Freak acts

Floating in peaceful waters.

(CW: physical abuse)

The next few days went as usual. Training, eating, searching for food, collecting lost and found stuff, and stealing money from rude rich men. You know, the usual. Fred decided he'd be extra annoying and have me and Othello practice with only one trapeze since the other trapeze was in for "repair" or something. A total fat lie. Sometimes, Frederic's lies are as fat as he is. For the small amount of food we get in a week in the circus, that guy is obese. Although I must say, Fred has been quite calm since Othello's arrival.

After that night when I fell asleep on Ohello's chest was definitely, hopefully, a one-time thing. We woke up in the morning and it was way too awkward. But to say the least, we've been having less fights and bickering.

Okay! Back to the present before I internally cringe at myself for even thinking about Othello being shirtless or drenched in my tears... Oh dear lord, quit it, Lunas!

I catch one of Linda's children peeking at me from behind the curtain of the main stage where some of the actors were cleaning up the messes the horses had left. Unlike normal times, kiddo just keeps staring at me, teary-eyed. I walk over, of course. I pick the kid up, wiping his tears.

"Everything alright, Dino?" I ask the kid.

Linda had a few children. But at some point, she became the mother of almost everyone living in the circus. She had her youngest two kids, twins, Dino and Bee. Her eldest daughter was named Micah and her other daughter was named Janey. Although Janey didn't live in the circus anymore, instead living in the city with her biological father.

Dino simply hid his face in his hands and shook his head. I listened, looking around for what could possibly be the cause of the boy's tears. That's when I heard it. Frederic making a scene. But this was pretty usual. The kids were used to this. It didn't feel right so I simply went to go check on what was happening.

There I saw Bee, the other twin boy, with a few bruises on his face, and Mudge standing there with a guilty look on his face as he stared at the floor while being scolded by Fred while repeatedly getting hit in the head and neck by Fred's walking cane. A gruesome sight.

"Aye, what's this? Have you gone mad?" I call out to Frederic, who now seems caught off guard. He simply raised his cane and took a swing to hit me, hitting me straight across the face. It was hard. Very hard to keep standing up straight. I was being shouted at by Fred but honestly, none of his words could even enter my mind. I could feel a thick warm liquid running down my cheekbone. I reach up a hand to wipe it away only to see its blood. I stare at my hand as silence falls over the backstage room. Everyone, including Freceric, fell silent.

My sight blurred. The sight of the blood only added to the pain striking me in the head and before I knew it, I was falling over, but then I was being held up by someone. I recognized the smell. Othello. Even I am simply at a loss for words. It had been a decade since Frederic had hit me to the point I was bleeding. I was almost stupid enough to think he was done eating me up. And for what reason? Of course, he wouldn't ever stop. It's Frederic. How stupid of me. How dumb of me to just assume he'd never lay a hand on me again.

Before I knew it, I simply heard a sound of concern. You know, the sound someone makes when someone is shocked or very worried. It's silent, but loud enough to be heard, or at least to be picked up by my other senses. Yet it didn't come to mind yet why there was a sound of pure shock. That's when I felt the soft fingers of Othello's hand wipe my cheeks. My cheeks were wet. I was...Shit, I was crying.

Before anyone could even react, I took another hit, this time to the right side of my ribs, with the words: "Quit crying, you little shit. Your hair's all you're worth for." rolling off of Frederic's tongue like a harsh song. A song that shatters a vase and doesn't glue it back together. Frederic walked away, and at this time, most people around had come to watch what was going on. Everyone stood there in silence. The only sound was the one from blood hitting the rotten softwood floor from my upper cheek in a rhythmic pattern. Bee started hugging my leg and Mudge approached me. They looked twenty times less beaten than me. And then everything went black.

It felt like I was lying on a soft patch of fresh green grass at the peak of spring. It felt so peaceful. So peaceful to be gone from the circus. Just to hear the sounds of wind. Rustling leaves from trees nearby and the sounds of water from a lake right by my feet. I wanted to float in the water. Be free. Careless and free, no worries at all to my mind. I stepped into the water and floated around like a feather. It's where I was supposed to be. Where I belong. That's my home.