Then I pushed through the curtain and left the tent.
The crowd was already roaring. The main tent, striped in blood red and bone white, rose out of the meadow like it was alive. The ropes straining to hold their shape as if containing the chaos inside. Behind it, five smaller tents sat in a half circle. Four for the performers. One for me.
The flaps of the big tent moved as I entered.
A year ago, I wouldn’t have imagined standing here. But now I was ready to run the show.
The entrance closed behind the last of the crowd. Lanterns bathed the ring in gold.As I stepped into the center, the cheers grew louder, and the same gold light fell upon me. And in the shadows behind the ring, I saw a man in a black mask.
The Circle was watching.
“Ladies and gentlemen of La Maddalena,” I began, my voice echoing through the tent, “prepare for a show like no other.” I smiled, the crowd holding its breath. “Prepare for wonders. For the only place left where the impossible still dares to breathe.”
The audience leaned forward. I smiled wider.
“For ouropening act, watch the man who never misses, and his human doll who dared not to flinch.“ I bowed, “I never miss,” I said with a wink, and the ladies chuckled in the audience. Clowns entered, bringing Chiara on a wheel, her eyes now covered with a red silk band.
I gestured toward the wheel.
“Next,” I called, leaning on the wheel, “our clowns, painted fools who’ll remind you that laughter can sound a lot like crying if you listen too long!” The music rose, bringing the dark along as lights moved towards the crowds.
“After that,” I said, walking back to the centre, “you’ll see fire eaters, contortionists who can twist into shapes you thought were nearly impossible, a strongman who can lift two tigers, a man who can hypnotize even if he is blind, lost his sight in a great battle with a knife.”
The crowd cheered again.
“And when all that’s done,” I said softly, “our last light will rise, the bearded lady from the north. She’ll sing a song for every soul that’s ever been caged by the world and still found the breath to keep singing.”
For a moment, the tent held still. The clowns removed the silk band from Chiara’s eyes, and across the ring, her gaze locked with mine. She was so damn perfect, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to resist.
Then I raised my hand. “Ladies and gentlemen,” I said, smiling, “welcome toCirco dei Perduti.”
The crowd roared. The band struck up, and as the music climbed, I turned my head just enough to whisper to the man behind the curtain, “Let’s begin.”
The clowns rolled out the wheel with Doll fixed at its center. One of them came to me and tied the silk band across my eyes.
“They dared me to throw a knife blind,” I said, loud enoughfor the crowd to hear. The gasp followed as I took a knife in my hand.
I stood still, breathing steady. Dark pressed against my eyes. I lifted my arm and threw the first knife. The crowd erupted in cheers.
I smirked beneath the blindfold.
I guess she’s still alive,I thought, taking the second knife.
I threw again. The crowd roared louder this time.
I pulled the silk from my eyes and bowed, turning to face the wheel. Both knives had landed between her thighs, close enough to make her tremble.
A laugh broke from my chest. I met her eyes, saw the sweat glistening at her hairline, two drops rolling down her temple.
I turned, drew the last knife, and sent it spinning. When I faced her again, it quivered in the wood right above her head.
The tent exploded in applause. I bowed again, grinning.“Grazie, grazie.”
The clowns rushed in, unstrapping her from the wheel as the parade began behind them.
I stepped out of the ring, scanning the crowd, but the man in the black mask was gone.
Turning toward the performer’s tent, I walked back. The clowns had already brought my Doll inside. She was still shaking, eyes fixed on me, her mouth parting like she wanted to speak but couldn’t find a word.
