The carnival was ending and the lights were going out. The pavement was sticky and covered in trash. As the festivity faded I started to hear my footsteps. The grass was watery behind the stands; it washed off all the bits that had stuck to my feet. It was then that I screamed. He had frightened me so when he tapped me, my screaming broke the dark. It broke into a million reflecting pieces of light. The pieces shot towards him and cut into his skin. He only smiled as I rushed to his aid. He hugged me and told me that the carnival was over; I could feel him smiling on my shoulder as his bloody arms slid across my skin. “The carnival was never here” I told him. He said, “What about a carnival?” and he fell from my arms.
2005