Do you ever get that feeling of having been somewhere or experienced something before, even though it's the first time? There's a term for that—déjà vu.

Anna was experiencing déjà vu while watching the carnival show. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen the show before. She tried to recall the evening before arriving at the carnival.

At eight o'clock in the evening, Anna was lost in her thoughts when she was suddenly interrupted by a faint noise. Glancing down at the booth table at Nocturnal Nibble, she spotted two flyers neatly arranged near the window. Anna was puzzled. Where did they come from? Curiosity piqued, she picked up one of the flyers, her gaze fixed on its contents.

The flyer she held depicted a mesmerising night scene that seemed to leap off the paper. The eerie glow of moonlight bathed the carnival grounds, casting long, haunting shadows that danced across the illustration. In the centre, a grand carousel spun gracefully, its horses frozen in mid-gallop, their eyes gleaming with an otherworldly light. Around it, towering tents billowed like spectres, their striped roofs flapping softly in the unseen breeze. At the top, the name of the carnival, "Carnival of Doom", was etched in a font that seemed to shimmer with an otherworldly aura. At the bottom, the words "Coming Tonight" were followed by an unsettling directive: "Attendance Mandatory". Beneath that was the phrase "Bewitching Hour". The entire flyer emitted an eerie charm that piqued her curiosity while also sending a shiver down her spine. It felt as if the carnival held secrets she wasn't ready to discover.

Sitting on the opposite side of the booth was Anna's friend Monica, who was staring at the flyer with great excitement. Her gaze then shifted to Anna's face, and she noticed the telltale signs of nervousness etched there.

"Is everything alright?" Monica inquired.

"I would be lying if I said yes. The last time—and the only time—I went to a carnival was during my childhood, and I had a nasty encounter with figures donned in oversized shoes, vibrant wigs, and red noses—known as clowns. They left me with lingering nightmares and a memory that still gives me shivers," Anna answered, her voice slightly trembling.

"You were only a child. There must have been a misunderstanding," Monica said reassuringly.

Monica gently reached across the table, placing a calming hand on Anna's trembling ones.

"There was no misunderstanding. These seemingly innocent traveling carnivals conceal a wicked purpose: the ability to steal the souls of those who dare to be entranced by their eerie charm," Anna explained. "I don't think I'll be attending the carnival."

"You do know that it's mandatory to attend?" Monica said, pointing to the words at the bottom of the flyer that clearly declared attendance was mandatory.

"It's just words on paper," Anna said.

"If you don't go, the secret police will find you and force you to go against your will," Monica explained.

"The secret police?" Anna panicked.

""They're real, and 'mandatory' means mandatory," Monica responded.

"It says 'Bewitching Hour' on the flyer. What is that supposed to mean?" Anna inquired.

"It's just midnight—a moment of transition when the ordinary world merges with the extraordinary," Monica explained.

"Midnight? That would be October 31st, Halloween," Anna panicked as her mind raced with imagined scenarios.

"Don't worry; we will go to the carnival together. I'll meet you at your place before midnight—half past eleven. From there, we will go to the carnival by car," Monica said as she got up to leave.

Anna got up and left the eatery with Monica, dreading the rest of the night.

Later that night, Monica and Anna arrived at the showgrounds where the carnival was being held. The residents had gathered near the entrance but had not entered yet. As midnight approached, a group of carnival workers with white faces, bulbous noses, and large shoes opened the gates to the carnival grounds.

A different group of workers came out to check the entrance tickets from the residents one by one. Each resident had received a free carnival ticket on their phone. Anna glanced at her ticket as she waited in line to enter the carnival. The top and bottom were light blue, while the middle was dark bluish-black, featuring the words 'Bewitching Hour' in electric red. The carnival's name, 'Carnival of Doom', was written across the top, while 'present for free admission' was followed by 'attendance mandatory' at the bottom.

Anna showed her ticket and entered the carnival alongside Monica. Monica wanted to see the main event—the carnival show featuring all the performers. She grabbed Anna by the arm and hurried to get a seat in the seating area. The performance was set to take place every hour until sunrise, but Monica wanted to be the first in town to see the show.

As Anna watched the show, she tried to shake off the déjà vu. She knew how the performance was going to play out.

One after the other, the performers came to showcase their acts: acrobats, clowns, trapeze artists, tightrope walkers, jugglers, contortionists, magicians, animal trainers, and fire breathers.

Anna held on to Monica as the clowns performed their act.

"You see? Nothing happened," Monica said as the clowns left the stage.

Anna excused herself and got up to buy popcorn for both Monica and herself.

When she returned, she realised that the show had ended and a new one had begun.

"The show's over," Anna said to Monica.

"But it's begun," Monica said.

"It's a repeat," Anna said. "I'm going to wander the carnival."

Monica didn't reply. It was as if she had never seen the show before.

An hour passed, and Anna returned to find Monica still watching the show—now for the third time. How many times was her friend going to watch the same acts over and over again?

"Monica? Let's go visit the fortune teller," Anna said.

"Shh! I'm going to miss the show," Monica said, irritated.

"You've seen the show twice already. This is your third time," Anna said.

"This is my first time," Monica said.

"First time!" Anna exclaimed.

Anna couldn't make sense of that until she noticed that the lady seated beside Monica was the same woman who had been sitting next to her since the carnival opened. Looking around, she realised some of the other audience members were the same. Had everyone in the audience been watching the show for the third time?

Anna walked out of the show tent and wandered around the carnival grounds until she came upon a small tent.

Entering the tent, her gaze fell upon a small round table with a crystal ball on top. Two chairs sat opposite each other at the table, but the fortune teller was nowhere to be found. Anna turned around, exiting the tent.

"Take a seat," said a woman's voice.

Anna turned in the direction of the voice. A hushed atmosphere enveloped her, and her eyes fell upon a sight that was both captivating and eerie. A spectral figure materialised—a disembodied spirit with her head encased in a crystal ball.

Without a moment's notice, a chair pushed Anna into its seat, anchoring her right in front of the table.

"I am Madam Nightingale, seer of all, voice of the spirits. I know what you seek," said the woman in the crystal ball.

Madam Nightingale's presence was ethereal and timeless. Her spectral figure floated gracefully within the crystal ball, her visage frozen in a moment beyond time. Her complexion was pale, almost moonlit. Strands of flowing, luminescent hair cascaded like moonbeams, intertwining with shadows, while her piercing eyes held a depth that seemed to reveal the secrets of the cosmos.

"You seek to leave this carnival, to escape the clowns, but your friend keeps watching the same show," said Madam Nightingale. "We are all trapped in a never-ending loop until all the joy is sucked out of us. Either help set us all free or become a part of the carnival. We shall not let you leave until we are freed."

Before Anna could escape the clutches of the chair, Madam Nightingale lifted the chair and table off the ground. They were now spinning in mid-air as if they were part of a carnival ride. It was impossible to escape.

As the chair and table came back to the ground, Anna took the opportunity to make a run for the exit. As she exited the tent, a final message was spoken by Madam Nightingale: "Hurry back! Hurry back! Be sure to bring your death certificate. If you decide to join us, make your final arrangements now. We are dying to have you."

A sudden shiver ran down Anna's spine as she listened to the final words coming from within the tent. She was not going to die—not tonight. She would find a way out of this situation if it was the last thing she did. But first, she needed to go somewhere safe. She needed to find out why she was the only one aware of the loop.

Anna rushed back to the show to find her friend missing. She ventured backstage and found it deserted except for a group of clowns. There, among the clowns, was her friend, now donned in oversized shoes, vibrant wigs, and a red nose. She had been transformed into a clown. How did this happen?

Anna rushed away from the group, trying to find the ringmaster for an explanation. Suddenly, she heard a voice.

"We need to suck more joy from the audience. I won't leave until all the joy is sucked from every single resident. A few audience members at random will be chosen to join our carnival. Those mindless victims will do as I tell them. I want my carnival to be the biggest and best show that there ever was."

Anna knew instantly that this was the ringmaster speaking. She didn't know how she knew, but she had heard this conversation before. She was having déjà vu again. She needed to break the enchantment and destroy the mechanism that was sucking everyone's joy.

Anna started wondering: had she already tried to save everyone before?

Anna felt a notepad in her pocket. Taking it out, she saw instructions on how to destroy the "Psychojoy Stealer", which was hidden backstage and directed at the audience.

Anna carefully read through the instructions, which were strangely written in her handwriting.

"To break everyone free, destroy the ringmaster's cane. It is magical and has put everyone in a loop. It will also help destroy the Psychojoy Stealer, as the cane helps the machine suck the joy from the audience. If you are wondering why you remember things, it's because there was no joy to suck from you to begin with. Your fear of clowns has saved your life. Now go and save everyone else."

Anna tiptoed around the carnival, eventually coming upon the ringmaster's trailer. Checking the trailer through a window, she found no one inside. To her luck, the cane was in the trailer.

Creeping inside, she took the cane and quickly carried it out. She hit the cane against a rock, but it did not break.

Anna took out the notepad and read all the ways she had tried to break the cane before. The last word on the list wasn't crossed out—fire.

Where would she find fire? She needed a lighter or, better yet, the fire of a fire breather.

Looking at her watch, she realised the fire breather would be performing any time now.

As she rushed toward the show, the ringmaster caught sight of her.

"After her! Get my cane from her!" the ringmaster bellowed to a group of clowns.

The clowns chased after Anna, hilariously stumbling in their oversized shoes.

Anna entered the show just as one of the fire breathers exhaled flames from his mouth. Seizing the opportunity, Anna held the cane up to the fire. As the cane caught fire, Anna dropped it.

"My cane!" the ringmaster screamed in horror.

A loud shatter of glass was heard as the cane burnt to ashes. The Psychojoy Stealer was destroyed, returning joy to the audience and the rest of the town's residents.

"You will pay for this..." the ringmaster began, threatening Anna.

Before he could finish his sentence, a murder of black crows flew inside the tent, swirling around the ringmaster like a cyclone. As the crows departed, the ringmaster was nowhere to be seen.

The audience applauded, believing this was a disappearing act, before getting up to leave the show.

The performers and clowns looked around, trying to figure out what had happened to them. They, too, had been under the cane's enchantment.

Anna spotted Monica and rushed to her side.

"Why am I dressed as a clown?" Monica questioned, confused.

"You were trying to cure my fear," Anna lied. "Let's go home."

"I would like that very much," Monica said.

Clowns aren't scary after all, thought Anna. It's the ringmaster that we should be worried about.