piece of advice is simply this, never, ever take a job because a friend asks you to," he winked.

Her smile widened and though she had been watching him the entire time, she didn't notice the pink rose he'd pulled from his sleeve resting now right under her nose. She smelled the sweet fragrance and gasped a little, her eyes widening in astonishment. It happened so fast, she wondered if it had even come from his sleeve or from thin air. "…Wow!"

"For you," he smiled.

"Ah—thank you!" She colored, taking it.

"Welcome to Monkey's Circus and Amusement. Just beware of Monkey though. He's the friend I mentioned," Dalzen smiled. "Funny…" he thought, "You have the exact same hair color he has. Different eyes though. Yours are very blue."

"Oh—thank you," she said.

"Well," he said, standing until she interrupted him—

"Hey, um, can I ask you something? I know it might sound crazy…but…that tree over there," she pointed. "Is it…normal?"

"Normal? How do you mean?"

"Like….it's never glowed or anything?"

"Not that I know of…No. All I know is Monkey planted it, ten, eleven years ago, I think."

"Oh ok, nevermind!" she laughed nervously. "Must've been a trick of the sunlight," she smiled, trying not to sound like a lunatic…though her grandfather often used that word in describing their family.

"Um, sure. See you around, I hope," he nodded his head and went on his way.

"Oh boy…." she sighed heavily, "What do I do now…?"

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