Aerial Cirque

An Evenstar Story

Beta'd by the great JayceePat

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CHAPTER III: An Impromptu Show

The storm kicked up as I descended onto the stage of the arena. The canvas tent shifted under the brutal winds pressing against it and I tried not to let it get to me. Knowing that the winds could surely blow away the canvas covering, I ran across the performing floor and into the narrow corridor to find my mother. Hidden beneath the bleachers of the arena were several narrow passageways that led to the storage areas, the animal cages, and dressing rooms for the performers.

These narrow hallways were cluttered with boxes, crates, show props, and just about anything you could imagine. I'm sure if you looked hard enough you might even find the kitchen sink. One of the clowns' ideas I'm sure. As I began to near momma's dressing room, I could hear the exchange of sharply heated words. I stopped outside her door to hear Cisco's voice booming from inside.

"Jill, he's five years old, you know all the other children started performing once they hit their fifth birthday, Liam included," Cisco shouted angrily. I don't think I've ever heard him so mad before. Sure, I've seen him pretty mad, but I've never heard him punch the wall. Well, I'm only assuming it was him that pounded the wall. I really don't see momma doing something like that. When momma's mad, she usually throws breakables in all directions.

"Liam wasn't swinging from a trapeze bar a hundred feet off the ground," Jillian retorted. Anger saturated her voice; it almost oozed from her tone.

"And you knew what you agreed to when you promised to bear me two children," Cisco's voice boomed through the flimsy door. My heart must've beaten a million times per second. The thought of me, ME of all people stepping out there on that platform, climbing the big post and performing in front of all those people terrified the living daylights out of me. It's one thing to do it inside Travardy's practice tent with Warrick Brown. Out there, where everyone could see me... well that's something entirely different.

I stood there on the other side of that door completely frozen, petrified by what I heard. They want me to perform. That's what I've been doing. It wasn't as though it was that big of a secret. I've always suspected that one day I would be performing. I'm not that naive to think that I wouldn't be out there someday. I just never thought it would come this soon.

"I know what I agreed to," I heard momma reply angrily. "But I've never agreed to let a five-year-old child perform on the trapeze."

"Have you seen your son on the trapeze?" Cisco asked. I've never heard him sound like that. His voice was filled with confidence, or was it reverence. I could almost imagine him standing there across from momma with his chest out daring her to question him. "Nick was born to fly," he continued.

"I just... I won't watch my youngest son fall to his death, Cisco."

Silver streams of tears were freely rolling down momma's cheeks as she barged out of the room. She nearly ran me over before realising that I was there and listening to their argument.

"Let's go, Birdling," she took me by the hand and nearly pulled me off my feet as she took me back to her trailer. I tried to call out to her that she was hurting me, but she couldn't seem to hear my cries. I've never seen momma like this. She threw the door to our trailer open and forcibly pushed me inside.

"Momma," I cried out not knowing what else to do. All I could do was watch as she tossed her suitcase on her bed and started shoving all her clothes inside. "Momma," I cried out again. Tears now rolled from my eyes as I didn't know what was happening. The world as I knew it was coming apart at the seams and I didn't know how to stop it. She took me in her arm and the suitcase in the other before walking out the door.

Momma must've carried me for miles in the pouring rain. All the while, she muttered things about me and performing and how she wouldn't have it. She couldn't see me losing my life over something so stupid. Thunder rumbled in the sky causing me to shudder in momma's arms.

"I know Birdling, I know, momma's just gotta find a place where we can be dry and get you some clothes. You're growing so fast."

"Why we leave?"

"Because I love you." Her smile was as sad as her eyes, but I knew she meant it. All this time, I've always known why we left that day. We didn't leave because I wasn't ready to perform. Truth was, deep down, I knew I was ready. We left, because momma wasn't ready for me to start performing.

Maybe she didn't want to see her little Birdling grow up. Or perhaps, she did not realise what a good teacher Mr. Travardy was. He was a great aerialist back in his day. One of the world's greatest I would say and he trained me personally, teaching me all the tricks of the trade. He taught me everything he knew and he would whip my behind black and blue if I did not follow his exact instruction. I never gave him a reason to discipline me; I was his model pupil.

Not a soul could be found wandering around the old town square of downtown Hartford. I doubt there'd be a single person alive who would want to be out in this weather. I certainly didn't, yet I was there being led by my mother down the streets of the old town square.

It would be a beautiful place minus the rain. The buildings were all made from the same redbrick. Each had their own distinguishing style though. The bank stood catty-corner from the courthouse in the middle. Upon its roof was the traditional Masonic symbol of the compass. Some of the buildings carried cornerstones marking the date of their construction.

The clothing store was located in the middle of a long row of shops. It was a small shop that was unusually crowded with people, who like us were avoiding the rain. Momma held me close to her side as we walked through the aisles of the store. She picked out some things and folded them neatly over her arm. Every now and then, she'd glance at me with those soft brown eyes and I knew that everything was going to be all right.

Now, it came down to the one part of shopping that I always hated; the part where I had to try clothes on. I hated it when momma would take me to the back of the shop to the dressing stalls and place me inside. She'd always wait outside for me, as I was a big boy and could handle these things myself. I tried on one outfit after another and stepped outside the stall to let momma judge whether it looked good or not. Really, it was her opinion that mattered, I cared little about the way I looked. If I had it my way, I'd wear stripes with poke-a-dots every day.

When I emerged for the final time wearing my little trousers and a bit too tight shirt she sifted through the clothes separating the ones she liked from the others. We paid for the clothes before she took me into her arms again and left the store. The rain had lifted somewhat as the day progressed. The sun was actually beginning to peek from the once formidable and daunting clouds.

Walking around the old courthouse in the middle of old town square, we came across a sign for the local creamery.

"Would my little Birdling like an ice cream?"

I couldn't stop the smile from tugging at my lips as momma suggested the sweet treat. She took me by the hand and took me inside. The atmosphere inside the creamery was different from the shop just down the way. The place had a long semi-circular bar surrounding various gizmos and gadgets used to make their incredible sweet confections. The outer edge of the place was surrounded by booths. Like the clothing shop, the creamery too was filled with people trying to remove themselves from the breaking storm.

Kids ran merrily around the booths playing some game that I did not recognise. They chased each other laughing and giggling. There was a part of me that desired to be running along with them. Momma smiled and handed me my vanilla ice cream cone. Quietly, I ate the thing allowing the cold creamy essence to run down my throat. I continued to watch the children running and playing around. Up until that point in my life, I'd never been around normal kids. None of the kids I grew up around played as these kids do now. Is this normal? I looked toward the parents, they all looked respectable and everything.

Then, after I finished my ice cream momma did the last thing I ever expected. She turned to me with her loving brown eyes, sparkling in the dull light from the creamery's windows. "You can join the other children if you wish, my Birdling."

Never before had she allowed me to run around with other children. Normally, she'd keep me protectively by her side any time we went out. I hopped eagerly off my stool and ran to the other children. They stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of me.

"Hi," I managed to say nervously. They glared at me with a cautious eye and I swear that I could feel the temperature rise a degree or two from the heat radiating from their eyes. "I... I'm Nick," I waived a bit. My nerves began to take their toll on me, but I stood there not really sure what to do.

"Look what I can do," I blurted out and flipped over to my hands balancing upside down. All the other children gathered around me and gasped in amazement at what I could do. It was really nothing. I've been doing that since I was three. Momma's never let me do it in public before, but they seemed to love it. Each of them tried and fell over on their heads with a laugh.

I saw momma watching in the distance as I taught them how to do summersaults over the wooden floor. They each tried it laughing all the while. Momma smiled as I continued to show them neat little tricks that I've learned over the time, but there was also a glint of sadness as well. Perhaps, she saw that I was growing up and she wasn't quite ready for that.

TO BE CONTINUED...........