Elion awoke to the gentle touch of someone stroking his head, but he did not know how much time had passed. Recognizing the painfully familiar sensation, he remained still and quietly enjoyed the pleasant feeling. For which he immediately paid the price.
A sweet whisper sounded in his ear:
"I know you're not asleep, but you're very cute, so I..." Elion did not let the seductive sound fill his mind, however, and jumped up as if stung.
He looked irritably at the cunning temptress and was about to start the day with another argument. Then, he remembered the words spoken to him by the redheaded lady and decided to check something.
He reached out to his sister's wheat-colored head and...
"Hmmm... Wrong again?" He muttered, running his hand through her hair.
She pressed herself harder against his hand in response.
"Elion, today is supposed to be your birthday, so why am I getting the presents?" Anabel muttered with a mischievous smile.
"Right! It's your birthday today! Belle, we're going to be late for the circus! What time is it?!" Elion shouted, coming to his senses and stopping his strange seduction.
"Hmmm... I think it's past noon," Annabelle said thoughtfully, looking at his hand strangely. Anabel said thoughtfully, looking at her hand strangely.
"What?! Then why the hell didn't you wake me up?!"
"Well, you know... You were just so sweet..." His sister began, completely ignoring his outburst. But she was interrupted.
"Stop! Can't I even have peace on my birthday?! Why are you doing this to me, Goddess?" Elion shouted, looking up. But then he paused and began to mutter under his breath.
"Wait, maybe that red-haired girl is a goddess...? But why would the gods or anyone else have anything to do with me? And do they even exist...? Ah, never mind. The more you think, the more questions you have, and the further away the right answer gets."
After finishing his lament, Elion turned his attention back to his sister. She was watching him with a sweet smile, clearly accustomed to his detective antics.
"What are you staring at? Hurry up and get dressed! We'll definitely be late if we don't hurry!"
After giving his sister instructions, Elion chose his typical detective outfit without thinking twice and began to get dressed.
His parents had already left, so there was no ready-made breakfast. Considering that they were already late, they decided it would be wise to skip breakfast and eat a hearty lunch or dinner instead.
After getting dressed, they gathered in the hall, ready to leave.
Without thinking, Elion said,
"How much time do you think we have left? We may need to run."
He was tying his shoelaces and couldn't see his sister's expression, but her silence spoke for itself.
"Hey, why are you so qu...?" Finally finishing with his shoelaces, Elion turned around and immediately froze.
Looking at Annabelle's slightly shocked expression, the boy said,
"No..."
...
The neighbors went outside and noticed a strange situation at the only house that wasn't beige.
A little boy was frantically running around a girl, shouting in shock and on the verge of tears.
"What should we do, Belle?! How will we know when it starts? How will we know where it will be?! Sister! What should we do?!" During these rare moments, Elion became a bit capricious and immediately relied on the nearest adult.
Annabelle couldn't help but enjoy these moments. She said in an encouraging, parental tone,
"Oh, my little Elion, you have nothing to worry about. We'll just go look at that announcement again. That's all."
"Really? Will everything be okay?"
"Of course." Anabel replied with a confident smile.
Imagine her surprise when they arrived at the location of the advertisement and discovered...nothing.
As he watched his sister's stoic expression crack and turn to shock, Elion muttered,
"No..."
...
He lay on his back, staring at the sky with a blank look, still in shock.
"No." He muttered, probably for the hundredth time.
Annabelle sat quietly beside him, stroking his head. She had nothing to say. She had failed.
As usual, passersby paid no attention to this strange couple. They had nothing to do with anything except themselves.
"Excuse me, young people. I venture to suggest that you have lost the circus, gentlemen. Is that not so?" a strangely lisping voice cheerfully addressed them.
Elion turned in surprise to the speaker and froze. Then he jumped up abruptly and said joyfully,
"Yes, sir. We wanted to go to the show, but we didn't know where to go or what time it started. Are you from the circus, mister...clown?"
The speaker was a man wearing a strange hat with blue and red protrusions hanging down. He wore baggy blue, red, and purple clothes. His face was pale and expressionless, like a mask. The only thing that moved on it was his wide red mouth. Indeed, he was a clown.
"Haha, how cleverly you guessed my profession, young gentleman. You are correct; I am from the circus. Or perhaps the circus is from me—who can tell? Hahaha!" The clown laughed even more cheerfully.
"In that case, could you tell us how to get to the show?" Elion asked, completely oblivious to the clown's strange behavior.
"Of course! After all, it's because of me that you couldn't get there."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Elion asked, tilting his head.
"Oh, how could that be? How could that be? All right! I'll tell you what the joke was. I took down the announcement that was posted here."
"Huh? Why'd you do that, Mr. Clown?" The boy asked innocently.
"Well... Let's just say it wasn't a very successful joke. Unfortunately, my audience didn't appreciate it."
"Umm, okay...?" Elion's logical arguments were pointless here, so he didn't even try.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please come with me to see a truly unforgettable performance!"
"Yeah!" The boy shouted cheerfully. Taking Anabel by the hand, he went to his first performance.
...
Having discovered a curious person, Elion chatted cheerfully with the clown all the way there.
Annabelle looked at the clown strangely at first, but then, seeing her brother's bright smile, lost herself in his charm again.
The strange clown, the boy, the equally strange girl, and the ordinary 10-year-old boy arrived at the circus.
A bright red and blue tent stood at the entrance to the forest, prompting the question, "How the hell did it get here?"
"Mr. Clown, why is the circus on the edge of town, almost in the forest?"
"Try to guess, young gentleman."
"So they don't have to pay taxes?" The boy asked, offering the first answer that came to mind. This seemed to make the clown's eternal smile falter a little.
"Um... Ahem... Hehe, that's right, young man. You're absolutely right!"
"Wow, you're almost a criminal, sir! That's cool!" Elion clearly had strange ideas about what was cool.
Finally, they approached the bright entrance with a sign that read:
'The Kingdom of Jokes.'
"Mr. Clown, how much is a ticket?" Elion asked, not taking his eyes off the bright sign.
"What do you mean by 'money'? Does it have any value? Haha! We will take the most valuable and important thing from you, and that is..." The clown paused dramatically, turned to his guests, and spread his arms wide.
"Your laughter and smiles! We'll take them from you for the duration of the show! Haha! We'll definitely try to get as much as possible!"
"Wow..." The boy responded admiringly.
"Come on, hurry up! The show is about to start!"