Melancholia

7 - Melancholia Carnival Circus: Kelly's Clown

"Hello, sweetie. What are you doing here?" asked a clown girl. "You're not supposed to be at the backstage," she pointed out.

"Oh, well, I just thought that I could get to know the clowns," explained Kelly.

"Oh, you want to get to know the clowns, huh?" asked the clown. "Okay, then. Let's begin our tour," the clown said as she brought Kelly inside.

"First of all, we have the clowns. Say hi, gals. This is... Yeah, what's your name, sweetie?"

"My name is Kelly."

"Okay, then. Say hi to Kelly."

"Hi," the clowns greeted.

"She's on tour here to see how we clowns do our job, ain't that right, sweetie?"

"Well, we hope you'll enjoy it," a clown said.

"Next, is the testing rooms. This is the place where we test out our new tricks and gags. Look, there's a clown testing a gag now!"

"I have saved the best for last," the clown said. "Come on, follow me," she said as she showed Kelly a 'follow me' sign. Kelly then followed her.

"What's that room?" asked Kelly, pointing at a door.

"That room is on limits. It's for clowns only," the clown said. "Which you will become," she muttered under her breath.

"Okay, never mind." Kelly said, disappointed that she couldn't enter that room.

"Last but not least, there is the stage, where you will perform."

"Me?" asked Kelly, feeling that the clown had made an error.

"Yes, you," the clown replied with confidence. "Let us begin your transformation."

"My transformation?"

The clown put her index finger in front of her lips and said, "Shhh..." Then, she pulled out a clown hammer from thin air and hit Kelly's forehead.

"Squeak!" the plastic hammer went.

All of a sudden, Kelly lost consciousness. After a while, she regained it, just to find herself tied to a chair in a room will walls made of titanium alloy.

"What? What just happened?"

Suddenly, the clown girl appeared in front of her.

"Remember your transformation?" she asked as she put a red clown nose onto Kelly's nose.

"What? What are you doing to me?"

"Nothing, sweetie, nothing."

"Just let me out of this chair this instant!" Kelly yelled, shaking the chair rigorously as she was struggling to break free.

"Okay, I will," the clown girl said.

"No! Let me out this instant!" she continued to shout. "Wait, what? You will?" she asked, realising that the clown girl agreed.

"Why not? You have to get used to your new clown shoes anyway," the clown said while untying the ropes that held Kelly down.

"My clown shoes?" she said. She looked down at her shoes and saw that they were indeed bigger, the left one orange and the right one cyan.

"What did you do to my shoes and feet?" she asked, feeling her feet growing, adjusting to her enlarged shoes.

"What I did? You should be grateful that I'm doing this to you, sweetie," she said in an angry tone. "You know, not everyone gets this chance."

"But I don't want this chance!" she exclaimed. "I never even asked for it!"

"Never mind that, just focus on your transformation," the clown said.

"What? What happened to my leggings?" she exclaimed, seeing that their colours have changed.

"Just shut up."

"Now I have a skirt too?" asked Kelly, who now had a skirt around her waist. It had bells attached to it.

"Just shut up."

Later, she discovered that she also had a jester cap with bells on it.

Soon, after a while, her whole attire had changed. It looked similar to the one that the clown girl was wearing, but with different colours.

"Am I... Am I turning into you? Is my transformation done?"

"Not quite, you're not really turning into me, but good call," she remarked. "For your transformation, well, it hasn't ended yet."

"So, my clothing has changed into something humiliating," she said. "The worst is past, though I don't know how I will ever be able to show my face like this," Kelly said.

"The worst? Humiliation?" the clown girl said. "No, your humiliation will increase. Let's change your hairstyle."

"My hairstyle? But it's perfect! Not my hairstyle!"

"Oh, let's add some pigtails," the clown said. Suddenly, two short curly pigtails appeared at the side of Kelly's head.

"Pigtails? Is there more?"

"You want more?" the clown girl asked rhetorically. "Then have some more," she said as she pointed towards Kelly's pigtails. All of a sudden, bells appeared at both of Kelly's pigtails, one on the left and one on the right.

"No! I didn't mean... Well, you know what I meant."

"Your transformation is nearly over," the clown girl said.

"Thankfully."

"Last but not least, there are the giggles."

"The giggles?" Kelly asked. Suddenly, she couldn't stop smiling. Soon, she even started to laugh and giggle.

"Hahahaha!"

Kelly felt embarrassed by her constant and uncontrollable laughing and immediately closed her mouth with her gloves.

"Gloves!" she thought. "When did I wear gloves?"

"You know you can't stop the laughter," the clown girl said. "So let it out."

All of a sudden, Kelly lost control of her hands as well and her hands moved away from her mouth. "Hahahaha!" she continued laughing out.

Soon, her hair turned a bright shade of green.

"I can't stop this..." Kelly thought to herself. "I can't even think straight anymore..."

"I can't stop... Hahaha!"

"Just a little while longer, sweetie."

Indeed, after a while, Kelly's face turned white.

"It is done."

Suddenly, Kelly's mind went blank. She stopped laughing and just looked ahead, not moving at all. Her consciousness faded and she couldn't think at all.

A few seconds later, her consciousness returned, as a whole but altered.

"Hey! I'm a clown now!" exclaimed Kelly. "I like this life!"

"Glad you like it," said the clown girl. "What's your name, sweetie? Every clown has to have a name."

"Hmm... My name is.. My name is Belly Kelly!" Kelly said, honking her clown nose and enjoying it.

"Welcome to the big top," the clown said. "Hope you'll enjoy living here forever!"

"Sure will!"