"Back to the circus, you freak."

Freak.

A word that I first heard so many years ago. A word that hurt me more than any of them could understand. A word thatI've heard so many times, it's almost been embedded in my brain.

But that won't stop me. I won't let it stop me. Not now.

Play it off, Maestro, a voice inside my head whispered. If they want a circus, they'll get a circus.

"And do yourself a favor, okay?" The mayor went on. "Don't force us to get rough with you. Because we will if we have to."

Oh, a threat. Is it a threat? I don't feel really threatened. Everyone else seems to think that he's serious. I see right through his big words. Either way, this is my chance. Now it's time to show them what I can do.

"You're trying to scare me," I said, making it more of a statement than a question, "aren't you?"

He didn't say anything. He just sighed.

And so, the show begins.

"I'll tell you what," I said. "We'll play a game. Anybody here like games? Hello!" I clap my hands, trying to add a dramatic effect.

"Game time!"

So maybe I got a little too carried away with that.

Oh, no, the voice said. The more dramatic, the better.

"The first person to get scared," I announced, pointing to the door, "has to leave. How about that?"

I hear one of the people volunteering to leave. I ignore them; I can't possibly stop now. And they just got here. There's no way they can go now.

The fun's just begun.

--

About an hour later, everything's great. I'd had my fun, and I think they've learned their lesson. Even the mayor, who I had the honor of controlling for a short time. But now, I've grown quite …well, boredwith them. So it only seems right to finally bring an end my performance. And the only one does that is with a simple bow.

As I came to face them again, I crossed my arms. The mayor, now clearly shaken, just stared at me.

"So," I said, breaking the silence, "you still want me to go?"

I could see most of the people shaking their heads in disagreement, but they and I knew that their word didn't matter. It was all up to the mayor.

And apparently, he had other plans.

"Yes," He hissed. "Yes!"

The people still shook their heads, hoping the eyes in the back of his head would see them. But it was no use. I have to say, his opinion of me was hurtful. It was one thing for him to dislike me, but a completely different thing for him to treat me as if I'm just too different for him. It's like I was some witch, like we were all back in the 1690's again. I had thought that maybe humans as a whole had become better than that. Obviously, I was wrong.

"Fine," I said softly. "I'll go."

I didn't want to have to do it. For some reason, it seemed like the only way at the time. I could have simply walked out, but the voice reminded me;

The more dramatic, the better.

So I did it. I sank to the floor, my hands balled up into fists. I slammed my fists into the cold, hard floor as hard as I could.

Excruciating pain racked my body as I looked down at the piles of flesh colored powder that was my hands. But it wasn't over yet. I struggled to get back to my knees, only to smash what was left of my arms. Hot tears streamed down my face. I couldn't move, but I had to. I try to lift myself again, but I can't. The pain is just too much. The only way to finish this was to bash my head.

After that was done, I couldn't even see. Everything was a blur. I just looked up at the last place I saw the people standing and stared as the rest of my face crumbled. What was left of my body disintegrated and I could feel myself slowly blowing away.

I was free.

--

You know that feeling you get when you're half awake and half asleep? For only a moment after smashing myself, it always feels like that. That's always been the only way I can describe it. My eyes snapped open seconds after my feet hit the ground again. I was in the hallway, right outside of the ballroom. The door was still closed, which meant I had a short amount of time before they found me.

Time for the encore, the voice whispered.

"Not now," I thought aloud. "If we go now, they'll forget me. They'll leave me alone."

But haven't I taught you better, Maestro? Now come on, we have a show to finish.

--

Everyone stared down at the floor, now almost spotless, save the coat of dust that covered it. They all thought the same thing; what have we done? The people themselves never intended to hurt this man-only to make him leave. Peacefully. Sadly, a part of every one of them knew the mayor would not let it happen. The children cried, sad that their dear friend had left them. And in the manner in which he did upset each of them even more.

The only person that didn't seem saddened in any way was Mayor Wilson. The one man who had created this encounter. The one man who hated this person with a passion. And why? For the sake of his image. If he had a freak like that running around the town, others would be skeptical of him. Word would spread nationwide. He would be a joke. People would stop visiting their town. Businesses would close. This whole domino effect would occur, and it would all be because of that freak. As the mayor of this town, he couldn't let that happen.

He didn't plan to kill the man, really. It just seemed to end that way.

Over-dramatic, maybe, he thought.

"Good riddance," He said finally. "Let's go."

Mayor Wilson turned toward the door, ready to finally go home and maybe get a Twinkie or two. As he was halfway to the exit, he turned to find that the people had hardly moved. They all stood in the same spot, mourning the loss of the eccentric stranger.

"Let's go," Mayor Wilson said firmly, trying to get the people to leave. Slowly but surely, the people finally moved, but this wasn't enough for the mayor.

"Let's go!" He ordered, going to open the door.

"I showed that freak," He muttered as he reached for the fancy brass doorknob.

"Hello?"

I watched as the mayor's mouth flew open as his eyes popped out of their sockets. I could even see sweat trickling down his face. It was hard not to see every detail when my eyes were the size of his head. I didn't think it was possible for my head to be enlarged to such a size. The rest of my body dangled in the air, rendered completely useless now that my head filled the ballroom doorway.

My eyes followed him as he tripped and fell, trying to run away. I could feel my head shrink back to its normal size as I listened to his shouts of terror.

"Good thinking," I murmured. "Now he won't come back."

Yes, the voice replied. Isn't it just delightful? Look at him run!

"But don't you feel bad?" I asked.

Why would I? The voice retorted as I walked back into the ballroom unnoticed. Everyone watched as the mayor ran out of sight and…

…Crash. Right into my window.

Great.

I managed to maintain a calm demeanor as the people turned around to face me. I leaned against the door frame, smirking at their reactions. Every single one of them looked completely shocked as far as I could see. Casually, I walked forward, hoping to say at least a few more words.

I took a breath. "Did I scare you?" I asked, putting on the cheeriest smile I could as I crossed my arms.

Everyone looked at me strangely for a moment before all voicing their affirmations. Every one of them seemed to have a different account of what they thought happened.

"But did we have a good time here?" I cut in, spreading my arms out dramatically and finally clasping them in front of me. That comment almost didn't feel like I said it. It was like the voice was speaking. But I decided to go with it, hoping to keep up the charade.

"Hello?" I said after a moment of hesitation.

Everyone once again agreed, going on with their own special story. I pretended to listen, crossing my arms again and forcing another smile. Dull pain fills the tips of my fingers. I knew that would happen.

I shouldn't be here. They shouldn't be here. If I knew this was going to start again, I wouldn't have done that. But it was too late now. I keep up the smile, hoping to make a short exit. Suddenly, I can feel something move behind me. Everyone fell silent.

"What?" I asked hesitantly. "What?"

What? The voice mocked. What? That's all you can say? Have a backbone. Turn around.

Slowly, I turn around to find myself face to face with a skull, wrapped in a dark cloak. The sight of someone-or something-being there causes me to jump back, startled. The mask is lowered to reveal one of the children, Jimmy, standing there.

"Did I scare you?" He said.

I couldn't help but smile at his little stunt. If there's one thing I knew about these children is that they were all very playful.

They were always telling me about their pranks and things when they came, and I couldn't help but love it. They all seemed so innocent and unaware of what their parents would say about me. They didn't think that I was weird or strange and I must admit, I loved them for that. But what do their parents do? They call me unspeakable things.

Snapping back to reality, I crossed my arms over my chest, acting as if I had been aware of them the whole time.

"No," I said, trying-and failing-to add a scolding tone to my voice.

"Well, maybe. How about that?" I added. "Maybe."

"Yes," Jimmy cheered quietly. Ignoring the remaining ache in my fingers, I lifted him off the shoulders of his friend, who was hidden under the cloak. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would. The two boys stood by each other, the older, Russell's, arm slung around his friend's shoulder. This is what kept me from actually leaving; the love of these children. It gave me hope; it let me know that I wasn't completely alone.

Oh, please, the voice spat. Just get on with this. You do remember what happens after you smash yourself, don't you?

"Excuse me," a voice called from the left of us. Slowly, everyone's heads turned to see who was speaking.

Oh, what could it possibly be now?

It was Mark, Jimmy's older brother. He was standing by the old clock, trying to catch everyone's attention.

"Excuse me. Yeah. Um," He continued, grinning wickedly. "Is this scary?"

--

And so, for not even a month, everything was pretty nice. The children came around more often and that made me happy. And because of that, the voice had almost completely faded away. Things finally seemed to be getting better.

That was, until at least three months after. The mayor decided that now was the time to try something new. He started saying unspeakable things about me. Things I don't ever want to repeat, or even think about. It's sickening.

They all shunned me. I couldn't even leave the house. Everything was set back to square one. I couldn't believe it.

And then, it happened.