Cirque

3: 𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑫𝒂𝒚𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔

When my vision finally cleared, I was in what looked like the very fanciest concert hall I had ever seen. Golden walls, red carpets, sparkling diamond chandeliers were everywhere I could see. It reminded me of what Buckingham palace would look like if the king looked at it and decided he needed an upgrade. I must be in some sort of dream, I thought as I looked around myself at my excessively opulent surroundings.

But then, the fact that I just thought that made me fear it was actually something much more sinister.

I was sitting in a very comfortable plush red theater chair, so soft that I felt like I was sitting on a cloud. My arms rested lightly on comfortable armrests, and my legs were crossed lightly at the ankles. I realized I was wearing a tight red cocktail dress with a slit on the side, complete with shining golden heels.

A thousand balloons were drifting through the dimly lit hall, coming from behind me, from above and below. They crowded together so densely that I could barely see the stage far away at the end of the room. A thousand splashes of sparkling red, blue, pink, and white floated past my eyes, and I strained to see what was happening up ahead.

I suddenly realized I couldn't move, that my arms and legs were simply refusing to respond to me, like I was a puppet on strings controlled by a mysterious master. Normally, this would have made me quite alarmed. But, for some insane reason I was satisfied just being where I was. Everything was so bright, so colorful, so full of joy and laughter. The thousands of balloons drifted past me, and I caught myself smiling and laughing as they jostled past each other, bumping together in a cacophony of color.

The thought occurred to me suddenly that the feeling surrounding me now was like if that old abandoned carnival had been brought back to life by a god and made into paradise.

And then the balloons began to drift to either side, as if they were stage curtains parted to signal the beginning of the main show. I leaned forward, excitement rushing through me as the stage began to be revealed. The sound of a music box began to ring through the hall, which was a terribly nostalgic sound. Finally, the balloons lined the walls and I could finally see the stage. If I had felt this way from just the decorations, I couldn't wait to see what wonders were lying ahead. My cheeks were beginning to hurt from smiling so wide.

The stage was made of pure shining gold, just like the walls. It was also covered with a carpet of deep red dripping velvet.

Only, velvet couldn't drip.

To my horror, I realized that the red carpet wasn't a carpet at all. It was a thin pool of blood, streaming across the stage and slowly dripping over the edges. Even the red carpet running through the empty hall was nothing but rivers of blood pouring from an unknown source. I didn't want to know where it was coming from.

I wanted to run, but I couldn't pull myself from the gore-encrusted chair I was sitting in. My hands were resting on severed hearts, and the red dress I wore was made of entrails knitted together with crystals. I couldn't close my eyes, I couldn't even stop smiling. A giggle slipped from my gaping mouth.

On the stage, five bodies dressed in elaborate jester clothes were hanging from the ceiling from sparkling threads like marionettes. As I watched, their heads were neatly severed and fell to the ground. They were rolling off the stage, rolling up the sloping theater, rolling straight towards me.

I had never been filled with so much horror in my life. I felt like I would start to scream if I could ever stop laughing, and the black spots swimming in my vision let me know I was very close to passing out. Just then I realized there was a sixth figure on the stage, not strung up but standing on his own in the center, his back turned to me. He wore a sweeping white coat, open to expose his bare chest, like an angelic acrobat. It was eerily similar to the flash of white I had seen before at the carnival.

He turned around to face me, flourishing his gold-tipped cane as if announcing the end of the most magnificent show on Earth. He had bright red eyes like rubies or something worse and shining golden hair the exact color of the opulent walls. He seemed to smile at me, seductive and sad all at once. I had never seen someone so beautiful, tragic, yet terrifying all at once. And then he, too, died, collapsed to the ground like a puppet whose strings were cut.

I woke up screaming.

I woke up to the sight of a very high, very fancy ceiling. It was a lot fancier than anywhere I had ever lived, but still it couldn't be more different than the golden ceiling from that awful nightmare. Something about this felt very real, like I was finally awake after a very troubled night, but I still wasn't sure if I was asleep or awake. I sat up, rubbing my eyes to get rid of all the lingering drowsiness.

I was sitting on the floor. "How nice of whoever brought me here to not even take the time to put me somewhere more comfortable," I said out loud, trying to ease the still present terror lingering inside of me. I had always had a habit of talking to myself when I was ill at ease. It wasn't the truth, of course. Obviously, comfort was the least of my priorities right now.

Approaching footsteps shook me out of my thoughts and I jumped to my feet. At least this time I had full control of my body to face this new horror.

"It's about time," a deep voice spoke from the shadows of the wood-paneled hallway extending beyond where I stood. "I see you finally decided to open those beautiful eyes of yours. I thought I might never get a chance to see them again." Whoever was speaking had a very upper-class British accent, like he was a lord coming straight from his countryside estate. But then again, if this room was anything to judge by, he must be much, much richer than some random lord.

"Hello," I said hesitantly, standing in one place. "Who are you?"

"Hm..." he considered, stepping forward slightly. He was still in the shadows, and I couldn't quite make out what he looked like, although I could tell his face had broken out into a smile. "All your darkest dreams."

And, before I could get a good glimpse of him, he disappeared into a cloud of bubbles. The whole room began to break apart, the whole room turning into bubbles right as I watched. A whole cloud of soapy spheres were covering my view. I swatted them out of the way, but then I realized to my horror that my body was beginning to turn into bubbles as well!

"No! No, not yet!" I screamed, surprising even myself. I gasped, trying to push through the wall of bubbles, hoping that the man was hiding somewhere beyond. "I don't even know what you look like!" I screamed out, as my mouth began to fill with the bitter taste of soap.

A cold rush of water washed over me, and I opened my eyes with a sudden gasp.