Short Stories

Carnival

The carnival comes around every year, and every year the same games, rides, and people are there. My friends and I have visited this carnival ever since we were toddlers. I notice that the only difference is that there is always at least one person who does not show up. One person who is said to outgrow it and move on. No one seems to think much of it, it is a large town so it is hard to keep track of every person yet I still notice one less face, one less smile, one less person.

After the carnival is over I notice that my neighbor did not show up. I ask around and everyone does not seem to care nor notice. I shrug it off and think I will just go to their house to check up on them in the morning.

I begin to leave the carnival just like all the others and I see a glimpse into a tent. There is a clown in there, the same clown that has been coming back all these years. He is removing his makeup, and now I can see the face behind that painted-on smile. I see sadness and remorse. Anger and fatigue, behind the fakeness, is a person. I saw something in that person's expressions that gave me goosebumps. That's when he looked at me, his eyes turned cold and dark. We just continued to stare at one another. Next thing I knew there were red and blue lights flashing all around and a loud blaring siren. That was the last time the annual carnival came to our town.