How it Feels to Be Forgotten Written by @p0ssum_glitt3r101 part 2 As everyone got to their stations and began their acts, a tall, thin girl with pale everything approached them. “Hi, I’m Ellory.” she said in a voice as thin and soft as silk, sounding as if she were right out of a fairytale. “Follow me.” The girls followed Ellory to a tall, rusted-over tightrope. There was a thin ladder for them to get up, and when they both started to climb it, it began to create a cacophony of immense creaking sounds, which only made them feel even further uneasy. After they had made it up to the top, they inched their way onto the right side of the tightrope, and it was as they did this that they realized the only thing left of what must have once been a safety landing pad was a scattering of foam stuffing and a torn, empty case. Though they were confident in their skills, this wracked their nerves. The tightrope was the tallest thing in the room, towering over all of the other stations and even the highest rows of seats. If they fell, they knew they would die, whether or not it was immediately. The next risk was that the tightrope itself could have snapped at any moment. The fibers were rotting away and moss was growing on some parts of it. Backing out obviously seemed like the safest option, but for some reason, they decided that showing off their skills to a group of ghosts and an oddly robot-like ringmaster was more important than their very lives. Once Dr.Franzengoats had given them the OK to start, Liv and Sabrina pulled out their best tricks, bending backward and twirling and sliding along their share of the rope. As they moved, the rope bounced a bit; this was usually to be expected, but it was more than usual. During their routine, they snatched glances at Ellory, who didn’t seem the least bit worried about falling. After what seemed like 10 minutes but was really about 7, the majority of the other performers had finished their routines and were now watching Sabrina and Liv attentively as they showed off their talent. Finally, they had finished. They both turned to walk off of the rope when suddenly, it gave way. Lucky for Liv and Sabrina they were already close enough to the edge that they managed to jump and make it back to the end before they could fall. They hastily climbed back down the ladder, relieved to be back on the ground again. They looked up at the rope, now dangling from one of the two poles that held it. They were then led back to the performers’ chamber…or so they thought. Instead of turning right up the path, they turned left, going through another old curtain, again being thrust into darkness. Instead of being the same carpet that covered the rest of the floor, this corridor’s floor was made of wood; which creaked loudly as they walked, the warped boards splintered and raw. Dirty, cracked mirrors lined the painted walls. After having made it to the room at the end of the cramped hall, they found themselves among more peeling paint, a tiny window at the top of the wall, and a large ring of rusting steel folding chairs. Every performer sat down in a chair, and so the 2 girls followed. Soon, everyone had sat down in a chair except for Dr.Franzengoats, who stood near the doorway. “You have all done exceptionally well today, especially our new recruits.” he said. “I apologize for your close encounter with the tightrope falling and all…” “Yeah I was actually thinking about that…why is everything so destroyed?” Liv blurted out. “Weeeell…” Dr.Franzengoats began, “unfortunately, there’s no one around to fix anything or keep our dear circus in shape. I would, but sadly I myself am too old and rusted over to do it.” he said with a sigh. “And we can’t do anything about it either.” added one of the performers. “So you’re some kind of robot? And all of you guys really are ghosts?” said Liv. “Yes, I am in fact a robot, or an automaton.” and “Yup, we all are.” were the responses that came. The girls felt sorry, that all they could do was watch their home fall apart. “Well, why can’t you just leave? Or maybe call someone living to do it?” questioned Liv again. “You see, we really would leave, but there’s just no point. Everybody will either shoo us away or be spooked, and plus, it’s just too painful. All of us had families and friends, we had identities and everything you two kids have. In my case, when I was living, I was just a guy named Tom with a passion for magic tricks, and cupcakes.” said the one with the blue magician outfit sorrowfully. Sabrina and Liv looked at everyone, knowing they too had lives and identities. Liv started to ask another question, but Sabrina gave her a look that told her to shush.
“We really would stay and help you…but we need to get home, or else our parents will be worried…” explained Sabrina, hoping it wouldn’t sound like she just wanted to leave. She then stood up, Liv reluctantly following her as she began walking toward the door. “Wait just a moment, haven’t we forgotten something?” Dr.Franzengoats said to the performers. This caught Liv and Sabrina’s attention, causing them to stop walking. The performers all began to mutter to each other, trying to remember what it was that they had forgotten. After a couple of minutes, the contortionist from earlier stood up, saying, “I believe we have forgotten about the new kids. What were your names again?” “Um…I’m Liv, and she’s Sabrina.” “Ah yes! Before you leave, we must officially recruit you two into our group!” Dr.Franzengoats exclaimed vaguely. Quicker than they could ask what that meant or could even realize what was happening, they found themselves being pressed against the cold, hard wall by two of the performers. Tom stood in front of them, and the remainder of the performers huddled around them, making sure they wouldn’t escape, not like they could, anyway. “Once you meet all our fates, everyone that knew ya completely forgets. As a matter of fact, every little trace that you ever even set foot in the world just, well, vanishes.” he mentioned. It was at this moment that it dawned on them that they were going to be turned into ghosts too. They squirmed and jerked, trying desperately to get away, but the grip of the ones holding them against the wall was just too strong. “Please! No! We’ll do everything, we’ll clean up and fix it all, we’ll tell everyone about this place so they can come, anything! Just please, please…no, NO!” they argued and gasped. “We’re real sorry we’ve gotta do this to ya; but we can’t let anyone else forget about us.” Tom said as he slowly reached towards them. Though they tried their very hardest to escape, it was too late; as he began to press his ghostly gloved hands over their mouths. Their energy draining from them, they had no choice but to close their eyes and become limp. To them, everything went dark. They felt as if they were floating in a sea of nothingness. Then, they opened their eyes. They saw themselves, or at least their bodies. Though no one was touching them anymore and they weren’t alive, they still stood against the wall. They looked at themselves, at each other; to find that they looked just like the performers now. They both shared that bluish transparency and that barely-there soft glow that the rest of the ghosts had. They looked slowly back at their bodies, only to see them disintegrate into dust, and blow away out the window. They couldn’t bear it, and so they burst into tears. No one else said a single word, all they did was watch solemnly. Desperately, they sprinted out of the room, down the corridor, into the entrance and out, speeding back down Sarelind Road. They both navigated their ways through their neighborhood, catching mystified looks of the people around. Once they had both made it to their houses, they burst through the doors. “Mom!” They each cried. but, unfortunately, instead of recognizing them, their mothers stared at them in horror. “Who are you?! Are you a ghost?! Oh gosh, I must be hallucinating…” Instead of trying to reason, the girls attempted to find some of their stuff, maybe their rooms or old books or drawings. Alas, what Tom had said was right. Everything that was theirs or was dedicated to them had vanished completely. Bursting into even more sobs, they met outside and decided to go back to the Jokynk Circus. After having made it back through the creaky wooden hall and the other paths that led there, they walked back into the room where they had had their lives taken, dragging their feet. They both plopped down in two of the rusty folding chairs, a few tears still streaming down their cheeks. “Hey, it’s okay.” said Ellory in her soft voice, putting her arm around them, “we’re your friends now. Even though you may not know us all very well or be comfortable with the circus, you’ll get used to it, okay?” A few other performers, including Tom and that girl who said she did telepathy came over to comfort them as well. As soon as they had calmed down a bit, they looked around at everyone. These would be their new friends, Dr.Franzengoats, Ellory, Tom, the telepathy girl, the contortionist, and all of the other performers. “Welp, I guess there’s 19 of us now.” Tom remarked in a somewhat melancholy tone. “Hey, uh, how are we gonna perform if the tightrope is broken?” Liv asked, breaking the momentary silence. Eventually, they decided on Sabrina, Liv, and Ellory using all of their collective strength to manage to push the rope up and have Dr.Franzengoats tie it back on tightly. (press space)
