Midnight Circus

Marlene could barely hear it, but she was sure there was music playing. At first, she had been sitting in her room, next to her open window. At first, she thought she had been making it up. But then she went outside, and she was sure she could hear it. Some faraway music in the distance.

She walked around awhile with the music fading in and out of her ears. She walked for so long that when she looked back, it startled her. Her house was no longer behind her. She hadn’t meant to walk that far, especially considering she wasn’t wearing any shoes. But then she heard a faint wisp of music--I’ve gone this far already. I might as well continue. And then she was walking again, letting the music tell her where to go.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she thought it was a little sketchy when the music led her to the edge of a forest, but she dismissed that thought quickly. The music couldn’t hurt her. No, the music filled her up. She clung onto it with everything she had.

She didn’t even think as she stepped into the brush. She walked for a long while after that. She wondered if she should be concerned about poison ivy or wild animals, but they couldn’t hurt her. The music was protecting her. So she kept walking.

Eventually, the sun faded from the treetops, but she barely noticed. Even when darkness fell and she could no longer see in front of her, she kept going, following the music in her ears. She didn’t need to see to know where to go.

When the woods finally opened up to a clearing, her feet stopped moving for the first time. Logic was starting to trickle back into her mind, and she felt briefly struck by a sense of panic. But then she focused back on the music, and everything else faded away.

Now in front of her, there was a curtain. She knew with a deep sense of clarity, that she would find the music if she only walked through.

She felt a rush of anticipation as she thought about the music. The music that had protected her all the way here, guarding her like an unseen phantom. She loved this music, the fierceness of which took her by surprise. But she knew she would do anything to keep listening. To listen forever.

She walked through the curtain.

The music was loud. The whole place vibrated with it. The place, she realized, was a circus. An acrobat swung down in front of her before falling back into the sky, giggling all the way through. A small monkey tugged on her hand and tipped his hat, leading her further into the chaos.

Something lightly hit her in the head. Is it raining? She thought. But that didn’t seem right. As she looked around, she saw that popcorn floated in the air as if suspended by some invisible string. But when she reached out, her fingers plucked it easily, and when she let go, it didn’t move. Like this whole place was some big container of transparent gelatin and only she wasn’t affected.

The monkey had disappeared somewhere into the crowd, but she hardly noticed. All around her, there was a flurry of activity. The more she focused on one specific thing, the more unusual it became. But if she looked away for a second and looked back, it would have already moved on to some faraway place in the crowd.

The air seemed to glisten around her. It pressed down on her shoulders and gently pushed her in one direction. Towards a flame in the center. She knew it was the center because the rest of the circus orbited around it like a breathing, ticking clock.

A single flame, no larger than her pointer finger. But it stood at her eye level, hoisted up by some invisible platform. When she floated her hand beneath it, she only felt empty air.

As she looked into the flame, she smiled. She saw her life. Everything. Everything before that had led her to this moment, and everything after. After. She saw that she would die here. She didn’t fight the realization. It bounced through her hollowed bones and settled as truth.

She wasn’t afraid. This place was like nothing she had ever seen before. The chaos around her was controlled, and it made Marlene feel safe.

She walked away from the flame. Just one step. Then two.

She walked deeper into the midnight circus until she was nothing. Swallowed whole.

Marlene Tate was reported missing 48 hours later. There are reports that her neighbors saw her walking barefoot into the woods; however, when a search party was sent in, nothing was ever found. She was presumed dead two weeks later. Her body was never recovered. Every so often, another lonely soul would disappear. Sometimes they were seen, walking in a trance, unblinking eyes fixated on something in the distance. Sometimes they were questioned. Eyes never wavering, they would stop and respond, before continuing with robotic steps. “I’m following the music,” they would say, “I’m following the music.”

Artwork: "Me, Myself, and Eye" by Kelly Rainey