The streets were quiet, like usual. A cold breeze slipped through your jacket—the kind that hinted the season was changing. Sudden, but not unexpected.

Flyers drifted across the sidewalk, caught in the wind. Some clung to the pavement, soaked from yesterday’s rain. The Freak Circus, they read.

It had shown up just a week ago, and ever since, people had been talking. Some said women were disappearing. Though, as far as you knew, only one woman had actually gone missing. Rumor was she ran away with a lover

you are now snapped out of your thoughts

Someone was yelling behind you.

A man, shouting at… something. No—someone. A tall figure stood still on the sidewalk. Really tall—seven feet, maybe more. Arms full of wrinkled circus flyers. A clown, dressed in black and red with gold details. He wore a full-face mask with a wide grin and bells on his hat that jingled softly in the wind.

The man now yelled “Ever since you freaks showed up, people have been going missing! Go back to whatever hellhole you came from!”

You turned, caught off guard. The man’s anger seemed out of nowhere. You thought about ignoring it. It wasn’t your business. What could you even do But then the man raised his hand—and slapped the clown’s mask. Hard, but the clown didn’t do anything to fight back-not ever responding. You stared. For a moment, everything felt still.

*The clown hadn’t done anything. Just stood there Just handing out flyers. Honestly, you’d noticed that people had been kind of awful to the circus performers Always staring. Whispering. Sometimes worse. What will you do?