kelsey

The Wish

I soon fell into routine at the circus. I had nose bleeds all the time among the sudden weakness in the middle of shows. I would suddenly pass out when someone was performing and Matt would hold me until I woke up, then proceed to take me outside for some air. After I had some time to compose myself, I would go back inside and Matt would tell me to be more careful.

A couple of days later, Matt and I are watching the show and when Ren comes out, he starts pacing. He looks all over, searching the crowd for someone. When his eyes land on me, he freezes and I can’t break eye contact. Matt nudges me, testing to see if I wasn’t about to pass out again. I look over and back to the tiger.

“That’s strange.”

“Why is he looking at us? What’s wrong?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know. It's never happened before.”

Immediately, I plan to see him right after the show. He performs normally for the rest of the show. That afternoon, I was eating some spaghetti when I suddenly felt dizzy. Before I knew it, my face went straight into my bowl. When I finally came to, everyone was surrounding me. I nervously sat up. When did I get on the floor? I hung my head and after explaining that I had sudden dizzy spells because of my asthma, I got sent to my cot with orders to rest. Instead I go to the barn and talk to Ren for a while.

“Well Ren, I might be fired. They found out about my dizzy spells since I smashed my face into my food. I really need this job. I hope I don’t get fired. Even though I’m dying, I need to keep up the pretense that I’m okay. Ugh, I feel trapped. I understand how you feel now. By the way, are you feeling okay? I hope Gracie didn’t do anything bad to you while I was gone. Then again, I left her powerless.”

 Something compelled me forward. I approach the lonely tiger and slowly reach his paw. Touching it, I hear a soft exhale from him. I giggle softly and, gaining some confidence, I stroke his paw and trace all his stripes. His head leans toward my hand and before I can retract it, he licks my hand. I tense then relax as he continues his path up my arm.

“Ew! Ren!” He continues, “Okay Ren, That’s enough.” I giggle and get up to wash my hands. “Thanks for not eating me.” I hear him huff at me.

“Now where is my poetry book? Ah, here it is.” I start reading to him. (A/N: this is where she reads I Am The Cat to him) At the end, I get up and stroke his ear and whisper to him.

“I can’t understand why I have this connection with you. I feel as though I can understand what you’re trying to tell me, but that’s impossible. You’re a big cat, I’m a weird human. I must really be losing it.” I pause to hear him purr, “I wish you were free.”