The Carnival
was back in town, with just two days to go before Valentine’s Day. Some called
it perfect timing, because they wouldn't have to worry about a venue to take
their dates to.
A few words
about the Carnival. It was a monthly event. Now this Carnival was basically a
caravan of gypsies who went from town to town and performed. For a meager fee,
you would be taken into a tent and your fortune would be told. You would get
cotton candy and lollies in the shape of hearts. You might even be treated to
the blind cello player in dark glasses who serenaded a mournful melody in G
minor.
This
Carnival was like any other, and yet it was unique. Each time it came around,
it had a new performer. There was Bonzo the Clown, there was the Punch and Judy
show, there was Barbas the talking dog. This time there was a Harlequin.
The
Harlequin at the Carnival was a nomad. He just turned up one day and the troupe
accepted him, because in reality ie, when he was out of costume, the Harlequin
was a good and willing worker and a very kind man. Once in costume, he became a
true trickster. He would hide the trapeze cords. He would lock the manager in
the latrines. He would pinch bottles of rum from the knife thrower and so on.
The Carnival
people didn’t really like him all that much and he usually kept to himself,
rarely talking to anyone. He did his
fair share of work. He played his pranks in costume and he retired to his tent
at the end of each day.
And now that
we have known our Harlequin, let us return to our narrative.
It was
Valentine’s Day; or rather it was the night of Valentine’s Day. The Carnival
was chock full of people in love, walking arm in arm with their better halves.
Some were eating cotton candy. Some were trying their hand at the rifle range.
Others were high in the air on the Ferris Wheel.
Our
Harlequin is absent. Let us find him. Follow me.
We start our
search for him in his tent. We are told he was last seen after lunch. He was in
costume, which can only mean he is up to his mischief again.
Tell me
this. Could it be you are thinking what I am thinking my dear Reader? On this
night, when love is in the air, is it possible our Harlequin has spied a lady
love of his own?
--------
Jaime was
late for school. He didn’t mind. He hated school. He was always bullied there.
No one understood him when he spoke. He spoke of making impossible things
happen. He spoke of making a telescope from rubber tubes and of making
fireworks from detergent.
Everyone
laughed at Jaime. Everyone apart from Her.
She was in
his class. She was blonde, and beautiful. Jamie loved her. He loved the way her
eyes shone with delight and he loved the way the light bounced off her curls.
Except, Jaime never told her anything.
And tonight,
at the Carnival; there she was. It was her. He was sure of it. She was alone.
He found that odd. She was just as pretty as he remembered her in school.
Underneath his black mask, Jamie was sweating.
The girl
noticed the Harlequin standing nearby. He had a black mask on. He seemed to be
looking for someone; or something maybe? He was looking at her. She could tell,
in spite of his mask. She wondered if he planned to play a prank on her. She
smiled at him.
Jamie was
distracted by her smile. He just stood there and looked on. He wondered why she
was smiling. Did she recognize the man under the mask? Was she smiling at his
costume? He wanted to ask her, but he was afraid. What if he was daydreaming?
He decided
he would risk it. This wasn’t school. He wouldn’t, he couldn’t let her get away
again.
------
Jaime’s day
was getting worse and worse. He was not allowed to enter the first class
because he was 15 minutes late. It didn’t help that his uniform had mud on it
and he looked scruffy. The fact of the matter was that he had fallen in a ditch
and therefore looked dishevelled.
It didn’t help
that She was laughing at him. He felt so embarrassed then. It seemed as if he
had lost the only friend he had. All because of his clumsiness.
Jamie
decided he would run away. He reasoned that there would be some place for a
young boy like him in the world. A place where his eccentricities would be
appreciated and not ridiculed. A place where his talent at slapstick comedy
would earn him his daily bread.
And so,
Jamie ran. He ran from the school. He ran across the fields. He ran to the high
road leading into town.
Jamie never
came back. In his place came a
Harlequin.
-------
That same
Harlequin was motionlessly staring at the girl he knew in school. She was still
smiling at him, expecting him to play a prank on her.
Jamie walked
up to her.
He asked her
one question.
“Will You be
my Valentine?”
She smiled
even wider and kissed him on the cheek.
“You’re so
sweet! And here I thought Harlequins were mischievous! Wait here. I need you to
meet my boyfriend.”
And just
like that, she turned and was gone.
And once
again, Jamie wanted to run. But then he remembered, He was a fool, standing on
a hill; seeing the world spinning around and seeing it for what it really was.
That’s why
he chose to become a Harlequin. He found them fascinating. He liked to read of
Harlequins in theatres, disrupting order at will; causing mischief and mayhem.
He also
found himself identifying with the Harlequin. After all, didn’t she cause
mayhem in his heart? Wasn’t she disrupting the order he adhered to?
Such were
the thoughts of our Harlequin as he turned away and walked off into the night.
A few
minutes later, She came back to where the Harlequin had been, dragging a boy
with her. She didn’t see him anywhere and she looked around for him.
The
Harlequin was however nowhere to be found.
She sighed and turned around, asking her boyfriend to take her home.
On the hill
overlooking the Carnival, the Harlequin stood and watched her walk away again.
But, ironically, he smiled and climbed back down the hill. He entered the
Carnival grounds and began to play his pranks again.
The Bilge Master
