35 -- Josef Finds the Circus

The next morning, Jozef left his horse at the inn’s stables and walked to the circus grounds in the misty morning rain. The circus, huddling on a large piece of land encircled with a loose wooden fence, looked almost forlorn. The big tent was up, to house the larger animals over the winter, Jozef guessed. The caravan wagons were circling the tent, with the animal cages out front and the living quarters for the trainers and artist probably in the back, as far as Jozef could see as he came closer.

He tried the front gate, but it was closed and locked, so he squeezed through a largish space between two fence boards. The free space between the caravans and the tent was desolated. A whiff of straw and animals came from the tent. Jozef heard a faint rustling and the bellowing of some great cat. His heart leaped at the thought of what he was about to do. It felt right, so right. He hoped everything would turn out the way he envisioned.

He rounded the tent, careful to avoid the worst of the mud on the drizzly ground, and approached the trailers with tiny curtains in the windows, and smoke coming out of small chimneys on the roofs. He assumed the circus people lived in them. He made his way along them, wondering what circus families would be like. 

He couldn't find what he was looking for, so he decided to ask. He selected a caravan from which the sound of children’s laughter came, went up three small steps and knocked on the door.

His heart was hammering in his chest as footsteps came to the door and it creaked open. He half expected Nina to answer his knock, but was disappointed.

 Wizlaw, in his morning coat stood before him. His eyes grew large as he saw Jozef. “You’re not one of us. What brings you here?”