Eleven: Audition
Summer was always the season of fun. It was the time of year when most
of Heirelgart and some of Statleindorf packed up and toured the
Scwartzwald for fun and profit.
It was the best time. He and Andrei and Stefan and sometimes Jimaine
would chase each other endlessly through tents, wagons and camper vans,
or listen in awe to one of the story-tellers, or watch from under the
seats as their families went through various acts. Or, if push came to
shove, just hang out somewhere and watch the world go by.
Andrei, the biggest, and by a technicality of a few months, the
eldest, had been told to watch them. He'd also been told to keep Kurti
firmly in the realm of 'backstage' to the circus, which meant that most
of the adults were too busy to tell any stories. And they weren't
allowed to run.
Kurti, age three, threw a rock at a stump and sighed. Katja was having
yet another nap and wouldn't be able to play with him for *hours*, and
Mama and Papa were up on the high-wire astounding the good people of
Bomysneir. Stefan and Jimaine were doing something with the trained
horses and therefore couldn't play. He was bored.
"OH!" He instantly perked up. "Andrei, *look*!"
One of the good people of Bomysneir was munching on a giant cruller as
he wended his way towards the circus tent.
"Whoah," said Andrei. "That's one big cruller."
"It's gotta be bigger than my *head*," said Kurti. Instantly, his
tummy rumbled. "Ach! Now I'm *hungry*..."
"No, Kurti," Andrei instantly blocked his path. "Your Papa said to
keep you backstage. He *meant* it."
"I'll just ask Mama, then," said Kurti, and dashed towards the
performer's entrance of the tent as fast as his limbs could carry him.
"*Kur-ti*..." Andrei yelled, galloping far behind. "Get *back* here!
You'll ruin the show!"
The circus really outdid itself *this* year. The Flying Amazements
(also a high-wire act) had hushed the crowd to whispered gasps as one of
their number attempted a dangerous stunt. Just as she was about to
commence, a kid in a blue devil costume galloped into the arena,
followed closely by a young Centaur boy, yelling for him to come back.
The little blue devil made it to a guy-wire and ascended it as if it
were a walk in the park. His centaur friend, by the time he caught up,
was too short to try and catch him down. He tried anyway, much to the
amusement of the crowd.
"Kurti, you'll *fall*," warned the Centaur.
Kurti, the little blue devil, just said, "Aw, don't be such a fuss,
Andrei. I'll be *fine*. I just wanna ask Mama for a cruller."
The audience giggled, even as he calmly walked all the way up to the
highest highwire in the tent. They *did* murmur a little, though, as the
tiny costumed boy stepped out onto the wire without any kind of
balancing beam.
His Mama was apparently the woman about to try the stunt.
Andrei circled nervously underneath, arms spasming out with every step
high above.
"Mama, Mama, Mama," said the devil-boy, bouncing a little in
excitement. "They're making crullers outside! They're as big as my
*head*! Even *bigger*! Can I have one, *please*?"
"Kurti..." sighed the woman. "I'm in the middle of something, here."
"Okay," and Kurti backed off a little. "Am I far enough away?"
His Mama sighed at him. "A little bit further."
The dutiful boy walked backwards some more.
"Very good," said Mama and carefully turned a slow cartwheel.
The audience went nuts.
"That's *it*?" said Kurti. "I can do it *backwards*." And proceeded to
do three backwards slow cartwheels while his Mama stood and squeaked.
The audience went berserk.
"*Now* can I have a cruller? One of the *big* ones?"
"Kurti, you shouldn't even be up here."
Somebody in the audience shouted, "Give the kid a cruller!"
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaase, Mama?"
Now the whole audience shouted it. "Give the kid a cruller!"
"Please, please, please, please, please, *pleeeeease*?"
"Give the kid a cruller!"
His Mama gave up. "All right. You can have your cruller."
"Yay!" The kid jumped and turned a somersault before landing back on
the wire.
"Now get *down* from here," said Mama.
The audience *exploded*. They gave a roaring standing ovation for the
little boy in the spotlight as he wandered back down to ground level.
His Centaur friend carried him around the ring in a victory lap as he
took his bows and the Flying Amazements returned to the ground.
The cruller was sticky, but it was *good*. *And* it was bigger than
his head. Kurti munched happily away on the thing as he crouch-sat on
the stump and purred softly in delight.
Every now and then, one of the good people of Bomysneir would tour by,
point him out and say, "Ah, look... He got his cruller," or, "Worth
every bite?" and occasionally, "Good *lord*!"
Kurti just kept on chewing.
A few people stopped and took photographs of him, and Andrei lounging
by the stump and nibbling idly on the grass he found. Being a Centaur
and larger than Kurti to boot, he'd finished his cruller before they got
back from the shop that sold them.
Kurti was unperturbed, and industrious in his efforts to demolish his
gigantic pastry treat.
One stranger stood and stared for the longest time. An old man with an
impressive physique. Eventually, he took a photograph.
Kurti finished the cruller off and licked his hands clean. Then he got
up and wandered back into the thick of 'backstage' to see Mama and Katja
and all the others.
Katja, as usual, was a mess. More of her baby food was going over her
than in her, and she had a habit of suddenly turning to see what was
going on.
"Ach!" Johannes sighed as yet another smear of egg custard wound up on
Katja's cheek rather than in her mouth. "Do you want to eat or do you
want to look?"
"Hello Katja," Kurti kissed his sister on her forehead. She giggled at
his fur and tried to grab him. "Ach! Don't touch me, you're sticky!" He
washed his face and hands in a water bucket and towelled himself dry.
"Where's Mama?"
"Getting over her fright at seeing you turning cartwheels and
somersaults on a wire that's some twenty-five feet off the ground. You
gave her quite a turn."
"But I wasn't gonna *fall*," he said.
"*We* didn't know that," said Papa. "You scared half the life out of
your Mama. She had to go lie down."
"Ah," said Katja, mouth open for more food. "Uh ah... *uh*!"
At least this time, the spoon went in.
Kurti hung his head. "I'd better go appologise to Mama," he said, and
headed for their trailer.
Astrid sighed as she heard the door open. "Yes, Kurti?" She had to
remember not to be angry at him just because she'd been scared.
"Did I wake you?"
"No, love. I was awake anyway." She made an effort to smile. "You gave
me quite a scare, up there."
Kurti climbed up and hugged her.
Astrid hugged him back as if she never wanted to let go, and found
herself weeping as well.
"Oh, Mama... I'm so sorry. I was just *hungry* and I knew I wasn't
gonna *fall*."
"You weren't scared at all?" she asked. "Didn't you see how far down
it was?"
"Yeah, I saw. I just wasn't going to fall. I've been walking wires
*forever*," he boasted. "I play on the rig every single afternoon when
we're at home in Heirelgart."
"You do?"
"Yeah, it's fun. But not as fun as an *audience*! Why didn't you
*tell* me that your work was such fun?"
Her twitchy stomach was forgotten. "You liked it up there, did you?"
"Oh *yeah*!" Kurti hopped up and down. "The way they all clapped and
cheered and everything... I wanna do it again! Can I do it again?
Please, please, please, please, please, please, please,
*pleeeeeeeeaaase*?"
Astrid couldn't help but laugh. "I'll have to talk with your Papa
about it. Later. I'm feeling a little off-colour, right now."
"Is it me or the baby?"
_Huh?_ "Katja's outside, love. Why would she make me sick?"
"Not Katja. The new one."
Astrid blinked. "What new one? I don't understand."
Kurti frowned, he was getting frustrated with trying to explain. "When
you were going to have Katja, your lights changed, and then you got a
little sick. I can see it now that it's getting a little dark out. Your
lights have changed. There's your light, and the little baby's light."
The explanation made a kind of skewed sense. "You see lights around
people?" she asked. "When?"
"Mostly at night, and I can sort-of see them in the day. It's like
they're getting brighter, but I think I'm getting better at looking."
Astrid got up as if something had bitten her and all-but ran towards
Margali's tent, Kurti's arm held fast in her hand. _Please, God, not the
Sight on top of everything else! He'll have a hard enough life as it is!
Please God, don't let him have the Sight..._
Stefan and Jimaine looked up from their card game as she entered.
Margali didn't have working eyes to see her, but seemed to look at her
just the same.
"You think something is wrong with your son?" said Margali.
"He says he sees lights around people," said Astrid. "So of course I
thought of you, first thing."
Margali smirked. "He told you about the new little one, didn't he?"
Astrid could feel the blood leave her face. Margali didn't have
working eyes, true, but she *did* have the Sight. The Romani whispered
amongst themselves that if the Sight came too early, it would drive its
posessor insane.
"Please. You have to tell me if he has the Sight..." Just the thought
of nursing her little boy through madness made her want to weep. "I have
to know."
"He does not See as I do," said Margali. "His sight works in a
different way to us. He sees heat, and magnetic fields - especially at
night. Soon, he'll be able to tell you where he is by the 'scent' of a
place. He'll forever call it a 'scent', even though he doesn't need his
nose to see it as such." Margali took off her scarf, and bound it around
Kurti's eyes. "Watch." She spun him about until he could hardly stand.
"Point the way north, Kurti."
He did. Accurately. Even though he staggered about like a drunkard,
that one finger didn't waver.
Margali took her scarf back and re-tied it about her head. "You need
not fear. He needs this sight of his to grow into his power."
"His - power?"
"Your boy is special beyond reckoning, Astrid Wagner. He has a long
path ahead of him, and many trials. In time, he will need education from
afar, and you will have to let him go get it alone. Fear not, my friend.
He will do well."
"I - I thank you," said Astrid. Her head was whirling. Kurti was only
*three*!
"Be at peace, Astrid," soothed Margali. "Stress isn't good for your
new child."
She held Kurti tight all the way back to their trailer.
Johannes had been patiently minding Katja all this time, without a
word of protest. He was waiting with their baby girl when she got back.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
"I thought Kurti had the Sight," she said. "It was a false alarm of
sorts."
"Of *sorts*?"
"He has a different way of seeing things, apparently," Astrid sighed
and sat by her beloved. "And also - we're having another child."
"We *are*?" said Johannes.
"Can't *you* see it *either*?" asked Kurti. "It's as bright as
*day*..."
"To you, love," said Johannes, ruffling Kurti's hair. "We happen to
have different eyes, is all."
Summer was always the season of fun. It was the time of year when most
of Heirelgart and some of Statleindorf packed up and toured the
Scwartzwald for fun and profit.
It was the best time. He and Andrei and Stefan and sometimes Jimaine
would chase each other endlessly through tents, wagons and camper vans,
or listen in awe to one of the story-tellers, or watch from under the
seats as their families went through various acts. Or, if push came to
shove, just hang out somewhere and watch the world go by.
Andrei, the biggest, and by a technicality of a few months, the
eldest, had been told to watch them. He'd also been told to keep Kurti
firmly in the realm of 'backstage' to the circus, which meant that most
of the adults were too busy to tell any stories. And they weren't
allowed to run.
Kurti, age three, threw a rock at a stump and sighed. Katja was having
yet another nap and wouldn't be able to play with him for *hours*, and
Mama and Papa were up on the high-wire astounding the good people of
Bomysneir. Stefan and Jimaine were doing something with the trained
horses and therefore couldn't play. He was bored.
"OH!" He instantly perked up. "Andrei, *look*!"
One of the good people of Bomysneir was munching on a giant cruller as
he wended his way towards the circus tent.
"Whoah," said Andrei. "That's one big cruller."
"It's gotta be bigger than my *head*," said Kurti. Instantly, his
tummy rumbled. "Ach! Now I'm *hungry*..."
"No, Kurti," Andrei instantly blocked his path. "Your Papa said to
keep you backstage. He *meant* it."
"I'll just ask Mama, then," said Kurti, and dashed towards the
performer's entrance of the tent as fast as his limbs could carry him.
"*Kur-ti*..." Andrei yelled, galloping far behind. "Get *back* here!
You'll ruin the show!"
The circus really outdid itself *this* year. The Flying Amazements
(also a high-wire act) had hushed the crowd to whispered gasps as one of
their number attempted a dangerous stunt. Just as she was about to
commence, a kid in a blue devil costume galloped into the arena,
followed closely by a young Centaur boy, yelling for him to come back.
The little blue devil made it to a guy-wire and ascended it as if it
were a walk in the park. His centaur friend, by the time he caught up,
was too short to try and catch him down. He tried anyway, much to the
amusement of the crowd.
"Kurti, you'll *fall*," warned the Centaur.
Kurti, the little blue devil, just said, "Aw, don't be such a fuss,
Andrei. I'll be *fine*. I just wanna ask Mama for a cruller."
The audience giggled, even as he calmly walked all the way up to the
highest highwire in the tent. They *did* murmur a little, though, as the
tiny costumed boy stepped out onto the wire without any kind of
balancing beam.
His Mama was apparently the woman about to try the stunt.
Andrei circled nervously underneath, arms spasming out with every step
high above.
"Mama, Mama, Mama," said the devil-boy, bouncing a little in
excitement. "They're making crullers outside! They're as big as my
*head*! Even *bigger*! Can I have one, *please*?"
"Kurti..." sighed the woman. "I'm in the middle of something, here."
"Okay," and Kurti backed off a little. "Am I far enough away?"
His Mama sighed at him. "A little bit further."
The dutiful boy walked backwards some more.
"Very good," said Mama and carefully turned a slow cartwheel.
The audience went nuts.
"That's *it*?" said Kurti. "I can do it *backwards*." And proceeded to
do three backwards slow cartwheels while his Mama stood and squeaked.
The audience went berserk.
"*Now* can I have a cruller? One of the *big* ones?"
"Kurti, you shouldn't even be up here."
Somebody in the audience shouted, "Give the kid a cruller!"
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaase, Mama?"
Now the whole audience shouted it. "Give the kid a cruller!"
"Please, please, please, please, please, *pleeeeease*?"
"Give the kid a cruller!"
His Mama gave up. "All right. You can have your cruller."
"Yay!" The kid jumped and turned a somersault before landing back on
the wire.
"Now get *down* from here," said Mama.
The audience *exploded*. They gave a roaring standing ovation for the
little boy in the spotlight as he wandered back down to ground level.
His Centaur friend carried him around the ring in a victory lap as he
took his bows and the Flying Amazements returned to the ground.
The cruller was sticky, but it was *good*. *And* it was bigger than
his head. Kurti munched happily away on the thing as he crouch-sat on
the stump and purred softly in delight.
Every now and then, one of the good people of Bomysneir would tour by,
point him out and say, "Ah, look... He got his cruller," or, "Worth
every bite?" and occasionally, "Good *lord*!"
Kurti just kept on chewing.
A few people stopped and took photographs of him, and Andrei lounging
by the stump and nibbling idly on the grass he found. Being a Centaur
and larger than Kurti to boot, he'd finished his cruller before they got
back from the shop that sold them.
Kurti was unperturbed, and industrious in his efforts to demolish his
gigantic pastry treat.
One stranger stood and stared for the longest time. An old man with an
impressive physique. Eventually, he took a photograph.
Kurti finished the cruller off and licked his hands clean. Then he got
up and wandered back into the thick of 'backstage' to see Mama and Katja
and all the others.
Katja, as usual, was a mess. More of her baby food was going over her
than in her, and she had a habit of suddenly turning to see what was
going on.
"Ach!" Johannes sighed as yet another smear of egg custard wound up on
Katja's cheek rather than in her mouth. "Do you want to eat or do you
want to look?"
"Hello Katja," Kurti kissed his sister on her forehead. She giggled at
his fur and tried to grab him. "Ach! Don't touch me, you're sticky!" He
washed his face and hands in a water bucket and towelled himself dry.
"Where's Mama?"
"Getting over her fright at seeing you turning cartwheels and
somersaults on a wire that's some twenty-five feet off the ground. You
gave her quite a turn."
"But I wasn't gonna *fall*," he said.
"*We* didn't know that," said Papa. "You scared half the life out of
your Mama. She had to go lie down."
"Ah," said Katja, mouth open for more food. "Uh ah... *uh*!"
At least this time, the spoon went in.
Kurti hung his head. "I'd better go appologise to Mama," he said, and
headed for their trailer.
Astrid sighed as she heard the door open. "Yes, Kurti?" She had to
remember not to be angry at him just because she'd been scared.
"Did I wake you?"
"No, love. I was awake anyway." She made an effort to smile. "You gave
me quite a scare, up there."
Kurti climbed up and hugged her.
Astrid hugged him back as if she never wanted to let go, and found
herself weeping as well.
"Oh, Mama... I'm so sorry. I was just *hungry* and I knew I wasn't
gonna *fall*."
"You weren't scared at all?" she asked. "Didn't you see how far down
it was?"
"Yeah, I saw. I just wasn't going to fall. I've been walking wires
*forever*," he boasted. "I play on the rig every single afternoon when
we're at home in Heirelgart."
"You do?"
"Yeah, it's fun. But not as fun as an *audience*! Why didn't you
*tell* me that your work was such fun?"
Her twitchy stomach was forgotten. "You liked it up there, did you?"
"Oh *yeah*!" Kurti hopped up and down. "The way they all clapped and
cheered and everything... I wanna do it again! Can I do it again?
Please, please, please, please, please, please, please,
*pleeeeeeeeaaase*?"
Astrid couldn't help but laugh. "I'll have to talk with your Papa
about it. Later. I'm feeling a little off-colour, right now."
"Is it me or the baby?"
_Huh?_ "Katja's outside, love. Why would she make me sick?"
"Not Katja. The new one."
Astrid blinked. "What new one? I don't understand."
Kurti frowned, he was getting frustrated with trying to explain. "When
you were going to have Katja, your lights changed, and then you got a
little sick. I can see it now that it's getting a little dark out. Your
lights have changed. There's your light, and the little baby's light."
The explanation made a kind of skewed sense. "You see lights around
people?" she asked. "When?"
"Mostly at night, and I can sort-of see them in the day. It's like
they're getting brighter, but I think I'm getting better at looking."
Astrid got up as if something had bitten her and all-but ran towards
Margali's tent, Kurti's arm held fast in her hand. _Please, God, not the
Sight on top of everything else! He'll have a hard enough life as it is!
Please God, don't let him have the Sight..._
Stefan and Jimaine looked up from their card game as she entered.
Margali didn't have working eyes to see her, but seemed to look at her
just the same.
"You think something is wrong with your son?" said Margali.
"He says he sees lights around people," said Astrid. "So of course I
thought of you, first thing."
Margali smirked. "He told you about the new little one, didn't he?"
Astrid could feel the blood leave her face. Margali didn't have
working eyes, true, but she *did* have the Sight. The Romani whispered
amongst themselves that if the Sight came too early, it would drive its
posessor insane.
"Please. You have to tell me if he has the Sight..." Just the thought
of nursing her little boy through madness made her want to weep. "I have
to know."
"He does not See as I do," said Margali. "His sight works in a
different way to us. He sees heat, and magnetic fields - especially at
night. Soon, he'll be able to tell you where he is by the 'scent' of a
place. He'll forever call it a 'scent', even though he doesn't need his
nose to see it as such." Margali took off her scarf, and bound it around
Kurti's eyes. "Watch." She spun him about until he could hardly stand.
"Point the way north, Kurti."
He did. Accurately. Even though he staggered about like a drunkard,
that one finger didn't waver.
Margali took her scarf back and re-tied it about her head. "You need
not fear. He needs this sight of his to grow into his power."
"His - power?"
"Your boy is special beyond reckoning, Astrid Wagner. He has a long
path ahead of him, and many trials. In time, he will need education from
afar, and you will have to let him go get it alone. Fear not, my friend.
He will do well."
"I - I thank you," said Astrid. Her head was whirling. Kurti was only
*three*!
"Be at peace, Astrid," soothed Margali. "Stress isn't good for your
new child."
She held Kurti tight all the way back to their trailer.
Johannes had been patiently minding Katja all this time, without a
word of protest. He was waiting with their baby girl when she got back.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
"I thought Kurti had the Sight," she said. "It was a false alarm of
sorts."
"Of *sorts*?"
"He has a different way of seeing things, apparently," Astrid sighed
and sat by her beloved. "And also - we're having another child."
"We *are*?" said Johannes.
"Can't *you* see it *either*?" asked Kurti. "It's as bright as
*day*..."
"To you, love," said Johannes, ruffling Kurti's hair. "We happen to
have different eyes, is all."