Circus Arcanus
“Come on, Tom! Hurry up! I swear I saw on the poster - the circus is here!” Harry tugged at his friend’s sleeve, excitement practically vibrating off him as he pulled Tom along. Tom huffed and tried to mask his excitement, but a slight bounce in his steps betrayed his curiosity.
“Harry, I can’t even see or hear any signs of a circus nearby. Did you even read the poster correctly?” Harry didn’t learn nor respond to Tom’s skepticism and dragged him around the corner.
Suddenly, the world exploded with noise. Rows of tables and vendors were set up with strings of light weaving on top, and the smell of food - popcorn, caramel, and something smoky? - wrapped around them. Colorful lights darted through every space it could find, twisting and bending in ways even Harry knew defied physics. A single glittering light danced in front of his face. Delighted, Harry touched it with his finger, and it popped like a bubble, sending a cascade of sparkles into the air. Turning back, Harry noticed the same glittering light brushing against Tom’s nose and burst into tiny stars, making Tom blink in surprise.
The two boys, hand in hand, stretched their necks to observe a new world of wonder around them. A gigantic circus tent loomed ahead, its striped canvas fluttering in the wind.
“Whoa… So this is Circus Arcanus,” Harry whispered.
Their brief moment of splendor was interrupted by a roaring flaming lion erupting from a circus performer’s mouth. The crowd whooped and cheered as the lion leaped through the crowd before dissipating into smoke. The man from the circus exclaimed, “Folks! You’ve seen a taste of the wonders awaiting you in one hour with Circus Arcanus! Do join us in the tent tonight!”
“Let’s get a small snack before we see the show!” said Harry, his eyes already scanning the stands for something sweet.
Both boys nodded eagerly, determined to find the perfect treat. As they walked, they passed a girl crying, her face red and blotchy from losing a dart game. Her father waved his hands frantically, almost as if to distract her. Nearby, a vendor was yelling furiously at a man, who was sheepishly holding up a target with clean holes in the bullseye, as the vendor jabbed repeatedly at a sign saying, “NO WANDS.”
After a few moments, Tom pointed at a sign that read “Candied Peaches,” and said, “Let’s get that.” Harry nodded, and they both approached the table. A man stood behind it, wearing a tacky peach-colored robe, hat, and pointed shoes, all of which seemed oddly fitting.
“Ah, ‘ello there lads. Want a candied peach?” the man said with a wide grin.
“Yes, two please,” answered Tom.
“Alright. Four knuts for two peaches,” said the man as he pulled out two shiny fruit.
Both boys had no idea what a “knut” was, and based on their expression, the peachy man said, “Oh, no worries. My mum’s a Muggle too - four pennies’ll do.” Tom exchanged four pennies for two candied peaches, both sparkling with a sugary glaze. The boys found a quiet spot by the edge of the festival to sit.
“I wonder what that was all about. What’s a knut anyway?” asked Harry.
Tom handed Harry a glistening peach and replied, “Maybe it’s some foreign currency. Although, I am more curious about why he called us ‘Muggles.’” However, a quick bite with a crunchy sugary coating and a marvelously juicy peach made them too preoccupied to think.
*******
A couple of hours later, an excited Harry was reenacting the most thrilling moments from the circus as they walked along the edge of the festival. With animated hand movements, Harry exclaimed, “- and when Nagini appeared, she turned into a snake!! How is that even possible? It has to be magic - I know it!”
Tom, humming in agreement, stopped in his tracks when something else caught his eye. Up ahead, a small purple tent stood with a shimmering sign that appeared out of thin air:
See your past, embrace today,
Catch tomorrow, come what may,
All through the magic of a crystal’s gaze.
Harry followed the gaze that Tom was focused on and was a little spooked by the tent’s unsettling atmosphere. Harry tugged at Tom’s sleeve. “I don’t know about this Tom… It feels a bit… off.”
“But isn’t this an opportunity to see our fortune? To see when we can finally break from that disgusting place that calls itself a safe place for orphaned children ,” scoffed Tom, as sarcasm dripped from his words.
“Well, I always thought destiny was determined by our hands and not the other way around. Plus, it’s creepy here!” cried Harry.
With comedic timing, a single crow’s cry echoed down the paved road while a black cat was padding across.
Tom’s quiet huff of laughter drew Harry’s focus away from the tent. “Just this once Harry. When could we ever walk up to a fortune teller? Plus, aren’t you curious too? What they would say?”
Tom grabbed onto a reluctant Harry’s arm and practically dragged the poor boy through the flap of the tent.
Inside the tent was surprisingly a lot bigger than it looked outside. The air was heavy with a smell of incense and subtle smoke can be seen swirling in the air in a lazy manner. The tent was filled to the brim with odd jars of tea leaves and tea cups, scattered books, and candles in all sorts of shapes and sizes. A circular table stood in the middle, and a three pronged silver stand balanced a clear crystal ball. It was odd that the table and its content did not have a single spec of dust while the entire room was covered in it - expertly shown with Harry’s sneeze.
As if the sneeze meant a cue, an yound lady appeared from another section of the tent (how big is this tent anyway?). She wore a bright pink robe with an equally distracting pink hat with blue feathers jutting out. Her outfit made her stand out from her gothic-like surroundings. She clapped excitedly and gestured wildly to invite the two boys over to sit down at the table.
“Welcome, welcome. Who do we have here? Eager to know? Or eager to entertain?”
“The first; we want to see our fortunes,” Tom said with no hesitation.
The lady chuckled good heartedly. “Oh! Ever so eager to see, to know. The art of crystal-gazing is delicate and ever so changing. But see for yourself. Come in closer, peer into the Orb to have a glimpse of the future’s mystery.”
The once clear crystal now had swirls of moving smoke. The smoke froze for a brief moment and rapidly formed a hazy picture. Harry and Tom both leaned forward. The first fortune showed an older Tom on a desk, with piles of crumbled letters behind him. The crystal Tom just threw another one behind his shoulder, and he ruffled his hair in frustration. The crystal shook briefly, already moving onto the next. The next showed an older Harry, joyfully tussling with a boy in the snow, both seeming to have a fun time. Harry tried to see who that boy is, but the crystal already returned back to its clear state.
“This is great and all, but what does this mean?” asked Harry.
“I’m afraid that the crystal only shows glimpses of the future, my dear. You are the one who can determine to follow it or not. The paths are numerous. The possibilities are never-ending. The choices are made by fear, desire, and power.” As she spoke, the young lady’s eyes sparkled, filled with passion.
“Show me more,” said Tom, who almost seemed disappointed in what he saw.
“My dear, you cannot demand Fate to show you what you want to see on a whim,” huffed the lady.
But Fate seemed to follow Tom’s command as the lady suddenly started shaking uncontrollably, with her eyes rolling over and mouth agape. Her hands clenched so tightly into a fist to the point that Harry was worried that she might draw blood from her palms.
“Erm, is she ok?” Harry whispered. “Is this part of the fortune telling?”
Before Tom had a chance to answer, the lady suddenly gasped and sat abnormally still. Her once cheerful demeaner was nowhere to be found. Her pupils dilated and stared right between the two boys. Her voice came out flat and hollow, with several voices overlapping each other as she spoke:
Beware the power you seek,
When betrayal will twist the weak,
Oaths will preserve and break,
Secrets lay beneath the lake,
The blood shall answer your cry,
But with it, the stars may die.
Despite the tribulation,
If one can avoid damnation,
With courage found in the darkest ho-
The lady started coughing abruptly, never finishing her sentence. She blinked a few times. “Oh deary me. How come it feels like someone scratched up my vocal cords?”
She grabbed a tea cup behind her and took a huge sip. “Ah. That’s a lot better. Now where was I? Oh yes! The Orb!”
The two boys were silent; both trying to compute on what happened.
Tom decided to take the initiative. “Hypothetically, if someone… were to do what you just said, what would happen?”
The young lady gave them a puzzling look. “About what? If someone demanded something from Fate? Wel,l who knows! Anything can happen. Like I said before, the possibilities are never-ending,” she said with a cheerful wink.
“No. Something about betrayals and avoiding damnation.”
The young lady truly seemed unaware of what Tom was talking about. Her feathers bounced slightly when she tilted her head in confusion. “My dear, if you thought about betrayal and damnation based on what you saw in the Orb, you really should not take divination when you’re in school.”
Tom bristled in offense but still had control in his voice when he said, “We heard enough.” Tom stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor.
Harry, still in a whiplash from the lady’s rapid attitude changes, muttered a quick ‘thank you’ and followed Tom out the tent. Harry jogged briefly to catch up with Tom’s brisk steps. The carnival’s bright lights and loud noises continued, unaware of the boys’ turmoil.
“What do you think? I think she was just pulling our strings,” said Harry in a somewhat joking manner, to ease up the tension.
“Yes, it was oddly convenient that she did not know what she was saying, but it was interesting nonetheless.”
As the boys walked towards the orphanage, the young lady leaned against the tent, grinning from ear to ear as she watched them leave.