The Moth Tents

One Mile Ahead

Do you ever wake up and for a moment, you don't know anything? You don't know your name, or what you're wearing, or where you are.

For a moment, you're a blank slate, and you start to panic. But eventually, you calm down. Its Wednesday. You're in your bed, at home. You're safe, and everything goes back to normal.

But waking up now is like having a nightmare in a nightmare. The confusion doesn't stop, it just stays steady and constant.

"Shh, she's coming to!" Faces of people I don't know surround me, three heads touching as they look down on me with wondering gazes.

The night before comes rushing back in a flurry of events, overwhelming me. The fear starts climbing, increasing steadily as I remember Penny.

"My sister..have you seen my-" I cough, throat dry and lips cracked, unable to finish. I feel like my mouth is stuffed with cotton.

"Water, Vinnie, get the girl water!" a tiny voice orders. One of them, I can't see who, runs off hurriedly in response. His footsteps shake the ground.

I attempt to sit up. I look to take in what's around me, turning my head slowly because of my aching head.

I'm lying on packed dirt. A dirt road, I think. Yes, its a dirt road. On either side of me are miles and miles of open field. I look back.

Trucks packed with lights and fabric and painted circus cars are all connected in a sort of train.

The people in front of me are strange too. I remember the magician, the handsome one. The Magi, they called him.

He stood over me too, squinting. I wondered what his real name was. The others seemed like average folk, except for the eyes. They looked at me like I was a talking rat.

I'd thought the tiny voice was a child, but it was a man. His face was broad, too big for his body it seemed.

He was dressed in a silly looking outfit, a top hat and a trench coat. He wore a pair of black boots that almost looked custom made.

The one who'd been ordered to bring me water came rushing back. This was a dream. It was too silly to not be a dream. It was silly because of the irony.

The man bringing me water was gigantic. He could easily break the smaller man in half.

His gut stuck out so much, it almost covered me in shade. He had a fat bald head and huge arms, with muscles the size of my head.

He stood over six feet tall, at least. The irony of a man like this taking orders from someone so small reminded me of an old's children story about the lion and the mouse.

He looked like he was in pain, and couldn't look me in the face, always avoiding my gaze. I guess he was a gentle giant.

I took the water from his huge hands, which he retracted lightning fast and fiddled with nervously.

I nodded a thank you to him and took gulp after gulp of the cool drink. It was like a burn ointment. The swelling went down in my mouth. I take a few more swallows for good measure.

"Have you seen my sister? Please, her name is Penny. I think she came here last night, and.. She has blond hair and blue eyes and she acts younger than she is. Tell me you've.."

"Lizzy?" A familiar voice interrupts my pleading.

I turn to see Penny, in her gown and a pair of cowboy boots that were obviously lent to her by someone much bigger than her, her hair in a wildly untucked braid and her eyes filled with excitement.

I feel like I've died and gone to heaven, away from every trouble I ever had in this moment.

But the relief is soon mixed with a drop of rash fury. Adrenaline pumping, I stand and take Penny by her shoulders, shaking her erratically.

"You had me worried sick!" I shout.

"I'm sorry, Lizzy. I just really wanted to see... I knew you wouldn't like it," she pouts, putting her hands behind her back and twisting the too big boots in the dirt.

Her eyes start to shine and her lip shakes. I let out a deep, swift sigh and squeeze her, holding her tight. "Don't do that again."

I let go and see the others, staring at me still. "Where are we? Where did you take us?"

There's a lengthy pause, but someone speaks up. This voice is different, coming from behind me.

He has a thick accent that I can't place because I've never been outside my little town, but it sounds slick and lazy.

A boy that had moved into town from Chicago once had sounded like that, so I assumed he was from the city.

"Just outside of town. We had to leave and you passed out. Your sister had a fit and said we couldn't take you to the hospital, that Jeffrey would be mad. Whoever that is.." he grumbles.

He's a rough looking kid, probably in his twenties. He's dressed in a dark jacket and a striped white and green shirt.

He was skinny and tall, and his face was long and dotted with a few pimples and freckles.

His narrow eyes were a muddy brown, and despite not being very built, his gaze was hard and intimidating. His hair was dark and cut short, curling at the front like a brown tide.

"Can we stay just a lil' longer?" She didn't understand...

"No, Penny. We have to go home."

But the question of home suddenly popped into my head. Go back home?

To the sound of punches in the basement that could just as easily be for me?

Or my so-called mother, dead inside, just some blind, hollow creature who can't even save her own children?

Go back to a town that treats us like a show they can go and talk about with their friends at dinner? I don't want to go back to that. That isn't home.

That's hell. I'd thought of running away but I could never think of leaving Penny or my mother behind. This was back when I still felt sympathy for my mother.

But now, it all seemed to come together. Here we were, right on the edge of town. No one would miss us. No one would go looking for us. Certainly not my mother.

I was old enough to take care of Penny, and she didn't need it constantly like she used to.

And if I didn't do it now, I never would. Jeffrey's abuse wouldn't stop. A gift had fallen right into our laps in the form of a giant circus tent.

It was too good to pass up. "I take back all the stuff I said about waiting.

Actually...we'll just stay." Pemny couldn't believe her ears and squealed, throwing her arms around wildly.

I paid her no mind, but the city boy raised an eyebrow at me.

"You can't do that. Doesn't work that way," he says, taking a cigarette and a lighter out of his dusty jean pocket. I cross my arms stubbornly.

"And why not?" He sticks it between his lips and shields it with his hands, flicking at the lighter before he finally manages to light it.

He takes a puff before continuing. "You're too young. It would be kidnapping."

"I'll have you know, I'm 20!" I say this assertively and tilt my head up. I straighten up my posture, all to seem more mature.

He pauses to look at me before chuckling and shaking his head a little. "Nice try. I'm not stupid, kid."

No, this can't be it! But there's no tricking him, or any of the others. They all walk away, going inside to the front. I hear the engine start up and take Penny's hand.

"Come on, Penny. Let's play hide and seek."