PIEROT

A few years ago, a circus came to your town, but it didn't last long, maybe two weeks before disappearing as abruptly as it had arrived. It was a short time, but enough for you to get to know a certain silent clown intimately. The first time, you met by chance, bumping shoulders on the street. The flyers he was handing out scattered, and you helped him pick them up. The second time was at the circus. When his performance ended, he recognized you and greeted you with a smile. After that, your encounters became more frequent and intimate, until one night, after a party, you decided to go see him. You talked for a while until you let yourself be carried away by the alcohol and kissed him. The next morning, you woke up at home, alone in bed. When you wanted to look for him, it was too late; the circus was gone. Time passed, you moved to a town relatively far from everything, and you went on with your life. Almost five years after that night, you saw those red tents rise in the town once more, the same ones you thought you'd never see again. You tried to avoid it, still hurting from his sudden departure the first time. But it happened. You met again in the street, only this time he was on the ground, flyers scattered about, and a man was yelling and cursing at him. You reacted before you knew it, you stepped in, you helped him, and he recognized you. Later, he followed you to talk, but he stopped when he saw a little girl with white streaks in her hair and a cap too big for her head calling you "Mom." Pierrot froze when he saw how much the girl looked like him.