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Chapter Nine - Circus Life
Despite the fact that he seemed to be just as despised here as he had been at the orphanage Allen continued to work at the circus. The child did the various odd jobs that he was assigned, at the same time making it a point to keep away from others as much as possible. He had received one of two reactions from everyone that he had come across. The first and most common was anger and the second was fear.
Everyone that he came into contact with either seemed to loathe his existence or else they were afraid of him.
"It's the same here as it was there," Allen thought to himself as he went about his assigned tasks. He didn't know why he had thought that things would be different when he left the orphanage.
Tears glistened in the boy's gray eyes but he refused to allow any of them to fall. He had vowed when he left the orphanage that he wouldn't allow himself to shed any more tears for things that couldn't be changed.
The world was the way that it was and there was nothing that Allen could do to change it.
So he resigned himself to the unfair fate that seemed to be his destiny. And with this resignation a dull appearance came to the boy's gray eyes.
They were the eyes of someone who had been completely defeated by the world. Allen had all but given up on finding happiness and was now merely intent upon existing.
The child was carrying water from a nearby river to the tent that housed the cooks when he heard the sound of a dog barking. Turning the boy's searching gaze fell upon a small brown and white dog. The dog was gazing up at him, wagging his stump of a tail.
Placing the bucket of water down on the ground Allen approached the little dog. He was cautious, having known only cruelty in his life, but approached none the less. Kneeling Allen held out his left hand, anxious to get the rejection over with.
Because everyone rejected him.
Everyone.
The dog took a couple of steps forward, sniffing the hand that the boy was holding out to him. Then, after only a couple of seconds, the dog opened his mouth and licked the boy's fingers.
Allen's eyes widened in surprise, completely shocked. The dog's tongue felt warm on his slightly chilled hand and the boy felt a smile spread across his face. Which was a completely foreign feeling to the child.
Reaching out with his right hand Allen gently rubbed the fur on the top of the dog's head. The small creature's fur was soft and Allen felt the smile on his face widen further.
Allen stroked the dog's fur for a couple of minutes before the little creature suddenly dashed off. The child gazed off in the direction that the dog had taken, a longing expressing in his gray eyes.
The little dog was the first creature to actually show him kindness and Allen was sad to see him go. But of course he was used to these feelings and, with a sigh, the child picked up the bucket of water. His employers would be irritated if he delayed his return any longer.
And that wasn't something that Allen wanted to face.
The people at the circus ignored him for the most part but whenever he angered them; the child shuddered at the thought and absently rubbed his arm. The bruises would fade in time but the memories, those were more difficult to get rid of.
"It's about time you got back you little retch," the woman in charge snapped the minute that Allen entered the tent. The boy flinched at the harsh words but didn't say anything. Because it was his experience that speaking only made things worse.
Allen placed the bucket of water down on the ground and quickly stepped back. His gaze was downcast as he waited for the woman to give him another order.
"Get to work taking those trays of food to the performers," the woman snapped, her tone harsh.
Without so much as a word Allen grabbed one of the trays and quickly left the tent. This was a familiar task, as well as one of the least pleasant ones. None of the performers could stand him, which made delivering their meals a particularly unpleasant task.
But it was his job and he would do it.
The work was hard, the hours long, and the pay lousy but at least it was something. And it was keeping him off the streets so Allen forced himself to deal with it.
Allen spent the next hour carrying trays of food to the caravans that housed the circus performers. Due to the partial paralysis of his left hand the child could only carry one tray at a time so the job was time consuming.
The child finally managed to get to the last caravan in the circus lot. He was completely exhausted by this point and just wanted the day to be over. Allen had been working non stop since before sun up and it was now approaching dusk. His stomach was protesting the length of time since his last meal and Allen found his thoughts going to food. Which only made him want to finish this job all the more because as soon as he was done delivering food he would be allowed to eat himself.
Walking forward the little boy took a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever was to come.
When Allen reached the caravan he knocked on the door and then stepped back, out of reach. A couple of minutes passed and then the door opened to reveal a man with dark hair and eyes.
"Hello," the man said as his gaze shifted down and fell upon the child. His voice seemed kind but Allen wasn't fooled. And he had no intention of giving this man the opportunity to cause him pain.
"Here," Allen said, holding up the tray of food. He stepped just close enough so that the man could take the tray that he was offering. Then, the moment that it was out of his hands, the boy turned and dashed off.
"Strange lad," the man muttered as he gazed down at the tray that the little boy had delivered.
After delivering the last of the trays Allen made his way back to the cook's tent. His work was finished for the day, which meant that he would be given his small ration of food. It was never much but it was better than nothing.
"Here," the cook snarled, shoving a loaf of bread into the child's arms. "Now get out. I don't want to see your face again until tomorrow."
Clutching the bread in his hand Allen turned and fled the tent. The harsh words of his employer rang in his ear but the child did his best to ignore them. Making his way to one of the storage trailers Allen sat down and began to eat.
The bread was stale of course but Allen was so hungry that it didn't matter. Using his teeth he pulled off a large piece of the bread. The child devoured the bread in a matter of minutes and then got to his feet. He was thirsty now and with this thought in mind Allen made his way to the river where he often went to retrieve water.
Sinking to his knees Allen used his hand to scoop up some water. The water was ice cold and felt good sliding down Allen's parched throat.
Having quenched his thirst Allen briefly debated his next course of action. He didn't really want to go back to the circus so the child decided to stay at the river for a little while longer.
After all, it was peaceful there.
Sitting down on the bank of the river Allen's thoughts shifted back to the little dog. He recalled how the dog had licked his hand, the deformed hand that people couldn't even look at without flinching. The dog had been completely unaffected by it.
Which brought a small smile to Allen's face. He had finally found someone who accepted him for who he was. It was true that this someone was a dog but that didn't matter to Allen.
He had made a friend.
A/N - Hope that you enjoyed this chapter, please be kind enough to leave a review. And thank you to everyone who is reading and enjoys this story. You guys are all awesome!
