One & Two Halves

My idea of a nice summer was floating in a pool with a good book or drinking a mega-size soda at the worn down cafeteria I lived a little ways from. Instead though my parents had decided to pack us up into the family minivan with our luggage and drive across the country to go visit our grandparents in Coney Island (some town near New York) for the summer.
I didn't have a problem with the general area but from the end of June to September there was little air and it felt miserable outside. Even then I still wouldn't have had a problem with it if we were allowed to pay a visit to New York our next door neighbor but my grandparents hated how noisy it was. I suppose I can't pin it on them though because their well into they are early eighties but still.
So now instead of relaxing in my pool back in California or watching movies and chasing celebrities with my friends I was walking through a row of game booths with my sister as carnival music played and the heat suffocated me. Missy though was unaffected by the heat and off key music because her childhood joy had consumed any sensitivity to such vexations.
When we had crowded behind my parents and Grandparents at the ticket booth I had assumed they were going to walk around with us but instead they took shelter in an air conditioned tent and booted out me and my sister so they could play bingo in peace. My mom was still feverously trying to win that Japanese lamp with a base carved to look like a waterfall pouring into a water hole of mythical creatures.
How could I blame her though? She loved that kind of stuff. We both did.
My mother ran an antique shop in a snug-- tourist invested corner of LA. 'Stacey's antiques' was what it was called and for two years in a row it had made the list of top ten must see places in Los Angeles. My father although was a completely different success story.
He ran a talk show called 'Andrew's Avenue' and just like all other talk show hosts he interviewed celebrities and sometimes (if he was interviewing a light hearted guest) he would have me and my sister pull a prank on them. That was the story of how I got boxers stuck on Chris Hemsworth head last year and we had to cut him free. Not my proudest moment but at least he thought it was funny a week later.
You would think though after putting me and my sister through that media frenzy my dad could offer me an enjoyable summer vacation but no I was stuck here.
"Aww man! That was my last ticket and I didn't even win the stupid thing." I heard Missy pout and I tore myself out of my selfish teenage thoughts and refocused on her.
''Well why don't we spend the money dad gave us on food or something?" I asked, hoping she'd buy my offer (literally) because I was going to pass out any second from the unbearable heat. She shook her head though much to my dismay and hopped off the stool she was sitting on to play the game.
"No! Daddy and Mommy gave me the money so we could go to the freak show!" She informed throwing her hands up in exasperation as I rolled my eyes.
"Fine. Let’s go catch the next one then because my patience is at a boiling point like this heat." I said fanning myself and she nodded as she grabbed my hand. I was then dragged towards the cluster of giant white and red striped tents.
At eight years old my little sister had already had specific interests and goals set for her in this life and one of those was seeing a bearded lady in real life. I could never understand her little desire but I went with it because I was the older sister and I was supposed to humor the little one.
"Claire c'mon! I don't want to drag you there!" She grumbled as she yanked on my arm in little kid determination and I made a face behind her back but quickened my pace.
"It’s not going anywhere Mist, chill." I said as I followed her through the crowd of parents carrying prizes and sticky sweaty little kids burying their noses in pink cotton candy. Something I'd usually go for but the heat had turned my stomach inside out.
After being yanked around and pulled back and forth by my kid sister I finally got to park my feet in the small line of people buying their tickets for the freak show. I still for the life of me couldn't understand why people would waste a precious ten dollars to see an illusion, nothing you couldn't create in a Hollywood studio. For a little kid though it was an adventure, especially for the ones that still believed in Santa.
When we got to the front of the line a man in a black suit and torn up top hat leaned forward with a mischievous smile. "Welcome my dears; do you have you the entry fee?" He asked, pulling apart his lips further more to reveal two silver teeth and three gold. Sharing a look me and Missy then produced our money and placed it on the counter top. Chuckling, the sound similar to the Jokers laugh in Batman, the man took our money and handed each of us a rusted gold token. ''Enter if you dare." He purred and we both were pushed on by the people behind us.
Once we were out of his ear shot Missy laughed. ''He looked like a pirate with those teeth." She said and I smiled slightly.
''Yeah, but their probably fake though. It’s all part of the show." I said, even though the look and crinkly sound of the man’s voice had made me squeamish. I just wanted to get this over with.
Following the small crowd of about fifteen people, we walked through the flaps of the slanted tent in a straight line--only stopping to drop our token into the slot so the metal bar would move allowing us in. "I really don't want to drop in my coin." Missy pouted and I shook my head at her as I dropped mine in and shuffled in.
Instead of putting her coin in though Missy ducked underneath the bar and squirmed through before running back to my side. ''Now I can keep my golden coin!" She announced.
''Missy no! You’re going to get us in trouble!" I exclaimed softly as the crowd bunched together, awaiting the tour guide. Pouting Missy held it close to her chest.
"No I want to keep it." She whined and I sighed.
"Missy please put it in the slot." I said holding out a hand for it. A throat was then cleared behind me and I looked back to see the man with gold and silver teeth and a laugh like the joker.
''She can keep the token, she did pay for it." He said, before smiling warmly at her then he walked ahead to the front of the group. That was unexpected. I guess I was right; his creepy demeanor was just an act to enhance the experience.
''And noooow ladies and gentlemen we enter the world of freaks!" He announced doing a spin, which made his cape fly around as he turned his back to us. ''Follow me." He simply said and he walked into the hall way in front of us with the group behind him.
For the next fifteen minutes after that we saw everything ranging from two headed people, a man that could breathe fire, a woman that could twist her body into a pretzel shape, a completely tattooed man and woman, a dog that could say ten different words, and of course a bearded lady which Missy was overjoyed about.
In fact she was so overjoyed that she almost cried, especially when the woman let her touch her beard.
I found the whole thing gross and it made me more eager to get out of the tent, even though it was air conditioned. We had just finished up what seemed to be the final act, a man that could stretch out his skin to a terrifying length and I felt my mood lifting at the thought of getting out of here.
"Can we go through again after this? I want to see them all again." Missy said sweetly as she slipped her hand into mine and I shook my head with a soft smile.
''Sorry Mist, but we have to get something to eat after this." I said as the group stopped before a giant curtain that was draped over a small stage of some kind.
"And now my curious cats, behind this curtain we have our oldest and most valuable act. A boy that has rebelled against science, death, and growing feeble. I give you--" He then threw back the curtain.
"The boy who never awakes!"
Lights then rose up on the stage revealing a projector. A photo from what seemed to be the sixties appeared and it was of a boy sleeping in a glass box with a man standing next to him holding his thumb up. Following that was about a dozen or more photos with the boy and man in the same positons except the man had aged through each photo.
I had to admit, it looked pretty legit for a potential staged act based on the quality of the photos. It would be difficult and expensive to create a slideshow like that and this freak show didn’t seem very wealthy. Unless that was part of the act as well.
Then when the photos finished rolling the lights dropped down to the dark part of the stage and in slow motion revealed the same boy from the photos sleeping in the glass box. None of the acts in this freak show had impressed me in the slightest bit but for whatever reason this one did.
This simple, problematic act made my pulse throb in my fingers as Goosebumps appeared on my arms and my knees wobbled a bit. I was then (not even a moment after seeing him) pushing through the crowd to get closer. I felt drawn to the boy sleeping in the box and I felt this painful need to see him up close.
As I neared the stage slowly his features became clearer to me. His hair framed his face in thick brown curls, his coral lips rested limply, and his hands were placed at his sides as his chest rose and fell steadily. His body was long and it was obvious he was much taller than most of the people here. And even though I couldn't see his eyes I was positive they were breath taking.
He almost didn't look human, for I had never seen a boy like him before.
As I neared the glass our guide began to explain the boy’s background history.
"In nineteen sixty-five on an early morning hike in England I found this boy laying in between two trees as if he was sleeping. Worried he was hurt I went to check up on him, maybe even awake him. Alas though no matter what I did he wouldn't awake, so I took him to my friend who was doctor."
I was so close now I could see the boy’s breath fog up the glass then fade a moment before he fogged it up again.
"Astonished my friend informed me all his vital signs were normal and that he showed no signs of being in a coma."
The tour guides voice was nothing but a buzz in my ear now as Missy frowned and followed me.
"Impressed I decided to make him an addition to my freak shows in hopes people would find him as fascinating as I did."
I was just a couple of feet away now and I could only focus on the boy in the glass case as I pressed my lips softly together.
'’At first no believed me, but then after proving myself to be a man of my word he became one of the biggest attractions for ten years straight, and even though his fame has died out now-"
The buzz of the man’s voice then became silent, like someone had plugged my ears and all I heard was my breathing as I took a step up onto the stage and reached my hand forward prior to pressing it up against the cool glass. "Hello." I whispered.
"The boy who never awakes!" I heard the man’s voice echo repeatedly in my head as I pressed my face against the glass, so close to him now not even a foot was between us. I then felt a rough hand on my shoulder and I was pulled out of my trance by the tour guide.
"Young lady please step away from the glass." He said simply, a warning edge in his voice. A loud gasp was then heard that startled everyone in the room and when I looked back over at the boy I saw his fiery green eyes shoot open and he sat up with a scream as he smashed through the glass.
"Their coming! Their coming!" He shouted with a mad look and everyone in the room went into panic as the tour guides face paled and he moved back fast leaving me to fend for myself.
Feeling my eyes widened I stumbled off the stage as the boy used his clenched fists to break the rest of his body out of the glass box, still screaming as if he was in some kind of pain. Starting to feel fearful now instead of mystified, I grabbed Missy's arm and pulled her into me so she wouldn't get trampled.
"I think it’s time to go!" I shouted as then he completely broke out of his glass prison and he looked over at me with ablaze emerald eyes that made me forget how to function. Breathing in and out deeply he started to walk quickly towards me with a hand stretched forward and I backed away as I held Missy protectively.
"No stop it! Go away!" She screamed as I wrapped my arms around her.
''Leave us alone!" I shouted as I swatted at the air between us and with an amazing reflex he grabbed my wrist which made Missy burst out crying and me yell for help as he pulled me towards him.
"What did the blind man say to Poppin?" He said, holding me in an iron grip as my body trembled uncontrollably.
''W-What?" I managed to choke out but he never got to answer because the tour guides shadow appeared behind him and my wrist was released as the boy crumpled at my feet with a cry.
A pitiful, despairing cry.

Notes