ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴜʀɴ

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FINE FOLK OF ALL BACKGROUNDS AND AGES! Come one, come all to the Regal Circus. I am Ringmaster Everett Alastair and I welcome you all to a show like no other, a show that none can rival." The Ringmaster spoke. As he stood in the biggest ring inside the Circus tent, the magnificent red jacket he wore looked one-of-a-kind and well-made. He was a tall, pale man with light-colored hair and gray eyes. A lively spirit that had struck gold with his shows.

The town of Riverside, California had come to be amazed by the famed acts of the Regal Circus.

You see, everyone had heard of The Ringling Brothers and P.T. Barnum but even they didn't rival Regal. Whenever the Circus came into town, they came with huge tents, trailers, and food stands like they had brought a full fair with them. The whole Circus was massive with plenty to do but, the main attraction was the Circus acts.

They had a full band, fire dancers and regular dancers, tightrope walkers, clowns, horse riders, aerial performers, and trapeze artists. Everything you could imagine but cranked to a hundred. The tightrope walkers wore heels, the horse riders did gymnastics while on horses, and the trapeze performers could be viewed as people who walked into the tent before the show could even start.

While that was great, all anyone asked for was to see the star act of the show. The girl who would set herself on fire, the firebird. The audience wanted to see the stage burn.

While the performers gave their best, the people in the crowd watching the main ring clapped even louder for the announcement of the Ringmaster.

"Now, what you all have been waiting for, I'm proud to present my little fire and child, the astounding fire dancer, Soleil!"

The Ringmaster hurried off as one single spotlight shone down on the center ring, a girl, clothed in a bright red and gold leotard that covered part of her umber-colored skin, matching make-up, and a headdress made of fake flames, a girl no older than eighteen descended from the ceiling hanging onto a golden aerial hoop. Soleil was the Ringmaster's child and while she didn't look like it, she possessed every bit of magic that he did—it's just that it was amplified.

Back In Black by AC/DC played throughout the tent as she looped herself around the hoop, she traveled around the hoop like how a cat waltzed along a thin fence, stretching her body out. That alone was impressive but the audience was waiting on one thing.

Soleil stood up and extended both arms to the side, gripping the hoop. Her eyes ignited with flames and the hoop was now set on fire—the flames didn't do a thing to her, the crowd went wild. Some say it's fake, some say it's magic but what Soleil did was completely real, people just weren't ready for that.

Under her performing smile, the thrills of the Circus died and instead were replaced by the thoughts of an impending tragedy the girl knew would come eventually.

"You will die young."

It was something the young performer couldn't get out of her mind since she was six years old. When the Ringmaster of the Circus sat her down and told her the whole story. He told her how her brothers and sisters, the star acts of the Circus who came before her had perished, not making it to their twentieth, eighteenth, and sometimes—even tenth birthdays.

Before she had only heard of them through photos the Ringmaster kept in a book and bedtime stories when the ringmaster spoke of their acts that captived the audience that would attend the circus, state by state, everyone who came to the Regal Circus was sure to leave impressed. It was an experience on Earth like no other as the Ringmaster would say.

The girl learned of her sister, Elowen, who had the gift to talk to animals till a Grizzly bear did her in. She learned of her brother, Flynn, who could lift anything, anything at all, till his arms gave out.

And as her brothers and sisters died off, a magic bassinet that gifted the Ringmaster his many star acts over the years gave him more and more children as the older ones perished, still they all died young. The children only appeared as mere infants in the bassinet, their origin was unknown though that didn't stop the Ringmaster from caring for them all the same.

Eventually, losing his children turned him into a bitter, sad, man almost an empty husk compared to how he once was. Young, bright, and filled with determination. The wear and tear weighed too heavy.

He snapped.

The Ringmaster became infuriated and brash by any tiny mistake the Circus performers would make, he spent so much time crying over the loss of his star acts, his children—he was tired of seeing them die.

The magic of the bassinet that had been in his family for years had faded, desperately, the Ringmaster tried to hold on to whatever he had left. That meant that Soleil wasn't allowed to go to a normal school, she had to be homeschooled. She wasn't allowed to use her unique abilities unless she had to practice or perform. No boys. No staying out late and no exploring a new town by herself. There were no taking risks outside of the Circus. The Ringmaster ensured that. It was a cruel irony for such a place.

So, the other performers of the Regal gained empathy for her, many of them becoming like her extended family. Though just as it pained the Ringmaster to watch the children go, it pained them just as much. It was why most of them took it easier on the girl knowing her life would be short.

Dying early was one of the only things Soleil was certain of in her life. She never knew when she'd die or how. She often questioned her purpose to be alive, why was she alive if she was destined for an early death?

While all this was going on in her head, the audience watching her still marveled at her performance, oblivious to the dark truth of the main act of the Regal Circus.

—㋛—

After the show ended, the Ringmaster came back on stage to thank the audience for coming. While that was happening, Soleil sat backstage while she got her makeup removed by a woman named Cassandra.

Cassandra was a tall woman with dark brown hair and large brown eyes. Her full face displayed gentleness. She was a tightrope walker and was the closest thing Soleil had to a mother (also the closest thing the Ringmaster had to a relationship). She'd help the girl out when she could, sneak her a few soft pretzels and funnel cakes, and, would even convince the Ringmaster to give Soleil more freedom—sometimes it worked. She tried her best and Soleil sure did appreciate it.

"Tonight's the night Sol." The woman spoke as she wiped off the girl's eyeshadow.

"We're finally getting out of this place?"

"What? Didn't you like it here?"

"I'd rather spend part of the spring in San Diego or Los Angles, not Riverside."

Cassandra shook her head. "Well, then, I'm not sure you'll like where we're going next."

"You know?"

"Everett told me earlier, Hawkins, Indiana."

Soleil sighed as she took her headband off. "It sounds like a boring small town."

"Hey, small towns aren't all that boring. I grew up in one, they can be fun." Cassandra tucked her hair behind one ear to reveal the one hearing aid she wore. She had trouble with her hearing in her right ear and that was before running from her family and joining the Circus. Cassie was pretty transparent about her past, her mother conned the rich, and her father was an art thief. She lived well before the Circus but she always told Soleil she wouldn't trade it for anything.

"Oh really?"

"Yes really, I heard they rebuilt their big mall." Cassandra rethought what she just said. "Oh, Sol..."

"There's no way he'll let me do that."

"He's trying to keep you safe—"

"I have heard that my whole life. He's trying to protect me from the inevitable, why can't I just live how I want to if my life is gonna be short anyway?"

"Because you aren't normal Soleil." An irritated voice nearly made Soleil jump out of her seat. She was met with the scowl of the man who was supposed to be her father. "I don't need you to go before your time, why can't you realize that I do this for your protection?"

Soleil jumped up and stood in front of her father while Cassandra watched. "I just want to be happy Dad! I don't want to die friendless, in this Circus I've been living in my whole life. I just want something different, don't I deserve to be an eighteen-year-old for once? Why can't you see that!" 

The Ringmaster stared his daughter down which caused a knot to form in her throat.

"Go to your trailer and pack your things right now. We're going to the next town."

"Dad..."

"Soleil, I'm not gonna ask again. Not another word."

"Fine."

She stared at her father's back, clenching her fists as he walked away. She knew he was scared to lose her but, keeping her locked away like this wasn't right. She was gonna die no matter what, if that was the case, she wanted to live the way she wanted to. Soleil longed for a night out or a simple shopping trip, she longed for a relationship, even a heartbreak. She longed to feel something other than the encapsulating and frigid red and white tent that she had spent her whole life in.

Cassandra spoke. "I'll talk to him alright? You go on and get your things."

"Okay." Cassandra gave the girl a side hug while walking off to her dressing room.

Soleil made her way out of the tent but, not before grabbing her yellow handbag that held all of her essentials, and out into the open where she saw the workers of the Regal Circus packing up food stands, rides, and other activities they had. She strolled over to one of the stands run by a young man named Jackson who always had a soft pretzel left over for her.

Jackson was a shorter guy that had buzzed brown hair but they liked the same music. One year for Sol's birthday, he got her an Iron Maiden album on cassette. He was a relaxed guy and alright in Sol's book.

"Hey, Jackson."

The brown-haired guy looked up from what he was doing. "Soleil, you're here for your complimentary pretzel."

"You know it. You got that new Bon Jovi album yet?"

"No, borrowing Kara's until I can get my hands on the record."

"Kara? Like Kara who does contortion Kara? Like the Kara that you like?"

"Yes." He quietly said. "You planning on getting it?"

"Cassie promised she'd get it before we headed out tonight but, it's probably sold out by now."

Jackson pulled a bag containing the snack out from his stand, sliding toward her. Soleil picked it up. "Well, there's always next time and—speaking of us leaving, you know where we're headin' this time?"

"Hawkins, Indiana."

"Never heard of it. Think it'll be fun?"

"Don't know Jackson, I'll just be performing like always." She took a large bite of her pretzel.

"There has to be more that you want to do than just performing. Live a little bit."

She gave him a small smile. "I'll try my best."

Soleil then went on to walk over to the area where the trailers, which the performers lived out of, were. They were always behind the tent the actual Circus was held in.

It was easy to find hers since it was quite large, had the words "Fire Girl" where her name should be, and was silver so, the California sun reflected off of it. She reached inside her handbag to retrieve her keys then, she used them to unlock the trailer.

A small bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and, dining area made up her "home" since she was born. It wasn't much but she made it work. Colorful clothing and costumes rested in her closet, photos of her performances tucked into the sides of her wall mirror, and posters of bands whose music she listened to on cassette, hung on the wall. Her cassette tape player was one of the greatest gifts she ever received, it allowed for an outlet. An outlet from all this madness that her father regularly welcomed people to.

Soleil unearthed two duffel bags to pack up anything that couldn't be in the trailer as it was being dragged to the next state. Like her, her home was always moving, never stopping, never stable enough to build anything else. The young woman had to stop and stare at herself in the mirror.

"What the hell am I doing?" She couldn't bare to look at herself let alone continue with packing up. She sat down on her bed still with her snack in hand. How did she fall into this routine? This soulless routine of packing up, moving, and giving people what they want before leaving again.

She was tired of making sure everyone else was satisfied. When would it be her turn to be happy? When could she have what she wanted?

Soleil had managed to take her life by the reins by holding onto information—a thought that was locked in her brain. Her mind was telling her that this spring would be her last. It felt wrong to keep that from Cassandra, to keep it from the Ringmaster but this was the one thing that she could control, whether to tell or not. Maybe her mind was playing tricks with her, maybe she'd live to see the fall, the winter, and the spring again but, could she be sure if death stalked her like a Lion stalked a Gazelle?

One thing was certain in Soleil's mind. If this month was gonna be her last then nobody, not even the Ringmaster, was going to stop her from being an average eighteen-year-old.