The Tiny Ringmaster

by Clark, Jennifer

  Eritol ran by them in a flash. He headed straight for the coffee without stopping to say hello. When he realized his mistake, he called over his shoulder, “I'll talk to you gals soon! Got to grab some breakfast!” Ruth was surprised that the man could move that fast. Ginger looked down at Ruth. “Ruth, I'm going to let you fend for yourself. See that you get some breakfast, and don't mind this bustle. I've got to hurry off to practice. Eritol will come and get you when he's ready. Wander around in the meantime, and don't worry about getting lost.”

  Before Ruth had time to nod, Ginger scurried over to the buffet, grabbed a bagel and ran out of the room. Ruth was a little intimated. What did Ginger mean? She was just supposed to wander around? Ruth didn’t appreciate the lack of direction.

  A loud whistle rang. Ruth couldn't figure out where it came from. If it were possible, everyone started moving faster. The last few bites were swallowed, and everyone made mad dashes for the door. Ruth slowly strolled to the buffet and tried to not get run over in the process.

  The buffet had every breakfast food imaginable. She grabbed some of her favorites - chocolate chip pancakes, cheesy grits, and scrambled eggs. She eyed the coffee pot. Her mom never let her have even a sip, and she debated pouring herself an entire cup. She sighed as she decided against it. She grabbed a glass of orange juice instead.

  Ruth found a cozy seat and placed her food down. To her surprise, the room was already cleaned. She surveyed the room, looking around to see who could have possibly cleaned it in the two minutes that she was staring at the pancakes. She didn't notice anyone. She shrugged and decided that she wanted chocolate milk too, so she walked back to drink station. As she picked up a glass, she noticed Lucin. He was walking towards her table and muttering something. Ruth called out to him.

  “Hey Lucin! How's it going?”

  Lucin looked at her and scowled. “Do you know what time breakfast is? You're late! And now I have to wait for you to finish!”

  Ruth felt bad. “I'm sorry Lucin. I'll try to hurry.”

  Ruth heard someone clear their throat, “That will not be necessary Ruth. Lucin, quit bullying our guest. You know very well that breakfast is served until 2 PM. It is not even 10 yet. Go find someone else to bother.”

  Lucin mumbled, and Tryfod shooed him away. Lucin disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. “Ruth, I hope you weren't bothered by Lucin. He can be quite... well... untamable.”

  Ruth shook her head, “No, I just didn't want to get in his way.”

  “His only job is to serve you, child.”

  Ruth wasn't sure how she felt about someone serving her. Tryfod motioned for her to sit down and eat her breakfast. “What's the matter, Mistress Ruth?”

  Ruth sighed. “Tryfod, I'm really confused.” Ruth played with her chocolate chip pancakes and scrunched her mouth. “Well, I'm not sure that you'll know either... I live somewhere... else. I don't even know if it's in the same universe, but it is very far away. Yesterday, when I woke up, I thought I would be here, but I wasn't. I was at home. I thought this was all a dream, and I had a terrible day. Now, I'm here, and I'm afraid that I'm missing band practice, and I'll get in trouble over my homework. Not to mention how worried my mom is going to be.”

  Ruth continued, “So I'm trying to figure out if this is a dream, why does it feel so real? And if it's not, what’s going on?” Tryfod sighed. “I was hoping it would be a few more days until we had to talk about this. I'll try to explain it as simply as I can… You are in both places. I know it seems odd, but at this very moment, you are still sleeping in your bed.”

  Ruth seemed relieved at this answer, “I am? But how is that possible? To be in two places at once?”

  “Because, dear Ruth, you are not an ordinary girl. You are extremely special. You are of this world and of the world you know, which is why you are so important. As you can remember, the visioner told us that we are descendants of the heavens. While we aren't divine in any way, we do possess special powers. This is another world, very far away from yours.”

  Ruth looked up at Tryfod. She wasn't entirely confused, but she wasn't exactly sure that she knew what he was talking about either. “So you’re half wizard?” Tryfod let out a hearty laugh. “No, no. We aren't wizards. We come from a line of magical creatures. They are the beings responsible for planting the trees and painting the sky – but I'm getting ahead of myself.”

  “Wait a minute, wait a minute. So my life is continuing on right now? As we speak, I’m doing something else at home?” Tryfod shook his head. “No. You are sleeping at home. Time passes by much quicker here.”

  “But... will...”

  Tryfod interrupted, “That's enough questions for now. Now, I've got a question to ask you.”

  “Yes?”

  “Are you willing to accept this quest? We need you Ruth. And from what I've told you, I'm sure you've figured out that this can only be you. It cannot be anyone else.”

  Ruth paused. She felt like Tryfod was hiding something, and she wasn’t sure she believed everything she heard. But she was here, so she figured she could make the most of it.

  “I accept.”

  Tryfod left, and Eritol would be coming to find her soon. On one hand, she was excited. On the other hand, Ruth was doubtful. She wasn’t sure how she was going to pull this off. She couldn't even enjoy her chocolate chip pancakes after all that news. What a waste!

  She wandered around to get a better peek at everything. A little further down the hall there was a lunch room. It looked more like a cafeteria with long tables and plastic orange chairs. A menu was posted outside the door. Lunch today was chicken fried steak. Ruth turned up her nose. She hated chicken fried steak. Before her eyes, the words on the menu began to change. Now, the menu said spaghetti. Ruth looked around searching for an answer. She had just changed the menu. She quickly stepped away before anyone noticed.

  A loud blast of music rang out from the room at the end of the hall. When she reached the doorway to the room, she hesitated. The music blasted again, so she gathered enough courage to peek her head in. In the corner of the room, Eritol swayed his hands to the music. A miniature circus covered the entire floor. As Ruth peered more closely at the little model circus, she noticed movement, but couldn’t make out what the little models were doing. She must have made a sound because Eritol looked up frightened. The model disappeared. Eritol looked like a deer in the headlights.

  “I'm sorry Eritol… I heard music, and Tryfod and Ginger said that it would be ok to wander, so I did… and I scared you…”

  Eritol smiled palely. “It's just my old heart. Can't take surprises like it used to. Come in, come in!!”

  Ruth wasn't sure if she could walk through the middle of the room where the mini circus had just appeared. Eritol must have sensed her hesitation and laughed.

  “Oh child! It was just a mind trick!” Ruth walked into the room. Eritol pointed to a chair in the corner of the room. “Here, why don't you sit there and watch.” Ruth nodded and sat on the stool. The room wasn’t very large, but it was filled with sunshine. The carpet was bright red, and the walls were white.

  She watched intently as Eritol closed his eyes and with one swoop of his hand, created the apparition again. He went back to work, like a conductor of an orchestra. From this angle, Ruth could tell that movement inside the tiny circus was actually tiny versions of everyone that she had met. She blinked twice and then screamed. The vision went away.

  Eritol had turned as white as the walls. Ruth waited for him to speak. Eritol opened and closed his mouth a few times while trying to form a coherent thought. “I…uh… well, Ruth… umm… what you just saw…eh… there’s nothing to be afraid of.” Ruth scowled slightly. “What do you mean?”

  Eritol cleared his throat nervously, “I mean ummm, your mind wasn’t playing any tricks on you… but it’s all normal, and I can explain everything.” He was breathing heavily and had to lean up against the wall. After catching his breath, he knelt on the floor next to Ruth. Even at hal
f-mast, he towered over the small child. “Please don’t be frightened, sweet Ruth. I promised Tryfod that I wouldn’t scare you, and I have done exactly that. I’m a terrible, terrible teacher.”

  Ruth stretched to put her small hand on the giant’s shoulder. “It’s ok Eritol… I was just… startled. I… I… I saw a tiny Ginger… What were you just doing with the model circus?”

  Eritol was returning to his normal color. “I was practicing.”

  “Practicing on what? How did you create that thing that you just did?”

  “Ok… The vision that I created was, well, it is a smaller version of our circus. It's my duty to answer questions. So every other hour, I create the vision and check on everyone.”

  Ruth thought about this for a moment. “So you just speak, and they can here you?”

  “Yes, the practice rooms we have are equipped for this.”

  “So how does it work?”

  Eritol looked nervous again. “Well… ummm… after a lot of practice… it just does. It works.”

  Ruth slowly nodded as she realized the game that they were playing. Eritol wasn’t going to give her answers easily. “So do I get to learn magic too?”

  Eritol sighed, “Well, perhaps… a little.”

  Ruth stared at Eritol, determined to get a worthwhile answer. Eritol didn’t budge.

  “Hm... You won't learn any hocus pocus magic tricks here…No siree. And our magic only works here. You won’t be able to do anything I show you at home.”

  Ruth was defeated and angry. What was the point if she couldn’t go home and confuse her brother and win the talent show? She held back an eye roll.

  “Eritol, do you mind if I take a walk?” Eritol pursed his lips sadly and shook his head gravely as Ruth slumped out of the room.

  Ruth wasn’t sure where to go, so she just kept walking down the hall. She wasn’t paying attention to the many rooms she passed; she was just searching for a place to hide. Finally, she reached the end of the hall. To the right was another long hallway that stretched on for days. To the left was a door to the outside. She walked out of the doorway into the daylight. She realized that she hadn't taken a look at the outside of this place since the day she arrived. She spotted a rock underneath a tree about 50 yards away. She walked out to it, took a deep breath, and sat down. She was content to sit here and wallow in her pity until she woke up at home.

  She could here all the practicing going on. That's the only reason that they had all been so nice to her - they needed something. Ruth thought they were all her friends and now she wasn't so sure. From the doorway, she caught Eritol, Ginger, and Tryfod peeking out at her. They were probably about to march over and give her some lecture about how important she was. It didn’t matter though, because she didn't want to hear it. To her surprise, all three disappeared.

  “Figures.”

  She looked down at her feet and the grass. The grass was especially green, and she liked this tree she was sitting underneath. It felt cozy. When she looked up, she saw a little girl standing a little further out in the forest. She sat up straighter. She definitely hadn't seen any other children. The little girl giggled and gestured for Ruth to follow as she ran off deeper into the forest.

  The girls continued to giggle as they ran. The trees were much larger than Ruth realized the first night. They stretched into the sky as far as the eye could see. She stopped momentarily to look up. The other littler girl stopped ahead. “Ruth!” Ruth smiled at the mention of her name and began following once more.

  The little girl ran ahead quickly, and Ruth struggled to keep up. The little girl knew every branch, log, and fallen limb, so she jumped and dashed around with ease. Ruth, on the other hand, had to slow down every time she noticed a new obstacle.

  The little girl suddenly stopped, and Ruth halted right beside her. At first, Ruth didn't know why the little girl had stopped, and then she looked ahead. A large misty pond with a ring of waterfalls sat serenely between the dense trees. A taller waterfall fell from the side of a cliff, and it was surrounded by other smaller waterfalls. All of the water fell softly into the pond, making tiny tinkling sounds like a piano.

  Ruth walked quietly around the pond. She was memorized by the water. The pitter patter of the pond and the cover of the trees made her feel happy and safe. Ruth sat down on a stump while the other little girl splashed in the water. She signaled for Ruth to join her, but Ruth didn’t want to get wet. A goofy grin came across Ruth’s face. She felt like she just had some of Eliza’s hot chocolate. The waterfalls were just so pretty. The lights peeking from the trees created a dazzling glow around the spot. Ruth just couldn’t tear her eyes away. The pond was her new oasis.

  The little girl skipped across the pond on a little path made of rocks to a tunnel between the waterfalls. Ruth hadn’t noticed the tunnel until just then. She smiled at the little girl and wondered who she was. She was overjoyed to see someone her size, but she didn’t know why they hadn’t been introduced before. Ruth stood up dizzily to get a closer look at the little tunnel. The girl certainly knew her way around the forest. Ruth marveled at what treasures might lay just beyond the waterfall. She took the first step out onto a rock.

  “RUTH!!! RUUUTTTTTHHHH!!!”

  Ruth turned around startled and shaking. She saw Tryfod and Eritol bounding toward her. She looked back at the little girl, but she was gone! Ruth rolled her eyes and stood at the edge of the pond with her arms crossed. The light was dimmer, and the water sounded harsher. Ruth was beginning to think Tryfod ruined everything. Tryfod spoke first.

  “Child! Why would you go running into the forest?! It’s dangerous out here!”

  Ruth halted a second eye roll. “I was just following my friend…” She turned around and pointed toward the tunnel hoping the small girl would appear again, but she was long gone. Tryfod wasn’t impressed. “There’s no need to blame irresponsible behavior on an imaginary friend! We need to get you back before you catch your death of cold!”

  Eritol wrapped her in a blanket, and she followed his lead. She hadn’t felt the cold until she was wrapped securely in the warm blanket. One last time, she turned around. The little girl’s face was barely peeking from within the tunnel. She waved goodbye to Ruth, and Ruth waved back sneakily as she mouthed, “I’ll be back.” The little girl grinned and nodded before she disappeared into the tunnel.

  Tryfod expressed his concern on the walk back. “Strange things happen in this forest Ruth. Remember, this isn’t your world anymore. You must be careful.”

  Tryfod had softened on the cold walk and changed the subject as they entered the tent. “So Eritol tells me that you wanted to learn a little bit of magic?” Ruth shrugged her shoulders, and Tryfod realized she was still upset from the lecture. “Get some lunch, sweet Ruth. We have a big practice this afternoon. You are going to shadow Eritol.” Ruth perked up a little. “Shadow Eritol how?” Tryfod gave Ruth the most reassuring smile he could muster. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

  When it came time, Ruth followed Eritol into the performing tent. She was told she had to mimic Eritol's movements on a shorter, smaller podium next to Eritol's that they built just for her.

  As soon as they stepped inside the practice tent, Ruth was overwhelmed with the activity. Animals roared and sounded; tight ropers swirled and hopped; Ginger and the dancers spinned and leaped. It was a cacophony of circus noise. They all wore their costumes, and the bright colors were blinding. Green, red, blue, yellow, orange, purple, pink, white – every color of the rainbow.

  She followed behind Eritol timidly as he made his way to his post. She was still tired and a little dizzy from her forest adventure. Everyone stopped what they were doing when they saw Eritol’s large frame looming towards them. Eritol hopped up on his podium, and Ruth quickly did the same. Eritol broke out into a huge grin, “Alright, places, places! Let's get started!”

  From that moment on, Ruth did everything she could to keep up. Eritol had a thousand different hand movements to cue the next act
or next trick. He didn't talk much except for a joke or an introduction. Ruth felt panic take hold. She could barely get her band to stay together and play well for one song. How was she going to co-lead an entire circus? The practice passed by in a blur, and before Ruth knew it, they were all taking a break. Ruth shook out her tired arms and sat down wearily.

  After an all-too-short break, they began once again. Ruth still struggled to keep up with Eritol, and she was so sleepy that everything just felt like a haze. She watched Eritol and did what she could. It felt like only moments later when Eritol said it was break time again. Ruth was confused. “Eritol, where is everyone going? We just took a break.”

  “It's naptime child!”

  Ruth was extremely grateful. She couldn't wait to take a nap. She thought learning what she was supposed to do would make things easier, but now it just felt even more impossible. She couldn’t remember exactly where her room was, so she followed a few people out of the tent. Luckily, she spotted Ginger, and Ginger happily agreed to walk with her.

  The two walked in silence for a while. The halls became quieter and quieter as everyone left for their rooms.

  “Ginger?”

  “Yes dear?”

  “I'm not feeling very well.”

  “Did you eat too much at lunch? I can get you some peppermint tea.”

  “No, no. It's not that. I just. I don't think I'm cut out for this. And I'm lonely… and… and… a little scared.” Ruth swallowed her tears, and Ginger proceeded carefully.

  “What are you scared about?”

  “Not being able to help, and not being able to go home.”

  Ginger nodded. “Do you think that you're going to let us down?”

  Ruth brushed away a tear that escaped from her eye. “I don't think I'm good enough.”