How it Feels to Be Forgotten Written by @p0ssum_glitt3r101 They squirmed and jerked, trying desperately to get away, but the grip of the ones holding them was just too strong. Wait a minute, let’s start at the beginning. It was a cool, breezy afternoon in the fall of 2015, and Sabrina and Liv, two best friends, had just gotten out of school as freshmen. They were walking casually towards the park when Sabrina noticed a flyer that had been stapled to a pole. It read: Are you looking for a place where you can fit in? Are you bullied for the things you like or the things you like to do? Well step right up to the Jokynk Circus, where talented individuals can show off their skill with pride and flair. Want to join? Just take this flyer and head over to the path off of Sarelind Road where you can show it to the ringmaster, Dr.Franzengoats, after filling in the following fields. “Huh.” said Liv as she read the flyer over Sabrina’s shoulder. They both looked at each other in sync with the same thought in their heads. “Should we…” Sabrina began, “Try and join?” Liv finished. The pair of friends had always been proud of their knack and talent for balance. They could both tiptoe on a tightrope looking up while balancing 2 eggs on spoons. They both made the simultaneous and agreed decision that they would join. They took the flyer, sat down on a bench together and both filled out the form and began walking to Sarelind Road, which was just about a mile from Carten Avenue, which was where they were at that moment. Along the 10-minute walk, Sabrina and Liv began to see some… odd signs. They both knew where Sarelind road was, but they had never actually been there. “Hey, Liv?” Sabrina said nervously “Why are the plants so overgrown?” Liv looked around to see that the entire right side of the long street was simply a wall of branches and leaves, a few flowers scattered here and there. On the left side, nothing was there except for old, small houses left in shambles, or little lots covered in old yellow grasses. Contrary to what their common sense told them, they kept on walking down the road. About a minute later, they came across a sign on their right that read ‘Jokynk Circus here →’. They stopped to see the path that the sign pointed to, and the results of this action were even more feelings and little thoughts that this might not be the best idea. Sabrina was about to suggest turning back when Liv’s naive side came out to shine. “What’re you waiting for? We’re right here!” Liv exclaimed as she grabbed hold of Sabrina’s hand and walked excitedly down the path, which was made of dirt and rocks and looked suspiciously rundown and abandoned. Already halfway down the path, Sabrina began to evoke Liv’s sense to her. “Hey Liv, uh, don’t you think this path looks a little…abandoned?” Sabrina said in a futile attempt to deter her from making it to the circus, if there really even was one; but they had already made it to the end, where a tall, old fashioned big top stood ominously among the brush. The path may have seemed a bit creepy, but it was sunshine and flowers compared to the sort of aura that surrounded the tent. It seemed incredibly tall, too tall, and it was dirty, with the once bright and lively colors having been dimmed down to burgundy, gray, amber, and dijon. Among the pattern of stripes and dirt stains, there was a tattered opening. Liv finally let go of Sabrina’s hand, and they both stopped to stare at the opening, seeing nothing but darkness inside from the little that they could. Hesitantly, they crept up to the opening and pulled back one side of the curtain. Inside, they were met with pitch black darkness. They stared for a moment before beginning to turn back, but a sudden wind drew them in. Unable to escape from the power of the gust, they found themselves in the entrance of the circus. A dim, flickering light came from their left, illuminating an old desk close to the wall. Without thinking, they both stood up and walked to the desk, where they found a plentiful amount of dust coating it. What they could see of the circus looked old, abandoned, like no one had even thought about it for decades. They were startled as the eerie silence was broken by a strange voice. “Welcome, young ladies!” it said; and as Sabrina and Liv turned fearfully to look back at the desk, where the voice seemed to be coming from, they were greeted by a figure that looked just about as strange as the voice that had come from it. It appeared to be a gray-skinned person wearing an old, dusty dark brown top hat and a thick scarf of the same color. It also wore a lighter brown leather trench coat that hung as if the figure were only a mannequin. Its face wasn’t visible either, which further added to the creepy feeling of the scene.
“Hello…?” Sabrina uttered nervously. “Hello! What has brought you two here on this fine day?” the voice said back. Sabrina shifted her feet and glanced at Liv, who had been holding the folded-up flyer. “Um…we saw your flyer…and we filled it out,” Liv mumbled, “W-we’re really good at balancing…and stuff like that…uh…who are you?” Liv quickly placed the flyer on the desk and anxiously stepped back. The figure then took the flyer, unfolded it, and began to skim over it before responding, “You both do indeed qualify to join our circus. I am Dr.Franzengoats. You may now enter the performers’ chamber.” They hesitated for a moment before Liv asked, “Where is that?” “Thaaaaat way!” answered Dr.Franzengoats as he pointed to the right, talking in an especially odd way, sounding almost mechanical. In the direction he pointed to, there was another curtain. Above it, there were two broken chains bolted to the ceiling, probably where a sign once hung. Old empty containers and other lost, forgotten things were littered around the floor. Despite their minds’ screaming cries to turn back, they walked through the curtain. More dim, flickering lights turned on as they followed the directions of a sign that had an arrow pointing where the performers’ chamber must have been. The floor was a velvety, (but also still dirty and dusty) burgundy carpet, the path to the chamber still sprinkled with old forgotten trash. They found themselves at the foot of a short stone staircase, which felt slightly damp and was grimy. Then, they came to a door. It was white, with colorful dots painted on. The paint was peeling, and it had a glass sign inscribed with the words ‘Performers Chamber, Staff Only’. Liv cautiously knocked on the door, and they waited about a minute before someone opened it. They slowly walked in, and much to their surprise, the room was light, with a small window on the fabric wall, and was actually bustling with other performers getting ready for a show. Though it was a lively scene, something about it still seemed eerily unreal, Sabrina realized exactly what about it was odd when she looked a little more closely at the performers. As they all turned to greet Liv and Sabrina and welcome them to the circus, Sabrina quickly leaned in and whispered to Liv, “Liv, I don’t think they’re real…look, they’re transparent…” Liv saw this now, and so she began to back up slowly. “Hiya guys! Are you new performers?” said a performer dressed in a blue magician outfit as he put out his hand. “Um…yeah, we’re really good at balancing…haha…” said Sabrina quietly. Another performer came to say hello. “Hey. You guys seem pretty cool. I do telepathy, to answer your question.” mumbled a tall girl with long black hair and a flowing dress. This went on and on with each performer, which amounted to about 17. After being introduced to everyone, they had to ‘get ready for the show’ they’d been told they would be performing alongside Ellory, who was another tightrope walker. The guy in the magician outfit started arguing with another performer; someone dressed in a thick sweater who apparently was a contortionist that “Well, ya can’t perform in those outfits!” Sabrina & Liv’s excuse was that none of the outfits fit them, as most of the performers looked around the age of 16-22. Once all of the performers claimed they were ready, everyone was led out by Dr.Franzengoats. They were instructed all to walk out into the arena at the same time. The group made their way down in complete darkness, Sabrina and Liv only being led by the sounds of the rest of the performers. Finally being down in the arena, they all lined up side by side, and once everyone had stopped giggling, they stood there for about 30 seconds before a bright, warm, yellowish light began to beam down. It lit up the entire arena and enabled Sabrina and Liv to see what it really looked like. Tall velvet drapes marked each exit, though they were tattered and torn; some had even fallen down on one side. Old empty cups and popcorn containers were scattered among the rows of seats, which were equally broken and torn, and were completely empty. As the 2 girls anxiously looked around the tall room, they noticed even more odd and strange things. Some of the boards were broken and had collapsed, and that's also when they noticed that all of the other performers hovered just slightly above the ground, along with their transparency, their identities became clear. “Liv?” Sabrina whispered in a jittery voice, “the other performers, I think they’re-” Liv quietly gasped before finishing Sabrina’s thought, “They’re ghosts!” As soon as they both stopped to process this, Dr.Franzengoats began instructing everyone. Apparently, everyone would be performing at the same time, which seemed chaotic to Sabrina and Liv, but they didn’t even dare to critique the schedule of these strange, supernatural individuals. Part 2:https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1108446387/
