Madalen was sitting on the bench outside her house, engrossed in reading one of her favorite books, Alice in Wonderland. An unexpected sound made her look up and disapprovingly glance across the street. A truck pulled up, decorated with posters of clowns, acrobats, and wild animals. On top of the truck was a loudspeaker.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, don't miss our show! Wednesday at eight, we are waiting for you all for a special spectacle! Do not miss it!" she heard a loud voice through the loudspeaker cone.

     Madalen looked up and then back down, continuing to read her book. However, her gaze was no longer relaxed and focused, but irritated and worried.

Circus! And what kid doesn't like the circus? But for Madalen, the circus was a scary place. When she was little, she loved eating cotton candy, laughing with the clowns, and watching the animals perform tricks. But that all changed because of a traumatic event that cost her her happy and carefree childhood.

     Her eyes watered as she remembered what had happened to her then. She shook her head, trying to banish the bad memories.

    The circus was no longer a dream place for her; it was hell. Even clowns caused her loathing, if not a visceral fear. The funny, laughing, colored face was a false mask. The man behind it was a mystery, and that scared her.

     That's what she thought every time the circus came to town. She couldn't stand it.

     Her little brother, Jasper, had his birthday that day. He would turn nine and go with his twenty-year-old sister to the amusement park. He couldn't hide his excitement. He started shouting with joy, making Madalen's ears hurt.

     "Yes! Amusement Park! Amusement Park! Yes!" He was jumping around on the couch as if he were going to the most magical place in the world.

      It was overcast that day. The clouds were as hazy as Madalen's mood. She didn't know why, but she had a strange feeling. She wore black jeans with black boots and a black top—short-sleeved with extra sleeves—that read, "We are all MAD here." On it was a print of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, showing only his eyes and his huge smile. Her hair was straightened and fell to her elbow. Her eyes were heavily lined with eyeliner, making their green color appear darker than it actually was. She also painted her lips with dark plum lipstick.

    Her brother wore blue jeans and a gray sweatshirt, nothing like his sister's style. He had his hair styled with wax and hairspray and was wearing his sneakers, ready to leave.

     Arriving at the amusement park, her blood ran cold. Adjacent to the facilities was an imposing circus.

Why, of all places, did they have to set it up here? she thought plaintively.

    "Aaaah, circus!" she heard her brother exclaim in admiration. She knew how much he wanted to go, and every time the circus came to town, he begged and pleaded with them, but her parents were against it, let alone Madalen.

  "Don't even think about it," she told her brother sternly.

    "Come on, Mad, please!"

He always called her by her nickname when he wanted a favor.

    "Jasper, we're not going!" she said sharply with intensity.

Jasper burst into tears, and it broke Madalen's heart.

    "When you grow up, maybe you can go on your own someday," she told him to encourage him.

Jasper frowned and didn't speak again.

  "Come now, you should be happy. We have come to the amusement park you wanted so much."

"Okay..." he muttered.

Entering the amusement park, they cut their tickets. It wasn't very big; it had few rides but enough to keep a child happy. Jasper's mood changed when he got on the twisty roller coaster. Madalen climbed up with him, and they both grabbed the handrail. The roller coaster started with a sharp movement, and they found themselves with a breathless climb uphill. When the roller coaster reached a great height, before descending sharply, it stopped for a moment. From up there, Madalen could see the circus clearly. The awning they had set up was black and white with stripes. She tried to tear her eyes away and focus on the downhill. The roller coaster slowly began to fall, until it suddenly took a turn and began to run at breakneck speed, making Jasper and the other passengers scream. But she couldn't; her voice had stopped.

"I want cotton candy!" Jasper said, getting off the roller coaster.

Madalen didn't spoil it for him. She wanted some too. She went to the stall where they sold cotton candy and various other sweets while Jasper looked around excitedly. Picking up the cotton candy and turning her head to call out to Jasper, she froze. She saw her brother talking to a clown, who gave him something. He happily took it as Madalen approached them.

"What is happening here?" she asked, looking at the clown with disgust.

"Look! Look, Madalen, he gave me free tickets to the circus!"

Madalen felt her blood drain from her face.

"What? No, no, excuse us, we don't want to go to the circus." She snatched the tickets from her brother and tried to give them back to the clown.

"But miss, it's free, it's the last, and the little one wants to go. Why deprive him of it?" said the clown politely.

"I have my reasons. Please take them back," she snapped.

But before the clown could retrieve the tickets, a squealing and crying began so loudly that Madalen thought her ears would burst.

"Jasper, please stop. What did we say?"

But Jasper wasn't listening. He was crying inconsolably, so much so that those around them were staring.

"Please, Jasper, stop. Look, I got you some cotton candy!"

"I don't want it! I want to go to the circus!"

Oh my god, she sighed. Seeing Jasper not stopping, she took back the tickets and said, "Okay, thanks, we might as well go," she addressed the clown. He winked at Jasper, gave him a balloon, and the little boy stopped crying.

"Really, are we going?"

Madalen hesitated.

 "We'll ask Mom and Dad if they want to take you tomorrow."

"No! You're lying! Mom and Dad will say no," he started crying again.

With much effort, Madalen finally agreed to go. "Okay, but just for a while; we won't see the whole show."

"Yes! Yes! We will go!" he jumped for joy.

Her brother started running towards the circus, and Madalen took a deep breath and followed him.