Chapter 4 – Humorless Attractions
“Look, Schivo! A circus!”
“Yeah? It’s weird that one’s here.”
Schivo and Sanitas come across a circus that stretches across the land.
“What do you think is going on there?”
“Probably nothing good knowing this place. I mean, look how grey the colors are. We should find a way around.”
“There doesn’t seem to be a way around. Let’s just go through it. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“A lot of things could happen.”
“Oh, stop being a baby. Let’s go!”
Sanitas drags Schivo to the circus to see that it consists of a series of tightropes over alligator pits, animal performing arenas, and floating platforms as small as drums over bottomless pits with rings of fire around them.
“Wow!”
“Yeah, wow! What a bunch of death traps I’m not interested in going through. Let’s find a way around this Sanitas. This looks like a performing area.”
“Wait there just a second there, young man!” a duo of strange voices say.
Two clowns, one man and one woman, ascend on a small drum from the void in the circus. They are combined at the waist and alternate with the man or the woman at the bottom with their hands as feet. The duo jumps through rings of fire and do stunts in the air.
“That was amazing!” Sanitas says.
“Why thank you, young lady,” the duo says.
“If that’s what’s going to happen to us, Sanitas, then I need a knife to cut us apart now.”
“Do not fear, Schivo, this will not happen to you, but you will have to go through our little circus in order to find the exit you seek.”
“Impossible. Do you see the way we are? Maybe if we looked like you, then…nah, I wouldn’t want to do that either.”
“Oh, come on, Schivo. Don’t you trust, Sanitas?”
Schivo looks at Sanitas who’s giving him a sweet smile.
“I guess. I don’t know. She might be the only reason why I’m here, so she could forcibly connect herself to me so I could be her boyfriend. I don’t know about you, but that makes a person questionable in my opinion. What?”
Schivo’s connection to Sanitas makes him feel the guilt she is beginning to feel about bringing him here.
“I’m sorry, Schivo. I didn’t think I would be causing you trouble. I was being selfish, wasn’t I?”
Sanitas begins to cry after feeling guilty.
“What kind of man makes his lady cry?”
“Hey, hey. I didn’t mean to make you feel guilty,” Schivo says as he puts his arm on her shoulder, “You got a wish and you got it. I’ll be your boyfriend that you want if you give me enough time. Okay?”
“Okay…”
“Thatta boy, Schivo.”
“Is there some kind of trick in getting past this circus?”
“Just trust one another and you’ll make it through. You’ll succeed with the power of love!”
“That sounds corny.”
“But it’s true.”
“Fine.”
Schivo and Sanitas begin to walk across the tight rope with alligators ready to eat them should they fall.
“Schivo, do you think I’m cute?”
“Do you really need to be asking that question now?”
“I feel like I have to.”
The two clowns say, “This exercise makes you talk about your relationship. If your relationship isn’t stable, then you won’t be stable, and you’ll fall to your death.”
“Thanks for telling me now. I think you’re cute Sanitas.”
“I think you’re cute too.”
“How can you tell? I look so plain now.”
“I can just tell by the way you are. Even if you don’t look exactly like how I imagine in the real world, I still think I’ll be with you.”
“Are you just saying that because I was brought to you to be your boyfriend?”
“No. Are you just saying I’m cute to keep our relationship stable?”
“No, not at all.”
Before they know it, they’re across the tight rope that was at least a couple of miles long.
“Do you two see? This is a simple obstacle to overcome.”
“But this next one doesn’t seem so simple.”
“Do you not know how to dance? All you have to do is a dance with the animals to get to the other side.”
“Okay.”
The two dance with the elephants, tigers, alligators, hippos, and other circus animals who are dancing within an arena.
“What do you think of me, Sanitas? Do you think I’m a good person?”
“You’re helping me get out of this world, so I think you are. You’re even giving me a chance at being your girlfriend even though you don’t have much of a choice. What about me? What do you think of me?”
“I think you’re persistent and generally a good person to be around. You seem to find something good in everything, which is probably why you got your wish granted.”
“Do you really think that?”
“Of course I do. I know I was hesitant at first, but I’m giving you a chance now.”
“Thank you so much, Schivo.”
The two have now made it out of the animal dancing arena.
“Now how are we going to jump across all these platforms with rings of fire? We aren’t performers like you two,” Schivo says.
“You don’t have to be. This test is to see if you answered your partner truthfully or not. Let your soul do the work for you.”
“If you say so.”
With only one step, Schivo and Sanitas leap from the edge of the ground and onto the floating platforms. They manage to land with precision on each one despite how small the platforms are. They leap through the rings of fire like professionals to the applause of the clowns. Both of them feel free and happy until they reach the last platform. Schivo finds it hard to stand on it and finds that it’s slippery for him and not for Sanitas.
“What’s going on, Schivo?” Sanitas asks. In her confusion, a possible reason for his struggling comes to her mind. “Are you afraid of something?”
“I…I’m afraid of losing you.”
“You won’t lose me. What makes you think that? Have you lost someone important to you?”
“…I have. I still feel pain from the loss every now and then.”
Sanitas helps Schivo keep his balance.
“I promise you, Schivo, that I will never leave you. I will always be with you no matter what happens.”
“That’s what they said too.”
“Don’t you believe me?”
“I believe you, but…I don’t know if I want to feel the joys of loving someone only to lose them later in time.”
“You won’t lose me.” Sanitas holds Schivo’s hand. “I promise you.”
Sanitas then leans in closer to Schivo, which makes the platform continuously flip over and over again with them on it. It isn’t until Schivo accepts Sanitas’ promise in his heart does the platform begin to stay still. The two then make the final leap to safety.
“Okay, Sanitas, and I promise to be faithful to you and never let you down.”
Sanitas hugs Schivo as their connection grows to its limit and is perfected. The clowns float over to the two with a pair of balloons.
“Good job you two,” the clowns say, “We’re so glad that you made it through these tests.”
“Tests, tests,” Schivo says, “So that’s the purpose of this place, huh? It’s supposed to be one of those magical places that test us that I hear about in fairy tales?”
“In a way. This place manifests fears of all kinds to better your character. This test was more for you than Sanitas. If you failed, then we would’ve gotten her a better boy.”
“There is no better boy for me,” Sanitas says.
“We can see that, and we are very glad that he passed.”
Schivo asks, “Wait, what happens if you fail?”
“Then your soul might be lost forever here, but you shouldn’t have anything to worry about if you stay the course.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“The exit you seek is close. Be good you two and you might end up as in-sync and close as us, metaphorically speaking.”
“I hope.”
Strengthened by their last test, the two head off away from the circus to their next and last challenge.
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