Pantomime Read Online Free Page B

words before.
      "But we can do better!" Mr Ragona said, pumping his fist for emphasis. "We can always push ourselves just that little bit more." He did not pronounce most of his "t"s. "We can add another flip to a routine, raise the tightrope, and teach them animals another trick. There's more seats to be filled, me lovelies."
      "Yes, yes. So you say after every show, Bil. What a surprise to hear the words tonight," the bearded woman said with a smile, and peeled off her beard. The moustache remained. I gasped, for though the beard was fake, the moustache was apparently genuine. The white clown, who was sitting in the seats quite close to me, raised his head and looked around suspiciously. I held my breath and ducked away from the gap for a few moments before putting my eye to it again.
      "And so I'm still waiting for a surprise of a full house, ain't I, my dear Bethany?" he said, winking at her. "I always like surprises." The white clown had gotten up and ambled toward my hiding place. I got up to retreat, but I tripped over a guide rope and landed heavily on my behind.
      "Ah," I said in pain. The canvas lifted and I stared up into the pasty painted face of the white clown.
      "Ah," I said again, for lack of something better. He grabbed me by the hand, lifted me up and dragged me into the tent.
      "Well, I found a surprise for you, Bil."

4
    S UMMER: T HE T RAPEZE
     
 
    "Find any retired aerialist and ask them what they miss the most. It is not the money, or the travel, the costumes, or even the show itself. It is the thrill of flying that they miss. The loss of flight is what haunts them until the end of their days."
    from THE MEMOIRS OF THE SPARROW,
    Aerialist Diane Albright
     
    For a moment, I was weightless, and time almost stopped. My stomach dropped. It was like every other jump I had taken. I grabbed the smooth wooden bar of the trapeze and swooshed through the air. I let out a laugh so loud I knew they could hear it below. It felt so much like flying.
      I used my momentum and swung back and forth across the top of the tent. I saw the girl, Aenea, on the platform, and so I swung the trapeze hard enough that I could land on the other. I jumped from the trapeze and crouched on the small wooden square. Aenea's mouth opened from across the rope.
      "Come on, you," she called, nervous. "Come down from there."
      "You climb down first," I said. "And I'll follow. I want to go down the ladder on your side."
      "Are you mad?" she called. "It's one thing to swing around on a trapeze, but you've not the training to balance on a tightrope!"
      "Who said anything about balancing?" I hooked my ankles and hands around the rope and worked my way slowly across. After travelling a third of the way, I let my legs drop. The girl screamed and the circus workers below cried out. I continued to work my way across using only my hands. The rope burned my hands and my shoulders protested.
      "Start climbing down," I said when I was closer to her. She gave me an inscrutable look and climbed down the rope ladder.
      I made it onto the wooden platform and stood up. People below clapped and cheered, and I bowed before climbing down to the ground. My face was burning crimson. What had come over me?
      Mr Ragona did not look amused. "Well, that sure was stupid," he said.
      "Perhaps, sir," I said.
      Mr Ragona turned to the aerialists. "Could he be trained?"
      "Easily," the man Arik said. Aenea hesitated, but nodded. "Yes."
      He stroked his chin, shrewd. "Where are your parents?" he asked.
      "Dead," I lied.
      The ringmaster narrowed his eyes, considering. "All right. You can stay, for a time. But you'll have to earn your way up. You won't be going near a trapeze again for quite some time." He waved to his workers.
      "Come on, get to your tasks."
      As I followed the crowd out, I clasped my hands together to stop them from shaking.
     
    The workers had made a giant bonfire on the beach. I stood