by JC Konst
wrapped around the center pole. “Don’t move too fast, though,” their guide said, “He’s a crafty one.” He held up his right arm, which was missing a hand entirely, to prove his point.
They crept closer to the shape, and could now see that it was covered in fur. It rustled slightly, and shifted almost imperceptibly. Their guide kept beckoning them to get closer with his good hand.
Suddenly, Jeremy and his mother were staring into glowing yellow eyes, and shiny white fangs that were almost at eye level with Jeremy. A low guttural sound, that sounded suspiciously like “Boo” emanated from between the shiny fangs, and both mother and son bolted out of the tent. The hawker didn’t notice them stare at each other in terror, and then burst into laughter, he was already pitching the show to the next group of unfortunate rubes.
After their harrowing experiences on Freak Row, they decided to again shun the long lines of the rides and headed for Val’s Hall of Heroes. This consisted of a circular arrangement of tents, each offering to amaze the customers with different feats of strength. This was also where the food court was, which may have been the driving motive for Jeremy and his mother to visit the Hall. Neither one was particularly interested in athletic feats, but they needed something to do while they ate their bothersome cotton candy.
These attractions also had their own hawkers, who were eerily similar to the ones they’d seen on Freak Row.
“Why do they all look the same Mom?” Jeremy seemed a little anxious.
“It’s ok, sweetie. It’s just some carney trick. It’s all part of the show.” She ruffled his hair and he smiled.
The first place they stopped was the tent of the Amazing Baldy. A show was already in progress, so they had to wait and listen to the hawker. He advertised Baldy as: “A wonder the likes of which you’ve never seen. A truly indestructible man! Hammers, bricks, nails, and even knives, nothing can harm him! He’ll shatter mortar with his forehead, bend nails in his teeth, break knives with his fingers, all right before your very eyes! Step right up, folks, and witness the eighth wonder of the world, the Amazing Baldy.”
When they finally got into the show, they were treated to a spectacle. Baldy really did all those things, and more. Jeremy was particularly impressed when he bit into a slab of brick, tore off a chunk, and started to chew. That was his finale, and he bowed out to loud, appreciative applause. Mom clapped politely, but she was unimpressed. It didn’t take too much skill to chew fake bricks or bend trick nails. She was mostly entertained by the fact that the Amazing Baldy had long, blonde hair.
After Baldy, they decided to brave the long lines and ride the Ferris Wheel. On the way, Jeremy saw a man playing the Test Your Strength game just outside the Hall of Heroes. Jeremy wanted to see someone win. The guy was big and strong, but when he smacked the lever with his hammer, the ringer got nowhere close to the bell at the top. The game was being run by a man with long blonde hair and a long flowing beard. It wasn’t one of the same hawkers. This man was much bigger, and much younger. Bigger even than his current customer. He was shirtless, and had a big stone hammer hanging from his belt. He laughed and gave the customer some good natured ribbing. He tried again, but the ringer still didn’t reach the top.
A little boy was next in line, and he handed the shirtless carney his money, grabbed the kids hammer, and swung with all his might. The dinger barely moved. The little boy looked longingly at the big stuffed animal at the top of the prize rack, and the man with the hammer just saw Jeremy staring and winked at him. The carney smiled, unlooped the stone hammer from his belt and knelt down behind the little boy. He showed his young patron how to grip the hammer, and then helped him bring it down on top of the lever. The ringer shot right to the top, and struck the bell. The little boy was grinning ear to ear as the carney handed him the big stuffed teddy bear from the top of the prize rack.
But when Jeremy turned to point out the spectacle to his mother, she was gone. He searched frantically in every direction, but she was nowhere to be seen. He wandered a few steps one way, choking back panicked tears, and then went back to where he started. His mother was nowhere to be seen. He was looking and moving so frantically he forgot where he was going. He wound up at the far edge of the fairgrounds, standing in front of a painted trailer. There were no other carnival goers around. He was having trouble holding back the tears now. There was a man leaning against the trailer. He was wearing a long black coat and a wide-brimmed hat. His head was declined so Jeremy couldn’t see his face. He was about to ask for directions when the man’s head suddenly shot up.
He had one glass eye that was completely white, and two big black birds perched on each shoulder. His beard was long, scraggly, and gray. It made him look crazy, and his big toothy grin didn’t help.
“Hello little fellow, would you like to know your future?”
Jeremy was so frightened, he started to back up without saying anything. The crazy man continued to stare at him, and so did his birds. Jeremy suddenly felt pressure on his right shoulder. There was a hand there, holding him steady so he would no longer back away from the man.
“Scaring little children again, are we Dino?” The stranger’s voice was high but firm.
“I haven’t had a damn customer all day.”
“That’s because you’re a bad fortune teller.” Jeremy looked up at his rescuer, and saw a young, beardless man with short blonde hair, staring right at the crazy man.
“I tell them the truth, son.”
“And that’s why you’re bad at it. This is all a big trick, father. There’s no room for honesty in trickery.”
“That’s your department, boy. And I’ll leave you to it, as long as you leave me to mine.” The crazy man turned away, causing his birds to shift their positions slightly on each shoulder. He opened the door to the painted trailer, and disappeared. Jeremy’s rescuer sighed, and then looked down at the frightened young boy.
“I’m sorry you had to hear that. You’ll have to excuse old Dino, He’s just a crazy old man.”
“I heard that!” a loud yell carried from an open window in the trailer. The man sighed again.
“Maybe we should walk a little.”
Jeremy was still too scared to say anything. After they’d moved far enough away, the man turned to his young companion, and saw how upset he was.
“How rude of me, I did not introduce myself. I am the Great Kolisto, stage magician extraordinaire. I kind of run this little outfit. What’s your name, my young friend?”
“Jeremy.”
“Ah, hello Jeremy, a pleasure to meet you.” He stuck out his hand and Jeremy shook it. “Forgive me for prying, but how old are you?”
“I just turned twelve this week.”
“Ah, your twelfth year. Enjoy this while you can, young man. Soon, you’ll be too old for the magic we bring you. Why I remember—”
“I’m sorry, mister…Kolisto.” Jeremy felt bad for interrupting, but the man was starting to ramble. “I really need to find my mother.”
“Well, I bet she told you to meet her at the big tent, am I right?”
Suddenly, Jeremy remembered. And now he wasn’t so scared. “Yeah, she did!. Hey, thanks mister Kolisto, but I have to go. She’s probably worried sick.”
“Wait, just a second young man. Didn’t you say you had a birthday this week?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Well, I hid your birthday present behind your ear.” The man reached behind Jeremy’s head, but his hand came away empty, and he looked surprised. Then his eyes lit up. “Oh I remember, it was up your nose.”
He tapped the tip of Jeremy’s nose, and without warning Jeremy sneezed. The man was holding two tickets in the hand that had tapped his nose. “Here young Jeremy, two tickets to my magic show this evening. One for you, and one for your mother.”
“Oh thank you sir, but I can’t accept these. I think my mother’s going to be mad at me, and that we’ll have to leave after I find her at the big tent.”
“Tell you what, I’ll walk you
over to the big tent, and I’ll ask her if you can stay, how’s that?”
“Okay.”
Kolisto walked Jeremy all the way back through the Carnival’s many twists and turns. Jeremy was amazed he’d gotten himself so lost in his panicked rush. But Kolisto knew the fairgrounds like the back of his hand. He led the boy through every twist and turn without ever having to guess, and in a few minutes he’d led Jeremy out into the promenade surrounding the big tent. Jeremy’s mother wasn’t too hard to find. She was the dark haired, older woman looking around nervously and impatiently. She saw Jeremy before he saw her.
“Jeremy Deviln, get over here this instant!” The anxiety and worry had apparently given way to anger. Fortunately, mister Kolisto spoke up before Jeremy could apologize.
“Entirely my fault Mrs. Devlin. Or is it Ms. Devlin?” the magician took her hand with a sly grin and kissed it lightly, melting even more of the anger away.
“It’s actually recently Miss.”
“Well, that is a pity my dear.” Jeremy saw him flash her a coy smile, and she couldn’t help but blush. “As I was saying, I sort of Bogarted your young son here, because a little bird told me he had a birthday this week. I offered the young man two tickets to my show this evening, but he turned them down. He thought only of his poor, distraught mother, even as I waved temptation in front of him. Such a good boy.” He patted Jeremy on the head.
“I’m sorry mister, ummm…”
“Kolisto, ma’am. The Great Kolisto.”
“I’m sorry mister Kolisto, but I’m sure Jeremy and I are both very tired. We’ve been here all day, and it’s been dark for hours. It’s about time we got home.”
“After dark is the best time to be at a carnival.”
“Not when you’re raising a twelve-year old boy.”
The magician bowed his head and smiled, realizing that he was beaten. “I’ve been a professional trickster for longer than I, or anyone, can remember, but I can never manage to outfox a mother.” He winked at Jeremy. “Would you hand me those tickets, Jeremy?” Jeremy retrieved the tickets from his pocket and put them in the magician’s hand.
He proceeded to calmly tear them into small pieces, and put them in a little pile in his hand. He snapped his fingers, and the pile caught fire. Jeremy’s mother gasped, and Jeremy just stared, horrified. Kolisto closed his hand around the fire, then rotated his fist so that his knuckles were now facing up.
“Hold out your hand, Jeremy.”
Jeremy cupped his hands, and when Kolisto opened his fist, a small necklace fell into the boy’s waiting palms. It was a simple leather strap with a small medallion, engraved with the Carnival’s symbol of a stylized snake, coiled in a hypnotic spiral. Jeremy was amazed at the trick and thankful for the gift, yet he couldn’t manage to say anything. The magician just smiled.
“That took a lot out of me, you know. I really don’t like snakes. Really. My dad picked the logo when he still ran things.” Kolisto looked off into the distance wistfully, and his form seemed to shift. For a second, it looked like there was a skinny, old man with a copious white beard that nearly reached the ground where the young magician once stood. Then he shook his head, came back to reality, and turned to Jeremy’s mother.
“And you, my dear, get these.” He leaned in close to Jeremy’s mother, slowly reached behind her head, a sly grin on his face the whole way, and slowly drew back his hand, revealing two different, fancier tickets in his once-empty hand. “These are two tickets for next year’s carnival. He’ll be 13 by then, but I expect you to bring him back. You only get a small window to share our magic, and then one day, poof! They’re too old or too busy or too preoccupied, and they forget about us, like so many people have. Bring him back, Ms. Devlin. Every young boy needs to see some real magic once in a while.”
He turned to leave, but before he could get out of earshot, Jeremy finally found his voice: “Will you come back next year?”
The magician turned, and flashed the boy a toothy grin, and his eyes narrowed while his left eyebrow lifted above his right.
“My dear boy, we come back every year.” He turned away with a flourish, and was soon swallowed up by the bustle of the crowd around the big tent. It was as if no one had seen him come or go, no one but the awestruck mother and son, who were left staring at where the magician had once been, and now could only see the twinkling of the Carnival lights in the deep darkness of the evening.