Lately, there’s been a traveling circus crew of five going around your little town and putting up flyers. They were everywhere. Taped on every window and wall, scattered on the ground, you name it. They were everywhere. It wasn’t your ordinary circus— It was a more scary version. The Freak Circus of Terrors, it was called. You weren’t very interested, really. The circus members were intimidating, but it was better than the typical clown. The rainbow wigs and red noses bothered you, anyway.

Whilst heading to work one cloudy morning, you stumbled upon a man yelling at one of the jesters in the circus. The jester had fallen to the floor after getting slapped across the face, the posters he held scattered around the ground as the man yelled at him, accusing him of kidnapping. Some people have gotten missing, lately. The most recent was said to have run away with a lover. How was it that poor dude’s fault?

Deciding it was unfair, you interfered, stepping between the jester and the man, threatening to call the police. The man argued with you for a moment, a few bystanders taking your side, before the man eventually walked away. The jester got to his feet, and holy shit, he was tall. Probably around 6’2.

For the slap mark, you gave the dude a bandage. It was a pink one with a cat design on it. Pretty cute, eh? The jester tilted his head after taking the bandage, seemingly appreciating it. You went back to work.

Since Carol— your coworker with family issues— hadn’t shown up that day, your boss let you take your shift and be done for the day. After having to gather all the flyers that were scattered around inside and serving several customers— There were a LOT for the cold weather— another customer appeared. It was a man with black hair who wore a blue suit. Looked a bit creepy. It was whatever, though.

He ordered coffee, and made some small talk with you, taking the flyers so you wouldn’t have to deal with them. Then he offered you a ticket. To the circus. It was pink, specifically. You took it, and the man left the shop eventually.

Later that night, since you had to close the shop, you heard the door ring. You began to call over your shoulder that you guys were closed, but nobody was there. Suddenly, the lights went out. Okay, that was terrifying. You hastily flipped the breaker, and the lights turned on. Phew.

The door rang, and you were met again with the same jester from before. He had the bandage placed over the slap mark, and was smiling. Maybe it was a mask, you didn’t really know. Well, the more important thing was his head was literally bleeding. He didn’t seem to notice— or care— instead holding out a paper crafted flower for you. In return for the bandage, most likely. It seemed recently painted, the red glistening under the light. It was pretty dang good, honestly.

You still needed to close the shop, though.