Circus Solace (6 page)

“Waiting for something to make things right, at least. Glad it’s you two and some real connection to it all. The past, I mean.” 

“Lucas here is a chameleon, boys. A shape-shifter. In his day, he could take on any figure or form known to the town of Moon-Dip Falls.” Marcus began to reel off some of his friend’s impressions and performances, as if he were just about to enter onto the stage. Lucas looked up from his plate.    

“Best times of my life, you understand. Then that no-good trickster came into town and ran us all off like we were no good
Carney-thieves.” He shook his head and a couple of leaves scattered from his scalp and onto the floor.

“So why didn’t you become famous?” Matt asked and saw his question create a huge, sad laugh in the man.
 

“I did work, went all around the world, found some fame in
Russia for a time, but it was all so sour. Folks saw what I could do and all they wanted was to impersonate some big-wig in power and for me to lie looking like someone else. It was always some sort of scheme or machination involved. Plus, the world grew so fast and I ended up taking on so many things and shapes and sizes, my mind just about cracked open from all the stresses and strains I was putting it under. Then I got a bad case of pollution sickness and that nearly did for me. In the end, I decided to get back to nature where it’s clean and quiet. I remembered this place and I set up shop here. Got better, got stronger and found me some peace at long last.” He looked right at Matt and winked his ma’s wink. “At least, I
did
have some quiet…”

“We won’t disturb you if you want us to leave you be,”
Pa said quickly but Lucas was already grinning. Matt noticed his teeth were already becoming a lighter shade of green, almost silver; he was absorbing the texture and colour of the cakes.

“You’ll need the treasure. Let’s go down the cave and get Max.” Lucas jumped off his tree stump and the rest of them followed.

“You’ll still with Max?” Marcus asked.

“Once the tour ended, he told me he had nowhere else to go.” He looked round to Matt and smiled; the teeth were now perfectly, pearly white. “Max was my bodyguard while I went on tour. Some of the people I refused didn’t hear ‘no’ too often.”

“Why does he stay in a cave? Why not stay with you?” Matt asked. He felt bad for this Max and the idea he’d spent all his time in the darkness.

“It would be his choice,” Marcus said. “He c
an’t stay in direct sunlight for too long. It would…affect him.” Matt felt his pulse spike.

“You don’t mean he’s a…vampire?” Matt glanced round to
Pa and saw he was waiting to hear too, as if he’d been thinking the same thing.

“No, no, no, not a vampire, of course not,” Marcus said quickly.

“He’s a zombie,” Lucas added, as they turned a hard left and stepped into a cave littered with a trail of weak candles.

             
                                                        *

“Max?” Lucas called out. His voice echoed down the long, slick chamber. “I’ve brought Marcus and two friends along. Were you sleeping?”

“
Not sleeping
,” came a long, slow answer. The voice was impossibly deep, as if it were a part of the cave itself, embedded in the walls. Slowly, a big, loping figure came ambling out from the far corner and into the light. Matt watched as the long, thin monster staggered over towards them. In his hand was a book, which he delicately set down. As he came closer Matt saw reading glasses around his neck.

“
Shakespeare
,” he said and smiled shyly, careful not to reveal any teeth.

“Everyone, this is Max Everheart,” Lucas said and led the introductions. Max waved to each of them, rather than shake hands and it was clear to see why. He was thin to the point of skeletal and the skin looked as if it could peel away at any moment.
His eyes were wet and grey and his cheeks almost poked through the thin layer of skin.

“
Like to read
,” he muttered, pointing to the book and Lucas smiled broadly, as if he was doing it for both of them.

“Always was a reader
, this one. Every moment he wasn’t at work, he always had a book in his hand.” Lucas pointed to Matt and Pa. “They’ve come for the treasure troves, Max. They’re part of the family on the hill.” Matt saw the expression change in Max’s face. His eyes widened just a flicker and when he drew a hand up to his mouth, Matt could see it was shaking.

“
Goodness
,” he managed to whisper and then seemed to control himself. Without another word, he turned and began walking down the cave, pointing to the candles on either side as a way of warning them to keep inside the path. They followed and Matt bent down to scoop up the book, seeing how Max had clearly forgotten about it with the news.

After a while they came to a sunken bed in the cave. Max wandered over to a stack of small boulders and in the blink of an eye, lifted them, one by one. Matt gasped at the ease with which he plucked them out of the ground and Lucas leaned over to explain.

“He was a strongman when he was turned, like a wrestler. The guy was a wizard and made it stay in his bones, even after everything else changed. So Max here, his strength is linked to the bones and not the flesh. You wouldn’t think to look at him right now, but he’s as strong as all of us put together, times ten.” He winked at Matt and they both looked back to see the last of the rocks stack up against the wall. Four strong boxes were now plain to see. Matt guessed by the size of them that they were the boxes that had once been in the attic.

“She came to us when she was leaving and told us to guard them,” Lucas said in a hushed tone. “She was so sad to be leaving them
behind. It just about broke my heart. So we thought about it and wanted to pick a place where the clown couldn’t get anywhere near. We thought a narrow path would be too tricky for his boots and a cave too dark for a brightly lit monster like him.”

“No clown likes the dark,” Marcus whispered to Matt, who
stood, transfixed by it all.

“
Safe here
,” Max muttered and nodded. Matt saw he had edged to the side of the cave and it occurred to Matt why. Max was shy: from the moment he made his way over, to the way he stayed directly out of the flicker of the candlelight, he didn’t want to be seen. He wasn’t devious or sinister but self-conscious.

“You did a g
ood job here, my friend, the best,” Lucas said as he marched over to the first box. He looked round and Max tossed him a bunch of keys from his waist. Slowly, carefully, Lucas opened up each of the four boxes and then ushered Matt and Pa over to see what was inside. Matt and Pa peered into each of the boxes. The first one was stuffed full of costumes; each had a thin sheen of what looked like silk over them. Matt put his fingertip out to touch.

“Silk,” Lucas said behind him. “Preserves the garments perfectly.”
Matt nodded and was faintly aware that the three of them had all taken a step back, to give Matt and Pa time alone with the treasure troves.

The second box was full of trinkets and tricks and muskets and scarves. This was the prop box, Matt realised. These were things that had to be handled by
professionals he thought suddenly and forced his hand back to his side. The third box was full of paperwork, each page filed in plastic. Matt held one up and saw it was some sort of property deed. He went through them quickly and noticed there were two types of papers: those with red outlines which were official documents and those tinged blue which were scripts. Matt pulled one of these out and held it up to the weak light. It was an introduction to an act, with bracketed pauses to explain how to wait for applause. Matt read down the page and found himself grinning, almost laughing out loud at what was written down. He turned to show Pa and then stopped in his tracks.

P
a was holding one of the photos that came from box four. Matt made his way over and saw a framed shot of his ma, perfectly balanced on a tightrope. She was not much older than Matt in the photo and her smile was so bright and beaming it almost burst from the sheet. He looked up to Pa and in the next moment the two of them were hugging. Matt closed his eyes and felt the photo crackle against his back. It was almost as if his ma was part of the embrace.

Eventually, the others joined them and Marcus explained the contents of each box. The deeds were necessary to keep the house out of the clown’s clutches and the rest were what made up the circus’ act for so many years.
It was decided that they would carry the boxes back to the house now it was safe from looters and under watchful eyes. Each of the men took a crate and Matt held the pen light at the front to guide them back. Soon, they had navigated their way down the candle path back amongst the shrubs and into the clearing. The moon was a full beam and Matt lowered his light. He looked back and saw Pa talking to Marcus on his left and Lucas on his right. Max was a little way in-front, walking on his own. Matt slowed a little, until they were almost walking side by side.

“I’ve got your book,” Matt said and held it up to the light. “I didn’t want anyone to step on it.” Max nodded his thanks and for a while the two of them walked through the long grasses in a contented silence.

“
I juggle
,” Max said quietly and Matt looked over immediately. “
When I’m not being strong for Lucas. I like to juggle. I learnt in the caves.”

“Could you show me?” Matt said and saw Max hesitate for a second, then nod. “I’ve always wanted to know how to juggle.”

“
I used to watch your ma
,” Max said as the house came into view. “
She taught me
.”         

Matt opened his mouth to speak but no words came out.
Max gently switched the case under one arm and patted Matt’s shoulder with his free hand. Matt looked at him and the moon framed his face perfectly for a moment; his eyes were filled with sadness but there was a speck of happiness in amongst them, too. The others caught them up and together, as a band, they stepped alongside the moonlight and into the house.

             
                            *

“Couldn’t sleep?”
Pa said, smiling, as they sat over breakfast. The two of them had made a pact not to look at the photos the night before, for fear of staying up all hours. Instead, they agreed on an early breakfast and then going through the first box together.              

“Not so much,” Matt replied, buttering his toast. The four crates were stacked in the corner of the other room. Lucas and Marcus were visiting later to go through the other three, allowing them time with the photographs.

“It’s time then, I guess,” Pa said, wiping down his fingers and taking his plate over to the sink. Matt followed suit and the two of them lifted the top box down onto the centre of the floor. The lock was loose and Pa lifted it with ease. Together they stood one at each end and began to work through the photos.

Each
shot was a perfect ten by eight shot. Most of them were in black and white, which instead of making the scenes appear flatter, actually made them seem more detailed and full of life. Every speck and glimmer of the costumes was crystal clear and the reaction of the townsfolk to each performance was perfectly captured. Matt was drawn to his ma, of course, but still noticed every piece of the unbelievable scenes around her. Her pa-Matt’s grandpa he realised with a buzz of sadness and excitement-seemed to figure in every moment of every scene. Never bossing or taking centre stage, it appeared, but simply a presence in the background. Once or twice, Matt saw him helping someone in the distance, or talking to a member of the audience. A twinge of sadness stabbed Matt in the heart to think he would never know this man.

It became a flicker-book. From the dates, Matt could sequence the performances, from the dancing, to the jokes, through the performances to the firework laden finale. The second time he looked through them, Matt began to study the audience
. There was the buzz of excitement that came with the opening, to the enthralled, tense looks they gave the high wire and the trapeze acts, all the way through to the last moments when their faces were a mix of satisfied smiles and sad eyes at the curtain call. The third, final time, Matt only looked at his ma, full of youth and grace, with every eye of the town on her. Once or twice, a shot captured a glance between father and daughter and the smiles on both faces were amazingly private in amongst the crowds and glitter. Matt looked up in a daze over to Pa and saw the same mix in his face as the audience photos in their hands; smiling but with a sadness in his eyes.

“Some show, huh?” He said finally, setting down the last set back into the box.

“It was amazing,” Matt answered, wondering how many times the boys, Max and Lucas, must have looked through the box on dark, miserable winter days in the forests. He hoped it had given them something, something good, to hold onto during that time. 

“Think we could get close to it
, the show I mean?” Pa went on, “even just once?” For the first time in his life, Matt saw a flash of doubt in Pa’s eyes as his spoke. It shook him, to think Pa could be uncertain or ever doubt.

“I think we can,” Matt said. He said it for
Pa but he believed it, too. Somehow, he knew they could this, even if it was just for one, single day.