circus ★ crygi

chapter one

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CRYSTAL hummed the melody of an old song, while she read the newspaper, sitting at her kitchen table. It was a tawdry soul single her mom used to sing to her when she was a baby — Crystal didn't remember the lyrics, but she did remember the melody, and she had been crooning it ever since she could remember.

Crystal's long fingers reached the edge of the page, and turned it, revealing a large header that in prominent, eye-catching letters read ''THE MOONLIGHT CIRCUS FINALLY COMES TO TOWN''. Crystal's eyes widened to an inhuman extent and her jaw dropped down to underground levels. The moment so longed for by her, had finally arrived — yearly, a famous circus would come to Crystal's town to offer various impressive circus skill acts.

And this year was no exception. Crystal's favorite circus, The Moonlight Circus had finally come to Springfield, Crystal's city, and she knew she couldn't miss it. The Moonlight Circus came to her town every year, but Crystal visited it every year too, mainly because they tended to hire new performers for next time, leaving Crystal amazed at the new tricks every time. 

Crystal didn't know who or what was going to be new this year, but she had one thing more than clear — the Moonlight Circus had set the bar very high in terms of what people expected from them before, so she was sure that, whatever was going to happen on the show, she would not be disappointed.

''The Moonlight Circus, acclaimed by many, will be in town from March 27, until April 3.'' Crystal read aloud, scratching her chin and frowning her eyebrows.

''We can do that...'' She said to herself, with a mischievous smile. Right after, she stood up from the kitchen table, and headed to her room. Her famed room — it was definitely remarkable to say the least.

Her walls were painted an awfully flashy bright green color, and they were crammed with her creations to the point where the walls seemed to be overflowing; her even tackier bedspread was leopard print with matching pillows, and on top of the bed, a zillion trinkets were spread all over it — among them, watercolors and paintbrushes, cheap plastic jewelry, all kinds of makeup, clothing items, and scraps of fabric. It was all very junkie, if you will; but Crystal preferred to call it kitsch or meretricious, and, indeed, the style of her room perfectly resembled Crystal.

First things first, she picked out a couple clothes out of her closet, grabbed some of the jewelry that was scattered around, and tossed it all on her bed. Once she put it all on, she stared at her ensemble on the mirror for a while. It most definitely did not match at all — floral pants, a wacky-looking vest, and a bunch of flashy plastic necklaces and bracelets. But still it was very... Crystal.

Right before leaving the house, Crystal swung by the kitchen to finish what was left of the steaming coffee in her cup, and tore off the sheet of the newspaper. Then, she started her car, and flied off to the supermarket like a shot bullet.