CIRCUS

I. The Whip

Wearing just a lingerie, I was blindfolded in a dark room. And then, I felt some ropes on my wrist.

"You will burn bright tonight." I heard a voice on my right ear.

Slowly, I was lifted from sitting on the cold ground and led me somewhere... noisy and well-lit?

When was the last time I heard a noise aside from the voice inside my head? When was the last time I escaped this maddening silence? When was the last time I saw a glimpse of light?

But I did not have much time to ponder. Suddenly, I felt my arms being pulled upwards until I was left on tiptoe. The noise became louder. Are those people cheering? I heard screams of excitement and loud claps.

What is happening?

And then something hit my back. It hurts. It hurts a lot. I screamed. People cheered louder. And then more and more hits. I could never count the number because it was hurting a lot. I felt like my head was about to explode from confusion, pain, and shock.

One solid hit and I suddenly knew what was happening. I am being whipped. Hard. Fast. Deep. Tears suddenly fell from my blindfolded eyes and I screamed again.

The crowd went silent. What happened? Did I scare them?

I thought I did scare them. But I was wrong. Something was wrong when I smelled gasoline. And then the crowd went crazy again. What is this? And why did it become so hot all of a sudden?

Thinking about the turn of events, I suddenly realized I was being whipped again, but this time, I felt the pain was a burning pain. It was also surprisingly hot. It hurts even more when the whip hits my wounded skin.

I tried containing the pain. Tried containing my tears. Tried containing my screams.

I shook my head trying my luck for the blindfold to go down my face; with more persistence, the blindfold came off, a bit.

That is when I wished I just kept my eyes blinded by the fabric. I wish I just kept my eyes closed.

Right in front of me was a circle of fire just a distance away from my body. So this is where the hot sensation comes from. I tilted my head toward the person whipping my back and saw a glimpse of the whip being burned with fire before it hits my body.

I looked again in front and saw people cheering and going wild with every hit and every possibility of me getting burned. Wait, tell me, is this a circus? Am I one of the spectacles here?