Melancholia - Chapter 5: Melancholia Carnival Circus (Part 1: Introduction)

STORY BY: MB (CHAPTER 1-8); MH (CHAPTER 8)

Once upon a time in Melancholia, there was a carnival. Among the most famous exhibits was the circus, called the Melancholia Carnival Circus, or the MCC. Even though it seemed bright and nice, it had some dark secrets within it.

It just so happened that on one fateful day, a few kids came to the carnival.

"Hey, where do you guys want to go to?" asked Ben, the leader of their gang.

"Up to you," the others replied.

"Okay then, if it's up to me, then I choose...well I choose the circus!" exclaimed Ben. "I heard that it's a pretty magical and nice place."

"Okay, then let's go!" all of them shouted.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Arnold whispered under his breath.

They then went into the circus together.

"Look at how big the circus is!" exclaimed Catherine. "It looks bigger on the inside than it looks in the outside!"

"Yeah, it's quite big, alright," James said.

"Okay, so where to?" asked Mary.

Suddenly, a clown approached them. "Hi, kids! Are you here for the show? It starts in forty five minutes," she said.

"Well, what could we do until then?" asked Ben.

"We have arcade machines, puppets, a play area, a gift shop and a hall of mirrors and weird stuff."

"Okay, so where do you guys want to go to?" asked Ben.

"Hmmm... What if we all go to our own places of interest and meet up here forty minutes later?" asked James.

"Great idea," remarked Ben. "Let's do that. See you guys here forty minutes later," Ben said as they went off on their own separate ways.

Catherine went off to see the puppets. "Wow, there are so many different puppets!" exclaimed Catherine.

"Yes, there are," said a voice.

Catherine turned around and saw a chubby man. "Hi, I am Robin, the ventriloquist. I specialize in the puppeteer section."

"Hello, Robin. My name is Catherine," said Catherine. "Hey, don't you think that the puppets really look so life like?" commented Catherine.

"Well, each of them have a story behind their creation," said Robin. "And I know every single one of their backstories."

"You mean that you made every single puppet here yourself?" asked Catherine out of curiosity.

"Yes, indeed I have. Anyway, do you want to see a puppet performance?" asked Robin.

"Okay," replied Catherine. "Why not?"

"What performance do you want?" Robin asked. "A ventriloquist act or a puppet show?"

"I want a puppet show," replied Catherine. "I like puppets more, anyway," she added.

"Same here," said Robin. "Puppets seem to be more life like than dummies. Anyway, please give me a moment while I find my puppet. Why don't you take a seat?" Robin said while he searched for his puppet.

"Okay, I found it."

"Wow, a life sized puppet of Pinocchio!" exclaimed Catherine.

"Yes, I will show you a play of Pinocchio."

"I can't wait for it to start!" shouted Catherine excitedly.

"And it never will end, my dear sweet Catherine," Robin muttered to himself. "It will never end."