Black Tourmaline

4

Title: My patience running thinner on this melting clock.

It had been a week of Caeli moving back and forth from her home to the circus. She observed all their shows as well as getting backstage passes, all for free. She still did not understand why people were so fascinated by them, which only made her fascination grow. 

The last show for the day had ended and the cries of sad children and adults could be heard. For some reason, Caeli had observed that the people would get increasingly attached to the shows as well as the characters performing. She was certain that magic was behind all this.

She watched as the people piled out of the tent to go the other tents to meet their favourite characters. It was not long before it was just her in the empty tent. 

The lights suddenly dimmed one by one and the cheerful atmosphere changed into an eerie one. The unexpected change sent shivers down her spine as she buttoned up her red jacket. A light breeze blew past,  ruffling a few strands of her hair. 

Heavy thudding sounds could be heard coming from all directions, yet there was no one in sight. 

A regular person would be spooked by these events, but fortunately, Caeli was not regular. She was anything but that. 

She remained calmly seated with one leg crossed over the other. Her hands wrapped around her stomach as she waited for Abidon to reveal himself. The one thing she knew about this man for sure, was that he loved dramatic appearance. 

"Ah, what a surprise," his voice boomed from behind her. "I thought your heart would have exploded or something, but I guess not." He almost sounded disappointed, as if he wanted her to have had a heart attack or something.

The girl said nothing as she stood up. She felt as if eyes were watching her from all corners of the room and could even feel a presence other than Abidon's. The other presence she felt was anything but welcoming. 

The Ring Master seemed to notice this as a smile came onto his face. "You know darling, my patience is running thinner on this melting clock. After all, it has been a week since you've made your decision. Time waits for no man, so why should I wait for you?"

The girl chuckled, finally breaking her silence. She took in a breath before speaking, "well like you said, time waits for no man, but are you a man?" Her question made the ring master burst out laughing.

"Oh darling," he said in-between laughs. "You truly are something else."

The girl cleared her throat. "Well then, since you won't deny it," she dragged out the words. "Anyways, let's get down to business. Why do you want me to be a part of your circus so far?" She asked in a serious tone. 

Abidon stopped laughing, before adjusting his top hat. "The better question is, why wouldn't I want you?" He asked, rephrasing her question. When the girl remained quiet, he proceeded to talk. "You see, darling, you can search all of the twelve realms and you will never come across someone else like you." 

Caeli raised an eyebrow. She still did not get what this man was hinting at. Was it the fact that she was the last one left in her family or was he hinting at something deeper. "About my family, what did you mean the last time about them not actually abandoning me?"

Abidon shook his head. "Don't you get it darling? They were killed off because of the magic they possessed, the magic that you possess."

Her eyes widened. There was always the thought that her family might have actually been killed lingering at the back of her mind, but she did not think that it was possible. They were the most powerful people she knew, so she could not imagine how they could have possibly been killed, especially when they were the strongest in this realm. 

"Even the weak is capable of fighting back. When a colony of ants attack a human in a foreign land, who do you think will win?" Abidon asked, his eyes twinkling. 

A lone tear drop rolled down the girl's cheek as realization dawned on her. She always looked for excuses for their disappearance, but deep down she had already accepted their deaths.

"So you see darling, I want to build my own colony," Abidon said with a smirk. "Except in mine, we don't live underground and neither do we let those above us, step on us," he said in a deeper voice. 

Caeli understood perfectly what he meant by that. It was now that she could relate to him and maybe she and him were not so different after all. 

Then again, she could be wrong because it is not wise to jump to quick conclusions. For now though, she will roll the dice and whatever it lands on, so be it.

"Well Abidon," she paused, thinking whether or not this was the right decision. "I guess its time that this ant crossed the chalk line." 

Hi guys! I would love to know what you think of this story so far. If you have any feedback or notice any errors, do let me know. Anyways, hope everyone is staying safe during these times. Have a good day or night where ever you may be. 

Byeee :)