It is nighttime. The lights have dimmed inside the tent. You are both sitting on top of the wooden platform, engaged in a good conversation. You are sitting with your legs hanging over the platform and your hands flat. He is sitting on your right. His legs are hanging over the edge of the platform, crossed at the ankles. His hands, like yours, are also flat on the platform to both his sides. You are about a foot away from each other. He looks up at you with a big grin on his face.
"So anyway, the man comes in with three jars of popcorn kernels! And I tell him, 'Sir, if you expect me to juggle those jars on a limb, then you are quite mistaken!'. And he asks me, 'Why?' and I tell him, 'because I only got one!'.", he exclaims, holding up his left hand and closing his eyes. He laughs. You laugh.
"Really? And then what did he say?", you ask with anticipation and a smile.
"Oh, nothing much, just this and that about using the kernels for popping. What a nut, right?", he says, opening his eyes and looking at you.
"He's not the only one...", you say with a smile. He opens his mouth sarcastically as though he is offended, but then rubs it off, giving you a sweet smirk.
"Hey, you be careful what you say about the king of the circus!", he says with a smile.
"Some king! I bet you have those employees of yours running around in shambles!", you laugh. He blushes and smiles. He looks down.
"They're, um, not exactly my employees, so to say...".
"Oh? But I heard that boy out there call you 'Boss'...", you say, questionably.
"Oh, well that's just Dagger... they all call me 'Boss', but really we're more like a Family...".
"A family?", you say, again questionably. He sighs and closes his eyes, frowning.
"We came here together... Father...", he pauses. Your eyes are gleaming at him. You put your hands on your lap, folded. "Father rescued us from the workhouse... if it hadn't been for him...". He sighs. "We would've never made it out of there alive... he's the one that started this circus... he gave us the freedom to be who we wanted to be, to live the lives most of us never had as children...", he says, seemingly on the verge of crying.
"He held his hand out to you when you needed him the most?", you say, eyes gleaming at him. There is a pause. "I envy you...". He looks up, eyes open. You look down. He looks at you. "My father was never there when I needed him... he was always on business trips... one time he came home with an injury from a train accident... the next time... the next time he...". You wipe back a tear. "He came back in a coffin...", you say shakily. He looks at you now with gleaming eyes and a frown. You take a deep breathe in and out. "But that's all the past now... I shouldn't dwell on it...". You look up at him with hopeful, gleaming eyes and a smile. "And knowing you have such a loving, considerate one changes my view of a father...".
"But he's not really my...". He stops. He looks at you and smiles. "Yeah...", he says quietly.
"And your Family... what kind of people are they?", you say with a smile. He laughs.
"Oh, where do I begin on them?", he chuckles.
"Well, how about that boy we met outside, Dagger, was his name?".
"Oh yes, Dagger, the flamboyant knife thrower...", he says with a laugh.
"How did you meet him?".
"Well, it was in the East End, of course... the cute little tike had brown hair that could beat a grizzly's... loveable, cuddly... hmph, I don't know what happened!", he laughs.
"And now how is he?".
"You saw him! His fast remarks are almost as quick as his daggers! But, nevertheless... he's my Brother and I can't expect any less from a boy that just hit puberty...".
"Some nice big Brother you are...", you say with a smirk.
"Hey, why do you think he calls me 'Boss'?", he says with a laugh and a smile.
"And the others?".
"Oh, they're all the same in their own way! Take Jumbo, you know, the big strong guy with all the muscle? He's big on the outside, but it's his heart that really outshines the strength. And Peter and Wendy, the trapeze artists? You would think they would be sweet as pie, but oh, boy...", he says, putting his head on top of his arms on the platform. He looks up with a smile. He turns around and looks at you, his head on the side of his left arm. "And Beast... do you know how hard it is to control that temper every, single, day? Geezza, polizza!", he exclaims, looking up and throwing his hands in the air above him.
"But you still love them though... right?", you say, quietly.
"Yeah, I still love her...". He cuts himself off. "Uh huh, them! Them! They!", he exclaims. He sighs and smiles. He puts his arms underneath his head again and looks up. "They mean the world to me...", he says, quietly. You sigh and frown. You look in front of you. Wind slightly blows on the hair sticking out of your up do. You close your eyes. They... his Family... mean the world to him... how can he, someone with all this love... spare any more? Is it even possible at this point? You sigh again. And you... so deprived of 'family love'... would you ever fit into his world if there was? You open your eyes. You look down. Thousands of feet above the earth... away from your world, away from your troubles... for hours, for days... pondering life seems only possible this high up... so lonely... but you are not alone. He is here... you look at him... he is resting on his thoughts... his eyes are closed... wind slightly blows his hair, too, but it is ignored... he takes in soft, minor breaths... his skin pale, his heart beating faster than the breaths he takes in... he is very content. You are now feeling... ashamed... not from staring at him, but rather, because you got this far. Imagine that... nine years ago, this would never have been possible... now it is all reality and you, who had been looking forward to seeing him someday since you met, feel regrettable for linking the chain that never quite was together. He has a life... did you think he was still the poor boy on the street, without money? Without love? Did you think seeing him again would ever bring back or, if it had not already, start something? You expect too much... you want too much. You lost your mother at a young age... and your father, well... soon after you left the poor boy on the street did your father leave you... perhaps you think that he replaces your father? Never... father never gave you the attention you deserved... you were always alone in your world. Nancy was the only one who... no... she did not care about you, either... she thought you were a child... and you are, right? A child? Children run on their own without control, and that is what you did... but for him, why? Why? Was there even an answer? Is there an answer to any of your questions? Oh, it is all too confusing! You sigh and look down again. Thousands of feet above the earth... far away from your world, even farther from your problems... how is it than that more problems exist in this world, in this life? You are not alone... he is with you... but the problems in this world may only be faced by you, and you alone... you look up at him and think, "Why would he want to be with a girl that has so many questions with so little answers? Why doesn't he run away and avoid trouble? What is it about me that causes him to stay, regardless of all that surrounds us? And why... why would he need any more than what he already has?". You sigh once more and look down, closing your eyes. "The best thing for me to do now...", you think, "Is for me to get up and leave... he clearly doesn't have any interest in what little I have to offer... my heart...".
"Why me?". You open your eyes. Did you say that out loud? You look at him. His eyes are open and looking up. He is slightly frowning.
"W-What?", you say, somewhat in fear. He stands up and wraps his right arm around the wooden pole, not facing you.
"I'm just a juggler and not really worth my weight in anything... I've been poor all my life!". You frown and glare at him.
"We...".
"And that's not just it, either!". He turns around and walks up to you. "I'm always acting like a ridiculous fool! You know, there hasn't been one day this jester didn't tell a joke, or laugh, or smile? That's the trouble with being a fool... you're always going overboard...". He walks back to the pole, not facing you again. He puts his right hand on the pole for a second and sighs. He looks at his right hand. He takes it off the pole and holds it in his other hand. He moves his left hand up and down his right hand. He frowns. "And it doesn't help that you're disabled... not having a right arm is like, not having feet to stand on...", he says quietly. He sighs. He closes his eyes. "A girl like you needs a guy with more to offer than just one arm, a few pence, and a lot of nonsense... I just... I just wish I had everything you desire...". Your eyes gleam at him. You stand up. You smile.
"Now look... I may be rich and therefore seem completely unneedy... but the truth is... the truth is that in my eyes you appear to have...". You look down and clasp your hands together. "More than this rich girl could ever hope to acquire...". You look up and walk closer to him. "And you're not a fool... fools act stupid, and crazy, without thinking and that causes many people grief... but you, well, if you are deemed a fool, it's not because you hurt people... it's because of the laughter you bring to them every, single, day of your life!". He opens his eyes. You walk closer to him from behind. You take hold of his right arm. He glances down at it with a frown. You look at his arm. "And your arm... God! The worst you could tell me is what happened to it!", You kiss the tip of his right hand's pointer finger. "But that doesn't matter... it's a part of you, and really all that matters is that you are alive and well after the incident...". You walk from under his arm and over to his left side. You put your right hand on the left side of his chest. "And I know you've got a heart... God, I know you've got a heart! Why, even before I felt this did I know you have a heart! You are so kind... considerate... loving... things you would never expect from a poor man! And your Family...". You look up at him. "They love you because of those things, because of who you are...". He looks at you.
"And you?".
You walk past him from his left side and look down, clasping your hands again. "I... I find it difficult to live up to the kind of person you are... surely I'm not in any way like you...". You frown, closing your eyes. He turns around and looks at you. He walks over to you.
"Yes, but...". He grabs onto your waist and looks over your right shoulder. "I don't want you to be..." He squeezes you tighter and says softly and sweetly, "I love you... just the way you are...". You open you eyes. You turn around and look at him. You look into each other's eyes. "And if you don't mind... the way you've always been...". He takes his left hand and removes the pin from your hair, revealing your long curly locks. He drops the pin on the platform. He lightly brushes a strand of hair from the left side of your face with his left hand. He lightly brushes your bangs from the right side of your face, but does not remove his hand. He places his hand on your cheek. You feel his warm hand on your cheek. You look into each other's eyes. He closes his eyes and tilts his head, moving his lips closer to yours... his right hand clings onto your waist. You close your eyes. Your lips meet. You kiss him sweetly back. You both open your eyes. You look into each other's eyes. His lips are close to yours. "I hope it wasn't too soon...", he says softly, his breath wisping warmly on your lips.
"It's never too early to say I love you...", you say, softly, also wisping warm breath. He smiles. You wrap your arms around his neck. He wraps his arms around your waist. You both close your eyes again and, with loving hearts and smiles, embrace each other in the most suitable way... a kiss.