Cirque De Soleil by woooooooooooo (great reads .TXT) 📖

Bendy Twenty flipped and cart wheeled in the centre as some music started. Once there they didn’t stop they flipped and jumped into a large nineteen people pyramid. I couldn’t understand how they managed it with such an odd number, but they did. After a loud applause they flipped out all at once. I was expecting those at the top just to fall but all nineteen landed with style in a perfect circle. I could just see the gap that Bradley would have normally have been. In two they flipped from one side of the circle to another. They looked choreographed as three started to flipping at the same time. Suddenly the music stopped. All of them froze. Those in the middle of flipping froze in handstands.
A more upbeat tune started and all of a sudden they flipped and cart wheeled in different directions, some crossing the middle, others going around the outside and a few flipping down in between the different stands. It was hard to keep an eye on all of them. The routine was complex but impressive. I had never seen such a brilliant Gymnastic performance. Bending, flipping, twirling in mid-air, leaping and cart wheeling repetitively
As the music pecked so did the gymnasts, suddenly their performance seemed even more impressive and then the light went out.
The crowd erupted into a cheer.
Alec’s voice came over a loud speaker, “Next, to feast your eyes on magical occurrences is The Great Samuel.”
When the light came on, nobody was there. The only thing in the circle was a table of different equipment and his large can of milk.. When suddenly there was a puff of smoke in the centre. You could just see the dark shadow amerced in it. The Great Samuel stepped out of the smoke.
“Hello, hello” he said with a cheeky grin on his face.
I had never seen tricks like the ones The Great Samuel did. Some of the things I thought were impossible. Levitation. Making things vanish into mid-air and reappearing. And eventually he brought forward his can of milk. He pulled a random person from one of the other stands – a young lad about nine.
“What’s your name?”
“Billy”
“Billy, have you got any experience of escaping a can of Milk?”
Billy shook his head. “You’re not going to make me get in there are you?”
The Great Samuel laughed.
“Of course not, all you have to do is tell everybody what you can see inside” said The Great Samuel.
“It’s full of Milk” commented Billy as The Great Samuel picked him up so he could see over the edge.
Alec walked on with the lid and clear bag filled with Padlocks. Under his arms where two rings of fabric.
“And can you inspect the can and tell the audience if there’s any other way out apart from the top?” asked The Great Samuel.
Billy looked carefully around the can of milk, inspecting every nick and cranny. He shook his head and then said, “You can only get out through the lid”
The Great Samuel nodded. He started to climb in to the can of milk. Alec put the ring of fabric around the can of milk – on the floor. And then put another a few metres away.
The Great Samuel took a deep breath and then submerged himself. Alec placed the lid on and with the help of Billy he put on all of the padlocks.
Both of them stepped back.
The ring of fabric shot up, taking the can of milk out of view for all of the audience. Nobody could see anything. Then the other ring of fabric shot up. The one hiding the can of milk dropped. The can of milk was still padlocked. Everybody was deadly silent. I knew what was running through their minds – he had failed? Is he still stuck in there? Shouldn’t somebody go and help him?
Just then the other ring of fabric dropped revealing The Great Samuel, covered in milk. There was a gasp and then an eruption of cheering and clapping. The Great Samuel then bowed and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Next was Type-rope Tammy. She started on one side of the rope on a platform. Everybody looked up at her, in a deadly silence. She had nothing holding her up there. All she had was a pole to help with her balance. Her journey across the rope was slow and tense. Even from down here you could see the cool expression on her face. She didn’t look panicked or worried. She didn’t even looked like she was concentrating on the type robe.
The Gresley Twins came on next and did a collection of Gymnastics and martial arts. There performance was brilliant. They did a good collection that choreographed well with the music that they played.
The Switchboards and The Dropping Dancers go all together in a spectacular performance of flipping and twirling in mid air to music. The Switchboards were in the centre while The Dropping Dancers were on either side of them.
Slowly the music slowed. The Dropping Dancers dropped down their fabric onto the floor while the Switchboards were slowly lowered down.
All of the performers entered the stage as the audience broke into a round of applause. The performers got a standing ovation, started by Bradley. The performers took a bow. The lights went out. We sat for a few moments in pitch black. When the lights had come back up, they had gone. I looked about for any indication of where they were, but I noticed even Bradley had gone from my side.
I sighed as I stood up with Amelia’s family. Alec was nowhere to be seen. None of them were. I followed Amelia out of the tent and back to her car. I knew I could see them tomorrow but I wanted to see at least Alec now. As I opened the car door I heard him, “Lamia”
I turned to see Alec heading in my direction, Choppy close behind him. Amelia and her brother quickly leapt into the car at the sight of Choppy. I should have warned them that he was a big dog – they are absolutely terrified of big dogs. Choppy came to my side. He sat as I stroked behind him ear.
“Did you enjoy the show?” he asked.
“Yeah” I replied, slightly too loud.
“I just came to make sure you were alright. The other two are experiencing a bit of queasiness from the law defining journey” he said, with a slight smile on his face.
“No, I feel fine.” I said as I patted Choppy on the head.
“Well, you know where to find me if you start to feel bad. Have a nice night Lamia”
“I will” I bent down and gave Choppy a kiss on the head and whispered into the dogs ear, “give him a big sloppy kiss for me”
Choppy barked as though he could understand what I had just said. I took it as a ‘will do Lamia’. I hoped so. I would love to see Alec’s face when a dog as big as Choppy gave him a big sloppy dog kiss.
“Choppy” called Alec as he took a step away from the car.
“Can I come round tomorrow?” I asked as Choppy ran to Alec’s side.
“Anytime Lamia”
The car journey back to Amelia’s was hard. Everybody was tired and ready for bed, except for me. All I wanted to do was to go back to the Cirque and spend some time with Alec and Choppy. I kept my feelings to myself, though I couldn’t help but stare depressively out of the car window, watching the trees fly by.
Soon enough Amelia and her family found themselves where they wanted to be, but I found myself miles away from where I wanted to be. They dropped to sleep instantly but not me. I could never sleep feeling so out of place. I felt like I wasn’t supposed to be in this super comfy air mattress. I felt like I wasn’t supposed to be in this warm and toasty house. I felt like an intruder in forbidden space.
When I finally fell asleep, my Cirque dream returned, just as it has done every night since I met Alec. It was strange going so long without having a nightmare. My nightmares were consistent in one fact – abandonment. In every single dream, no matter who it was, they was walking away from me. No matter how fast I ran I wouldn’t be able to catch up with them. I was glad to finally have gotten rid of them. But I couldn’t understand how they would just disappear the way they have. I wouldn’t even have thought it possible.
As soon as I was awake and fed, I said my farewells to Amelia and her family. They did give me a farewell back but all of them were about to drop back off to sleep at the breakfast table. I couldn’t help but hide a snigger as I walked out of the door.
When I arrived I was greeted by a heard of the performers. All of them asked me the same questions, so I gave them the same answers. I made my way to Choppy and Alec. When I walked in, I saw Alec on the sofa. Choppy was on top of him, giving him the big sloppy god kiss that I had told him to do. I stifled a giggle. Both turned my way. Choppy dashed to me and licked my cheek.
“Good boy, Choppy. Go and get your ball I will come and play with you in a minute” I said.
I walked to Alex and pulled him up.
“Good morning” I said, “Sorry for interrupting your fun”
“Not fun.” He grumbled. “I don’t know what had gotten into him, he just started licking me.” I stifled another giggle with my hand.
“What are you laughing at? I might just get him to do that to you”
“I’m not laughing” I said trying to keep my laughing quiet.
“Did you enjoy last night’s show?” he asked me, as he sat back down.
“It was brilliant. You didn’t tell me you could teleport people” I replied.
“I didn’t want to spoil the best bit. Sam had already spoilt his best trick and I wasn’t going to make the same mistake. Not in a million years”
“Well all of us where impressed”
“Thank you. I will pass on your message to the other performers”
Every day I visited Alec and the Cirque. I felt like one of them. I sat and watched as they practiced. I would help them if they needed it, like Samuel with his milk can trick or Alec’s teleportation trick. I felt happy, elated, genuinely upbeat when I was with them. The orphanage must have seen the change in me. They allowed me extra hours outside of the orphanage. I could spent longer after school with the Cirque and longer at the weekends. I was allowed to stay out even during meal times – I ate with the Cirque now.
Little did I know it wasn’t to last.

CHAPTER FOUR
Monday November 28th. The first set of snow had fallen. It had restricted my visiting hours. The orphanage wanted me home before meal times now. They didn’t want me freezing to death at the cirque. I savoured every moment at the cirque every day, just so I could mourn on it at night. It fed my dreams of the cirque, well, the one dream.
I had spent the last few hours playing with The Gresley Twins. We were having a snowball fight. I must admit it wasn’t fair, two male acrobats against one single fifteen year old girl. I did have Choppy but he wasn’t much help, he just ran around barking.