"No, no, no... I'm going to go see your mother and straighten this out," you say and begin storming back off into the heart of the carnivale.
Sofi leaned against the support beams of a nearby roller coaster ride. "Well, it's yer funeral, I guess..."
You stop. "....Wh.. what do you mean by that?"
"I mean my mum ain't the kind of lady you confront when she's in a bad mood. Last guy who did that got turned into an opossum. Poor bugger just wanted a refund on stale hushpuppies, too."
You consider asking what became of him, then remember back to Pops' assorted "meat-on-a-stick"s, feel queasy, and decide some things are best left unknown... "So, uh, is your dad any more reasonable and/or less sadistic?"
Sofi twirled herself around the support beam as she talked. "I guess so, yups. He can't change anyhow himself, he needs mum to do that. Also, he could probably convince my mum to unhex ya.... Y'know, in return for an errand or two."
"Great," you said. "Could you take me to him?"
"Sure, no problem. C'mon, follow me." Sofi hopped off the pole and lead you to a a dark trailer behind some the food stands and circus tent.
As you step inside you're nearly choked by thick cigarette smoke. The room is dark, only lit by the sunbeams of a single window scarcely lighting several feet. Cages containing various animals and creatures surround the walls of the trailer. A large table surrounded by carnies sat in the center of the room. Some sword eaters, a fire dancer, bearded lady, fortune teller, and animal tamer were just some of the professions you picked out. At the end of the table, a midget of a man no taller than 4 feet was wearing a ringleader costume, obviously the one in charge, was confronting a strongman.
"Are youse disrespecting me, Vito?" the ringleader accosted.
"No, no boss," the strongman frantically tried to apologize.
"I told youse I wanted the Wheel of Change set up beside the House of Mirrors, not the Dunk Tank. The last thing we need are freshly changed catgirls getting their fur soaked and stinking up my carnival." The midget leaned forward, and looked at the strongman menacingly. (Irony, what?) "Am I going to have to have youse changed into a jenny to teach youse a lesson?"
"Don't do that, boss... I'll be good, I promise..." Vito got down on his knees to beg. "Please boss..."
The ringleader sighed. "I'll think about it. Until then, my legs are a little uncomfortable..." He snaps his fingers.
Vito quickly replied, "Oh yes boss!" and then knelt down forming a human foot-stool, which the ringleader rested his legs on.
"Heya daddy." Sofi interrupted, and waved.
"Pumpkin-muffin!" the stubby ringleader called. "How's my little lady? Youse know youse aren't suppose to interrupt daddy when he's conducting business," he says as he adjusts his legs so they rest in a more comfortable position on the strongman. "It's very rude."
"I know, but remember that guy who broke the merry-go-round curse? The one whose guts ya hate? He wants to talk to ya."
The midget looked at you, as if sizing you up. (I've got to stop these bad puns...) "So, this's the guy that broke my favourite attraction, eh? Sit down, sit down, let's talk. This'll be interesting." Sofi hops up one of the cages behind you, and sits there. Both she and her dad motion you to take the open seat beside the bearded lady, so you sit there. Realizing she was staring at you, you look over to her and say, "..Hey."
The bearded lady batted doe-eyes (stag-eyes? Okay, last one, I promise...) at you and replied in a deep baritone, "Why hello there, cute stuff~..."
..... You shuffled your chair a few feet away from the bearded lady.
"Sos, why'd you want to meet me?" the man asks.
"Ah, your wife hexed me so I can't leave the carnival.. could you convince her to unhex me?" you ask.
The ringleader leans back in his chair, further kicking his legs up on the strongman footstool. After a moment of consideration, he says, "Y'see, I'm a reasonable guy. Aren't I a reasonable guy?" Everyone at the table hastily nodded in agreement. "I thought sos. And you see, us reasonable guys can let bygones be bygones, 'specially since you saved my little angel. Now, I can convince my wife to remove your hex... She might be a little on the testy side, but she's still a woman, and when I speak, the womens listen." He proudly patted himself on the chest as he boasted. Sofi stifled a gag in the background.
"But," he continued on, "my carnival is now missing a ride. If I let everyone who broke one of my rides off the hook, where would I be? Just a poor, short man with a lot of scrap metal, that's where I'd be. Sos that's where youse come in. I'll convince my wife to remove your hex, but youse need to find me a replacement. A new ride, an attraction, it doesn't really matter. It's got to be cursed too, I don't need none of those sissy non-cursed attractions. And don't youse think of pulling any funny business, youse don't get to intimidate me. The last wise-guy thought it'd be funny to saw off a head of one of my merry-go-round horses and put it in bed with me." He shook his head.
Always too inquisitive for your own good, you ask, "What'd you have him turned into?"
"The chair youse're sitting on."
You jump out of the chair at hearing that, and whisper 'sorry' to the chair.
"Well, I see youse're ready to go, sos see yourselves out."
You and Sofi head out of the trailer, just barely catching the next topic the ringleader went on about, something about a transformation ointment store moving in on their turf...As you walk through the door, you catch the tail end of a number the bearded lady had wrote on her arm and was waving to you, mouthing the words, "call me!"
"Hey, hey!" Sofi called, jolting your attention away. She was grinning. "Well, that went pretty good. This'll be much easier than breaking all the other curses."
"Easier?! How am I suppose to get another cursed attraction for this place?" you nearly explode, not quite sure whether it's out of frustration or hopelessness.
She shrugged and replied, "I don't know. Maybe you could..."