Le Cirque de la Lumière - Phan

Four

The underwater world seemed endless, but somewhere in the middle sat a door that, once it was opened, led to another tent above water. When stepping onto the surface, the water was held back behind the door by an invisible wall, so it seemed, and every piece of clothing of every visitor was dry.

“… so I ask this lady why my luggage wasn’t there. She tries to reassure me that everything will be fine, because they are trained professionals. Just after that she proceeds to ask me if my plane has arrived yet.”

Dan looked up as people started laughing and was met with every back in the room turned to him. He couldn’t see the speaker, but Phil seemed to know exactly who he was.

“That’s Chris,” he explained. “He’s a comedian. He alters the way he looks to add some effect to his stories. His act should be done by now.”

Surely enough the crowd started to dissipate and visible became a young man with quite the mop of messy brown hair on his head. He had a big smile on his face the moment he noticed them.

“Yo yo yo, Phil!” he shouted excitedly as he made his way over to them. “Who’s your new friend?”

“Chris, this is Dan. Dan, this is Chris.” Phil introduced them.

“Pleasure to meet you Dan,” Chris said with a grin. “Have you seen the room with cloud-sheep yet? They’re a bit baaah-shful today.”

“Was that a pun I heard?” Dan asked.

“Sure was!” Chris grinned. “Tell me about yourself. Do you like math? I kind of dislike it, but I’m partial to fractions.”

“I swear, your jokes get worse every day.” Phil muttered.

“Hey, today I have an excuse. I’m injured. A stack of books fell on my head, I was practically seeing stars. I only really have my shelf to blame, though.”

Phil let out a long, drawn-out, exasperated groan, while Dan giggled.

Chris winked at him. “Hey, I like your friend. He appreciates me.”

“Only because he hasn’t had to put up with it every waking minute of his life for the past four years.” Phil muttered darkly.

“Do you mean to say you’ve never dreamed of me?” Chris said, aghast. “I’m offended.”

“It’s my only escape,” Phil said. “And you don’t exactly make it easy. Keeping me up till ungodly hours.”

“Hey, if you’re having trouble sleeping I have a hat that might help. It’s called a slumbrero.”

“You know what,” Phil sighed. “We’re leaving. Nice chat.”

“Alright, adios amigos,” Chris called as they walked away. “And remember: don’t trust people who do acupuncture, they’re backstabbers.”

~

In a blue tent, two fawns were fitting visitors with their very own set of wings so that they could fly around the simulated sky that filled the room, while a girl with large, purple butterfly wings helped them get to grips with the logistics of flight.

A red and white polka dot tent held refreshments fit for a banquet, all provided free of charge. Long tables lined with delicacies from all over the world (and some Dan hadn’t even seen before in pictures) stretched from one end of the tent to the other, and around the walls were stacks of chairs and bean bags for sitting at leisure.

A tent covered in stripes seemed to be halfway through packing up and leaving, for it floated all by itself several inches above the ground. Inside, giant bubbles filled the room - each one the size of a small car - and visitors bounced gleefully, the sound of shrill laughter radiating outwards many metres. It was almost like a bouncy castle, except there seemed to be something in the air that caused the jumpers to fly far further into the air than would be entirely natural.