A frigid wind blew through the autumn night, but Nate and Katie didn’t notice.
The 10 year old twin siblings were grinning and eating cotton candy together, as they walked through the noisy, colorful fairgrounds of the November Carnival. Pop and classic rock music blared from loudspeakers and the fairground’s main stage, while carnies at the game booths loudly taunted passerby’s into trying their luck. And of course, the screams of people riding various thrill rides.
Nate and Katie had come to the carnival four years in a row already, and half of the town had the same idea. They’ve bumped into a couple of classmates from their school as they walked through the Carnival paths in their sweaters.
“Hey Katie? Want to go on that one later?”, quipped Nate, as he pointed towards a free-fall ride in the distance, just as the riders aboard were shrieking their way down. Katie giggled as she bit from the cotton candy cone in Nate’s hand.
“No, you go! You’re the one who like those rides.”
“Yeah, but I’m daring you to go,” said Nate. “You never tried the really scary rides before.”
“Do you actually want to me to throw up all over you?”
“YES,”
Katie rolled her eyes, but grinned at the manic look on Nate’s face. “Kids, is this the way to the spinning ride?”, their father asked. The twin’s parents were following closely behind them. They weren’t as interested in the rides as their kids, though their dad did happily let the twins drag him onto a ‘Mighty Mouse’ ride.
“Yeah, the sign is over there” Katie exclaimed, pointing out at the lit-up ‘Gravitron’ sign that was right over the crowds heads. Strangely, the sign wasn’t lit up, and when the family got up close to the ride’s entrance, they saw none of the ride’s lights were on either.
“Oh come on!!” Nate stated with disappointment. There wasn’t a ‘closed’ sign, but the ride’s entrance was fenced up, and nobody was queuing up or attending the turnstile.
“Looks like it broke down.” said their mother. “Maybe there’s something else you can ride?”
“Wanna go on the bumper cars?”, Katie asked.
Nate was going to answer, but when he turned towards Katie, his eyes fell upon a large tent not too far behind her.
It was odd. He shouldn’t have noticed the tent at all, as it seemed to melt into the background of the bustling carnival. Maybe it was because the tent itself was dark colored, or that unlike its surrounding buildings, the tent didn’t have any decorative lights on its outside.
And yet something kept Nate staring at it.
Light did shine out from the tiny ripped seams on the tent’s canopy, and through the flapped entrance. A wooden placard near the entrance had the words, ‘THE WONDERS OF SORCERER SPECTRA’, written in bold, side-show style letters. Above these words was a fancy drawing of a masquerade mask, with green mystical light from each eye hole swirling in a hypnotizing spiral.
And further below all of that was a phrase in smaller, less dramatic letters: ‘Magic for Kids!’
“Daddy, I think that’s a magic show!”, exclaimed Nate. Katie and their parents turned to look. Their dad looked confused.
“Uh, where?”
“I see it!”, said Katie. “ It’s that tent! The sign says it’s a magic show!”
“Oh!”, Their mother and father were taken aback. The tent suddenly seemed so obvious.
The family walked over to the tent entrance, weaving past a few other families who took no notice of the tent. They were just a few steps away when suddenly, the head of an odd bald man popped out from the doorflap.
“Oh good lord,” their mother gasped. Even Nate jumped a bit in surprise.
“Hello there! Come for the magic show?”
Nate and Katie nodded.
“Great!”, the man said with an unnervingly wide grin. He kept the grin when he looked towards the twin’s parents. “I’m sorry, but unfortunately, we’re only allowing the kids into this tent. We’ve got a no-adults policy for safety reasons.”
“No adults?!?”, their Dad exclaimed.
“But we’re they’re parents!”, said their mother. “How can you not let us look over our kids?!”
“Oh don’t worry, take these!” A gloved hand poked out of the flap, holding what looked like two coupons. The father swiped them and gave one to the mother.
“Buffet coupons?”, he questioned, giving the tickets a better look.
“Yes, free buffet and drinks with a jazz show! It’s all in the big blue tent right down the path.
“I, um…”
Nate and Katie watched as their parents went speechless, and their faces held a blank, unreadable expression for several strange seconds. More carnival-goers passed by while music played on in the nearby speakers.
“Y-yes, sure!”, the mother suddenly replied.
“A-alright. Kids, wait here when the show’s done, okay?”, their father said to the twins.
“Okay,” Nate and Katie both replied. Though they still looked puzzled as their parents pocketed the tickets and headed down the path without another word.
“Well, what are you waiting for kids?” the man in the tent asked. “Step right in! Show’s about to start!”
The man then put his head and hand back through, leaving Nate and Katie alone next to the tent entrance
“He’s kinda creepy…”, Katie whispered.
“It’s gonna be cool,” said Nate, with a wide, expecting grin on his face. “Come on!”. He stepped through the flap, and Katie followed right behind him, letting the carnival noises fade behind her.