AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, hello there, young lady,” he said with a sunny voice that instantly welcomed me. “And what special talent have you to show us today?”
I cleared my throat awkwardly and replied, “I, uh, work with fire... you see, I’m a fire-eater.”
“Oh, my!” the man said, visibly perking up. “It’s been quite a while since anyone in our circus could do that. Would you care to demonstrate your talent?”
The time had finally arrived! Putting my lighter on the torch, I lit it and placed it against my bare arm, making contact with the base of the torch on my skin to avoid being burned. The smoke rose, but I suffered no burns. Then I switched hands and did the same with the other arm. The man’s eyebrows rose when he saw my arms were uninjured.
Next, I slowly lowered the torch inside my mouth. Most of the heat from the flame was near my hand since heat rises. The part that entered my mouth was cooler, and I had no trouble extinguishing it. When I pulled the torch out, I switched hands and lit it up with another flame.
I managed to capture the man’s undivided attention but in order to keep it, I had to do another extraordinary feat. While holding the flame in my mouth again, I slipped a small chunk of paraffin that I’d hidden in my waistband into my palm. When the moment was perfect, I blew the torch flame onto my palm, and a great plume of flame closed the gap between the auditioner and me. He actually backed up, fearing the fire might incinerate him. With a proud smile, I put my hand over the torch, snuffing it out completely.
“That was remarkable! Truly a showstopper!” the man exclaimed. “Are there any more miraculous tricks in your portfolio?”
“One or two,” I replied. “But these are my best acts. Will they be enough?”
“Oh, more than enough, my dear girl, more than enough. You may consider yourself hired!”
Squealing with delight, I lifted my hands up in triumph. The man’s eyes caught the small scar on my left hand. “Oh, that,” I said, eager to explain. “It happened when I was newly honing my craft—I got too careless and suffered the consequences.”
“Interesting that it’s in the shape of a star,” he responded.
I nodded. “At least it looks kinda pretty.”
The man’s smile seemed strangely sad. “Yes... yes, it is quite pretty. Well, according to the Bard, the past is merely prologue. We’re sharing the present tense, and as of now, our newest artist to joinCirque du Noiris you!”
“Thank you so much, sir,” I said politely with a huge smile.
“Oh, no need for that sort of formality. Call me Laurent, like everyone else does. May I ask your name, my dear?”
“Oh, my name’s Beatrice. Beatrice Bergson, but you can call me Bea!”
The End
