Of The Moon

Ms. Tonya Hepburn was born in a little town on the prairie. She was very quiet most of the time and kept to herself through grade school. While the other children were playing jacks or hopscotch, Tonya was dreaming.
She dreamed of a beautiful land, beyond the likes of which you or I could ever venture. It was the ideal paradise.
During the day, Tonya imagined more of her world. As it was in her mind, she could make plants grow, form new creatures, construct anything that she so desired. And at night, she would roam her world as an inhabitant, living wild and free.
As you might have guessed by now, Tonya much preferred her land to the world we live in. This was somewhat impaired her ability to make friends. But why would she need any? In her world, she could simply will anyone she wanted into existence.
But one fateful day, while in a dreamy stupor, she bumped into a boy in the hallway.
"Oh, I'm sorry," He said quickly.
He had fluffy brown hair that stood up at odd angles.
"I guess I wasn't watching where I was going," He continued. "I'm Johnny," He extended a hand.
"What are you doing?" Tonya looked puzzled.
"You're supposed to shake it," He said. "It's something my... father taught me."
Tonya stood, still.
"Here," Johnny grasped her arm, pulling it up and willing her hand to meet his.
Tonya moved her hand slowly up and down.
"There, see? Now you've got the hang of it!"
"I suppose," Tonya almost smiled.
For the first time since she created it, Tonya forgot about her world, if only for a handshake.
She and Johnny saw each other in the hallway sometimes. Johnny would wave, Tonya would not, as she was usually absentminded.
But time passed, and she found herself in the same class as Johnny. Unable to avoid it any longer, Tonya was faced with an ultimately inevitable fate...
Befriending Johnny. Or rather, more frequent attempts to befriend her.
Eventually she was forced to talk Johnny. For a while they only spoke of ordinary things like bubblegum or shoelaces, but once she revealed something (completely by accident, of course) about her world, she found she couldn't stop. She would go on and on about her world, and Johnny would whole-heatedly listen for hours, engrossed by her creation.
Tonya only ever talked to him, avoiding other people like the plague. This brought great ridicule from her classmates, calling her a freak for not seeing what they saw. Johnny knew this couldn't continue.
"I want to show you something," He told Tonya one day after school. "Meet me at the Fair Grounds at six o' clock."
Tonya nodded.
At five to six, she was at the wildly painted gates. She spotted Johnny just past the ticket booth. He waved her to follow him. She ducked under a striped barricade and followed.
A wall of people stood before her and Johnny ran straight into it.
She took a breath, clenched her fists and charged after her friend.
She weaved through the seeming multitude crowding the attractions.
She lost sight of Johnny a few times, once so lost she spun on the spot, searching for just a glimpse of him. She pushed her way through and emerged on the other side of the crowd.
Tonya stood before a huge canvas tent, striped up and down in red and white. Johnny was waiting. She approached him and together they entered the tent.
The dusty dark was silent. She stopped. She was afraid of the dark, Johnny could tell. He took her hand and led her gently on.
Tonya ascended up a series of wooden platforms, climbing until Johnny stopped her and sat down. She did the same.
They sat there in the blackness only for a few moments, but to Tonya it was forever. She could now hear the quiet chatter of other people in the darkness.
Suddenly, the black was broken by a beam of dusty, gold light, shining down in the center of a painted, white ring in the dirt.
A tall, lean woman in a dark violet suit stood upon, what looked like a huge, overturned bucket. It was striped orange and green and stamped with curved, purple stars. She wore a thin top hat of the same violet with a white waning moon sewn on a blood red ribbon fastened 'round the base.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls of all ages!" She boomed in a melodic, satin voice. "Firstly I must warn you, this is not a place for the faint of heart."
She clutched the brim of her hat between her slender, olive fingers as the faint twangs of a harp echoed somewhere in the dark. Her chestnut hair was brought over her shoulder in a neat braid. She reminded Tonya of smooth jazz.
"You see, on the outside, this may seem like any other circus, but I assure you, the show you about to witness features the finest performers from all around the globe. I have searched every corner of the world to bring only the very best," She flashed a white, toothy smile. "Only the greatest, most incredible," She grew in volume and the music swelled. "The most amazing, astounding, jaw-dropping, heart stopping stunts to ever be conceived by the human race!"
"I am Doctor Enigma, and without further adieu, welcome everyone," She grinned, raising her head, her chocolate eyes glistening in the stage lights. "To the most spectacular show you will ever see..."
Something moved in the corner of Tonya's view and she spotted a figure high up.
"Welcome to the Circus of the Moon!!" She exclaimed, extending her hands above her hat.
At that moment a woman swung low from the ceiling, as if soaring through thin air, grasped The Doctor's hands and whisked her up and away.
The audience stirred from their silence at her sudden and completely unexpected disappearance.
In much suspenseful grandeur, all the lights were thrown on together. Men and women every shape and size stood around the Doctor's platform. They began to dance together to the band's jazzy tune, moving around the ring, illuminated by light of blues, reds, greens and purples.
A man, burly and surly with a bushy brown moustache stepped up onto the platform, flexing and stretching his huge muscles.
A juggler tossed up a heavy looking steel weight and the Strongman caught it. He smiled to the crowd and bent the weight completely in two.
"That must be a trick bar," Someone in front of Tonya snickered. "He's no stronger than me."
At that moment, a loud roar spilt the air. Gold fur glinting in the spotlights, a fully-grown lion stalked slowly across the ring toward the Strongman.
The crowd gasped. There was no lion tamer in sight. The other performers filed into the half of the ring across from the lion, but the Strongman stood his ground. He simply extended his hand behind him. A knight's shield was thrown to him as the lion reared. It charged at the Strongman.
The crowd cried out and Tonya shut her eyes tight, clutching Johnny's arm.
The audience gasped and she forced herself to open her eyes again.
The people gaped in awe. The lion now stood atop the broad, steel shield held by the kneeling Strongman. Slowly he stood higher, lifting and balancing the lion perfectly on the moon-clad shield using only one hand.
The crowd burst into applause and the show continued. The Strongman stepped down and the performers danced around the ring. Everyone got turn on the platform. Ballerinas twirled and leaped then stacked themselves in pyramids like elegant cheerleaders. Clowns walked on their hands and threw red, yellow and blue balls into the audience. Jugglers tossed everything and the kitchen sink, quite literally. To the crowd's amazement, during his performance, in the process of cycling a bat, a lampshade, a red toy car, a garden hose and a roasted chicken, was threw a glossy, ceramic sink, pipes and all. He looked confused for only a moment after which he shrugged and continued to juggle.
Tonya was on the edge of her seat the entire time, her world the farthest thing from her mind. She didn't want to miss a single incredible second. But the part the captivated her most was when the music began to slow and the lights dimmed.
With unseen hands, a thick wire was thrown across the middle space of the tent. And then another was thrown and fastened. And then another and another until five wires were fastened in the air, side by side.
A young lady in cotton-candy pink began to cross the wire second to the left side, her gold hair shone and her sky-blue eyes cast down. On the opposite end, over Tonya's head came a young man with chestnut hair in deep green walked far above along the wire second to the right, sea-green eyes dulled and sad. The two moved alone, meant to meet in the middle, they sauntered slowly across the wires. Each looked to be in great sorrow, the pain of defeat written on their faces.
The Doctor reappeared, descending on a large loop of wide, soft green ribbon, stopping just above the ropes.
She looked between the two, watching them, with growing excitement, draw closer. But they simply walked on, too preoccupied with their troubles to notice one another.
The Doctor frowned at this. She let go of the top of the ribbon, leaning back on the stretched loop, crossing her legs and folding her arms across her chest. She thought for a moment, head bowed so that the brim of her hat shadowed her face, balancing only on one foot. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she sprang forward, as if she wasn't suspended forty feet in the air. She leaned forward and grasping the ribbon, she snapped her fingers.
Two trapeze artists swooped down on either side of the wires, catching the tight-ropers' attention. One was dressed in sapphire sequins, the other in flaming scarlet. Tonya recognized the one in blue as the one how took the Doctor at the beginning of the show.
The man and woman on the high wires watched the trapezes swing forward and followed as they swung back. As they turned, they caught sight of one another.
All the pain and suffering drained from their faces as the light above them faded to blue. Time seemed to slow as they made their way back to each other. They began to dash along the line, captivated by one another. They met in the middle of the tightrope. They shifted awkwardly for a moment, neither one of them willing to make the first move.
The Doctor rolled her eyes and grinning, she waved her hand impatiently, motioning to the couple.
The trapeze artist in scarlet swooped behind the man suddenly and they watched her disappear into the darkness on the other side.
They looked back at each other and as green and blue met, they gazed into each other's eyes. Finally the man extended his hand to the woman. She looked down at it and then slowly placed her hand into his. They lifted their hands, he put a hand gently on her hip as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
As if they were specially meant for each other, they began to dance a slow waltz across the wires. They moved between the ropes with ease, gracefully rotating, never taking their eyes off of one another.
The trapeze artists set on either side of the Doctor, sighing lovingly as she admired her handiwork.
The couple continued to dance and the crowd swayed with the music.
The Doctor looked up and spotted the swooning trapeze artists. She swatted angrily at them, startling the blue so that she almost fell off he bar. The two scrambled out of sight. They reappeared, swinging back and forth, twirling and doing tricks in midair.
The Doctor smiled, looking down on the couple, she began to sing softly, her voice as sweet as honey and as smooth as satin.

"Short steps, deep breath,
Everything is alright.
Chin up, I can't,
Step into the spotlight.
"She said, "I'm sad,"
Somehow without any words.
I just stood there,
Searching for an answer."

As she sung, she was lowered slowly until she was level with the tight ropes. She stepped flawlessly onto one of the wires as if she was simply walking down stairs.

"When this world is no more,
The moon is all we'll see.
I'll ask you to fly away with me."

The trapeze artist appeared again, sparkling in blue and red, moving in and out of the dim light. They spun and twirled around their swings, in perfect synchronization. It was a an elegant dance.

"Until the stars all fall down,
They empty from the sky,
But I don't mind.
If you're with me, then everything's alright."

"Why do my words,
Always lose their meaning?
What I feel, what I say,
There's such a rift between them.
He said, "I can't,
Really seem to read you. "
I just stood there,
Never know what I should do."

"When this world is no more,
The moon is all we'll see.
I'll ask you to fly away with me,
Until the stars all fall down.
They empty from the sky,
But I don't mind.
If you're with me, then everything's alright..."
The tightrope walkers fell into an embrace and the Doctor moved back to her loop of fabric. She was lifted up as the trapeze artists disappeared into the shadows.
Tonya smiled, watching as the crowd applauded. She felt something touch her hand. She glanced down and found Johnny had placed his hand over hers. He looked down and quickly withdrew his hand. Cheeks flushed pink. Tonya folded her hands on her lap.
The Doctor reappeared being lowered on the green fabric. Halfway down, she leaped from the loop, falling ten feet, she landed gracefully on the platform in the center of the ring.
"Now, folks, with great regret I must inform you that this is the end of our show," The Doctor said. "I want to thank you all for attending on behalf of all our performers. We hope to see you all in the years to come."
The Doctor took one final bow and the crowd stood up, whooping and whistling. The lights were all put out and when they came back on, Dr. Enigma was gone.
The audience began to file out, abuzz with talk.
"Did you see the Trappists' outfits?"
"That Strongman with amazing!"
"That tightrope-walker was kinda cute..."
"He just lifted that lion! Like it was nothing!"
"That was great!" Tonya said, face lit up like a flashbulb. "The Strongman just caught the lion! And those dancers, they were amazing! And the way the trapezist just swooped down and-! That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!"
Johnny just smiled, hands in his jacket pockets.
"It's only seven," Tonya said, glancing at her watch. "Let's go play a game!"
She grabbed Johnny's arm and they dashed off into the crowd.
Stands were lined up on either side of the fair grounds. They moved from booth to booth, winning games and watching jugglers toss bats and knives high in the air. Tonya won a goldfish, Gilbert (as Johnny named him, pun very much intended) in a ring toss and Johnny won a stuffed monkey in a fishing game. They made it a point to visit each and every booth and Tonya was just ecstatic about everything. He had never seen her so alive.
Eventually they broke from the crowd and wandered up the hill nearby.
From the top, they overlooked the entire fair. They set down under a tall willow tree, reaping their spoils of the games and candy floss.
"How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"How did you know about this?"
"I hear things," Johnny said, trying to sound mysterious with a stuffed monkey hanging from his neck. "That, and my cousin is one of is the stage hands."
"That probably helped, too," Tonya laughed. "I meant how did you know I would like this? How did you know I wouldn't just... You know..."
"Well, I remembered there were no circuses in your world, so I figured you had never seen one," He replied.
"Well... You were right," She smiled slightly, looking down. 
"I'm glad," He leaned back on his hands. "I was right, that is."
"Wow!" She laughed.
"And that you liked the show," Johnny continued, grinning.
Something sparkled in the corner of Tonya's eye. She looked up as the dark clouds parted.
Little balls of white fire hung, frozen in the vast sapphire cosmos and the moon shone like a beacon, a lighthouse in a sky full of stars.
"It's so beautiful," She sighed.
As she stared in awe, Johnny shifted a bit closer to her. Then a bit closer. Then closer, until he was right at her hip. She turned to him and brought a hand to her cheek, ivory skin soft.
"What are you doing?" Tonya looked puzzled.
"I... I want to try something," He told Tonya, not entirely sure himself. "Something I saw once."
She placed her hand over his and he pulled her into a kiss. They sat under on the hill in one another's embrace for what seemed like an eternity, washed in starlight under the pale moon.
Needless to say they fell in love. Tonya had finally seen the beauty of the real world, now that she could share it with Johnny. The wild world was waiting to be explored. She was free.