⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀♫♪ .ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı. ♫♪ S H O W T I M E ! "Showtime!" yelled the announcer as the show began. The circus was riddled with tired people hushing their children, eager to watch the show. Our traveling circus was small, but decently well-known. We traveled to and fro, entertaining in small towns or big cities. This is our 273rd show that we've put on so far. The curtain opened, and it was time for the show. A small trumpet fanfare played, and the LED lights dimmed. "Hello folks, and welcome to the show! I'm your ringmaster, Jerry Seinfeld!" The whole audience laughed at the ringmaster 's reference. "Our first act: The acrobat!" That's my cue. I'm Yasmina, the acrobat for our traveling circus. My act consists of some of the most mesmerizing action in the whole show. I swing from a rope, do exactly 12 flips in the air, and land on the other pillar while doing a handstand. Then, I do another set of flips, getting to the starting pillar. As I do my part of the show, I continuously look at a little boy in the crowd. He's frowning, not smiling. I add an extra trick in my act to see if he'll show even a hint of happiness. He didn't. I've seen this kind of thing during shows all the time--- people who were dragged by their my friends or family. This kid, though, he's different. Not the stereotypical frown I see. He looks scared. I finished my act with a bow and stepped to the sidelines when Luis, the clown, stepped up to do his act. During the whole show, that kid never smiled. It's not like he didn't want to be there, he was certainly in some sort of trouble. The iconic buzzer sounded, and the show was over. We all walked to the center to take our bows, but something was still off. That kid. He didn't applaud, he just sat there frowning next to his father. When the boy and his father got up to leave, the boy wailed. "I don't wanna leave!" he cried. His father kept dragging him along, further and further away from the tent. I crept closer to the two, secretly watching their every move. "Cmon kid, move!" shrieked the father. At that point, they were gaining attention. "No, sir! I'm not going!" That was the last straw. No kid should be calling their parents "sir" or "ma'am" like that. Besides, if his parents were like that, he would never say 'sir' while throwing a tantrum. At that point I finally realized the truth. That wasn't his kid. The 'father' had pushed the kid into his car, and accelerated away above the speed limit. I immediately hopped in my car and followed. After driving for what felt like hours, I had finally arrived. An abandoned cabin, miles away from anything. The 'father' dragged the kid out of the car and threw him inside the house. Once they were both inside, I snapped a picture of the car's license plate. I crept up to the window and watched in horror at what happened. I immediately stormed inside and decided to face the man. I had no idea what I was doing, honestly. My heart was beating a mile a minute! "Let that kid go!" I yelped, my voice cracking as I spoke. The man smirked, clearly smelling my fear. "Oh yeah? And what're you gonna do if I don't?" he snarked back at me. At that point, I was shook. I had no weapon, one liner, fighting skills, or anything. The kid was really scared. I decided to run. I left the house and the kid alone. I ran back to my car and sped away while taking a picture of the house. If I wasn't trained to help that kid, the police were. Once I had pulled up to the police station, I showed them the pictures of what I had seen. They reacted immediately. The officers had told me that the man had past offences, granted, smaller ones, but offences nonetheless. He had gone to prison on several separate occasions, including a few weeks prior to my report. The police accompanied me on my next journey to the house. The drive seemed way longer this time, and I was so worried I was too late. Who knows what could've happened? All I could do was hope he was safe. We arrived at the house and the officers kicked down the door immediately. The guy was inside with the boy, and we couldn't have been a moment too late. The man was about to hurt the boy, clearly drunken and angry. While the police arrested the man, I swooped in and grabbed the boy. His eyes lit up when he saw me. "...You're the... acrobat, right?" he asked me, dazed. "Mhm" I replied. I couldn't even talk, I was overjoyed at the fact that he was okay. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will hold up in court." The officers were reading the man's rights. The boy looked over at him, scared. He clearly thought the guy was gonna come back for an encore. The drive to the station was even more gruesome. The boy was shaking the whole time, still frightened. The man was in a (Cont.)
Separate car to ensure the safety of the boy. When we arrived at the station, the man was taken to another room. I assumed he was being questioned. Later, I saw on the news he was going in for a court hearing--- he got 12 years jail afterwards, including past felonies and misdemeanors. What happened to the boy, you ask? Well, that's when the story gets much happier. I adopted Alex, the boy, and now he's much more joyous. He still gets night terrors now and then, but his therapist ensures us we have nothing to worry about. I still work at the circus of course, but less. Now that I have to take care of Alex, I can't be that much of an acrobat anymore. As much as I may miss the circus, I still have to take care of him. I won't let anyone take him again.
