Here comes Chapter 2 of "Circus's Little Sunshine"! 🎪☀️
⚠️ Content Warning: This chapter contains scenes of violence and strong language.
I'd really appreciate it if you left a comment after reading! Your thoughts and feedback mean a lot to me and motivate me to keep writing. ❤️
...
A little girl and two jesters stood in front of a playground.
The park was crowded with people. Children swarmed around like a flock of chicks, climbing, running back and forth, drawing with chalk on the pavement, or taking turns on the swings. Parents rested on nearby benches with tired expressions in their eyes.
It was a public park, but also a place where children came to play. And for a traveling circus, it was the perfect place to hand out flyers.
"Whoooa!"
Ru's eyes sparkled with childish excitement. She couldn't wait to try the climbing net, the different swings, and the tall slides.
Pierrot gently set the little girl down and gave her a light push forward.
"Well then. Go have fun, kitten."
Harlequin folded his arms across his chest as he watched her.
Ru looked up at them in confusion.
"Uncles... aren't you coming too?"
The two jesters exchanged a glance before Harlequin answered.
"No, kitten. We still have flyers to hand out."
The green jester glanced toward a group of mothers nearby. They were staring at the circus performers while whispering among themselves.
"And besides..."
He rolled his eyes.
"I'd rather those ladies didn't mistake me for some creepy guy hanging around children."
Then he reached into Ru's little backpack and pulled out her plush rabbit.
"But we'll be close by, so don't be scared."
Ru accepted the rabbit with both hands.
For a brief moment, strange memories flickered through her mind. She couldn't understand them. It felt as though someone had once given this rabbit to her.
But who?
She hugged it tightly against her chest.
The jesters noticed the look on her face.
Harlequin gently patted her head.
"Don't make such a sad face. Jester will be here soon, and he wouldn't want to see you looking gloomy."
Those words somehow lifted her spirits.
The strange feeling of emptiness faded away.
She beamed at them with the brightest smile she could manage.
"Uncle Harlequin! Uncle Pierrot! You're the best!"
She stretched out both arms, asking for a hug.
Pierrot couldn't stop a warm smile from appearing on his face. His heart tightened at such innocent affection.
Unable to resist, he leaned down and hugged her.
Harlequin let out a long sigh as he watched the overly sweet scene unfold.
Still...
Even his own heart softened at her words.
When Pierrot finally let go, Ru happily ran toward the playground.
The moment she was gone, a nearby group of women began talking. They weren't far from the circus performers, making every word easy to overhear.
"Oh my God... should we call the police, girls? Those circus clowns are so creepy."
"I don't know. The police still haven't found the missing people. I heard they already searched that circus, but maybe that's just a rumor."
"I'm taking my kids home. Who knows what those freaks are doing here."
Pierrot and Harlequin ignored every word.
It wasn't the first time they'd heard people talk about them like that.
Without wasting another second, they simply continued handing out flyers.
...
Ru stood in the middle of the playground.
"First I'll go down the slide! Then I'll try the swings! Oh... maybe I should make some friends first! Yeah! Friends first!" she thought to herself.
She looked around until her eyes landed on a small group of girls jumping rope.
"Hey! Can I play with you?"
Ru ran over to them.
At first, the girls smiled politely. But then one of their mothers called her daughter over and gave Ru a wary look.
Everyone understood what she meant...
Everyone except Ru.
The girls hesitated before answering.
Finally, one of them—a red-haired girl—spoke up.
"Weren't you with those clowns just now?"
"With the clowns? Yeah!"
Ru immediately brightened.
"They're my uncles! I live with them. They're really nice! Uncle Pierrot cooks delicious food, Uncle Doctor loves flowers, and Uncle Jester—"
She was interrupted.
The girls slowly shook their heads.
"Sorry... but we don't want to play with someone from that circus."
Ru blinked in surprise.
"But... why? The circus is amazing!"
She tried to sound cheerful, but her voice lacked its usual excitement.
The girls said nothing else.
They simply turned around and walked away, leaving Ru standing there alone.
She remained frozen in place.
"Maybe... they just misunderstood me? Or maybe they had somewhere else to be..."
But there was no time to be sad.
Maybe she'd have better luck with someone else.
Soon she noticed a group of children around her age playing on the swings. Some were swinging while others pushed them, laughing happily together.
"There they are! New friends!"
Ru hurried over.
The moment she approached them, every child turned to look at her.
Their smiles disappeared.
They were replaced by uneasy, frightened expressions.
"U-Um... hi."
She waved shyly.
"I'm Ru! Do you want to play with me?"
The children exchanged uncomfortable looks.
One of them finally opened his mouth.
"Maybe..."
"No!"
A little girl hurried over.
"My mom said we're not supposed to play with you."
She crossed her arms.
"Could you please leave? We're playing."
Ru quietly lowered her hand.
She didn't argue.
But...
Why doesn't anyone want to play with me?
I'm not a bad person...
Heartbroken, the little circus girl walked away.
Every attempt after that ended exactly the same.
Some children ignored her.
Some told her to go away.
Others were pulled away by their parents before they could even answer.
Eventually, Ru sat alone on a bench beneath the shade of a large tree.
She hugged her rabbit tightly, clenching her little fists.
Her eyes filled with tears.
But she refused to cry.
Instead, only one thought echoed inside her head.
"Jester will come...
He'll play with me.
He'll definitely come."
Harlequin and Pierrot were nowhere to be seen.
Maybe they had gone somewhere else.
That was fine.
Jester would come.
She would wait for him.
Ru kept scanning the crowd, searching for his familiar silhouette among the gloomy-looking adults.
Several minutes passed.
She looked again.
Nothing.
A few more minutes.
Still nothing.
She had already lost track of time, but her hope refused to disappear.
She didn't even want to play anymore.
How could anyone enjoy a playground alone?
The colorful slides...
The swings...
None of them interested her anymore.
Her eyes remained fixed on the path where the circus leader might appear.
But...
He still wasn't there.
Just then, a boy's voice broke the silence.
"Hey. What are you doing? Are you here by yourself?"
Ru looked up.
Standing in front of her was a boy who looked slightly older than she was.
His clothes were dirty and a little torn.
His hair was messy.
A bandage covered the bridge of his nose.
He looked exactly like the kind of troublemaker parents warned their kids about.
Ru, however, saw something completely different.
"Hey, mister!"
She quickly stood from the bench.
"Do you want to play with me?"
The boy reacted strangely.
At first he looked annoyed.
Then...
A faint grin spread across his face, as if he'd suddenly found something amusing.
"And why would I want to play with you?"
he asked with a smirk, looking her up and down.
Ru smiled hopefully.
"You came over to me, didn't you?"
Her spirits immediately lifted.
"So I thought maybe you wanted to play! None of the other kids wanted to... but maybe you do?"
...
Ru sat alone on a bench beneath the shade of a tree.
She clenched her tiny fists and hugged her stuffed rabbit even tighter. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she refused to cry. Only one thought echoed in her mind.
"Jester will come. I'll play with Jester. He'll definitely come."
Harlequin and Pierrot were nowhere to be seen. Had they gone somewhere else? Fine. Jester would come eventually. She would wait for him.
Again and again, Ru searched the crowd, hoping to catch sight of a familiar figure among the gloomy adults.
A few minutes passed.
Nothing.
A few more minutes.
Still nothing.
She had long since lost track of time, but her hope never faded. She didn't even want to play anymore. How could anyone enjoy a playground alone?
The colorful slides and swings no longer caught her attention. Her eyes stayed fixed on the path where the leader of the circus might appear.
But he never did.
Suddenly, a boy's voice broke the silence.
"Hey. What are you doing? Are you here by yourself?"
Ru looked up.
Standing in front of her was a boy a little older than she was. His clothes were dirty and slightly torn, his messy hair stuck out in every direction, and a bandage covered the bridge of his nose.
He looked like a troublemaker.
Ru, however, saw something completely different.
"Hey, friend! Do you want to play with me?"
She jumped off the bench with renewed excitement.
The boy gave her a strange look. At first he seemed annoyed, but then a sly grin slowly spread across his face.
"And why would I play with you?"
"You came over to me," Ru answered cheerfully. "So I thought you wanted to! None of the other kids wanted to play with me... What about you?"
The boy folded his arms and looked her up and down.
"Tell me... why do you think nobody wants to play with you?"
Ru lowered her head.
"I... I don't know. They just don't."
"I know why."
Her eyes lit up.
"Really? Why?"
He leaned closer until his face was only inches from hers.
"Because..."
"...you're one of those circus freaks."
Silence.
Ru's lips trembled.
Her eyebrows slowly knitted together.
"When that circus showed up, people started disappearing," the boy continued. "That never happened before. The grown-ups said the people working there are murderers and maniacs."
Ru stared at him.
Hearing someone say those things about her family hurt far more than she expected.
"That's not true!" she suddenly shouted.
"It is. Everyone in this park knows each other." He poked her forehead with one finger.
"But you..."
"...you're the outsider."
He smiled coldly.
"Ever wonder why nobody wants to play with you? Because nobody wants to be friends with someone who lives with those circus freaks."
"THEY AREN'T FREAKS!"
Ru's voice echoed through the trees.
"They're my uncles! They're really, really nice! I love them! And... and I don't even want to play with you anymore!"
Before she could react, the boy snatched the stuffed rabbit from her hands.
He raised it high above his head.
"Oh? Really?" he asked with an unsettling smile.
"I thought you wanted to play with us."
His grin widened.
"So... let's play."
Without another word, he turned and ran.
"Wait!"
Ru chased after him immediately.
"Please! Give it back!"
She had to stop every few seconds just to catch her breath.
The boy deliberately slowed down now and then, making sure she could still see him.
Almost as if...
...he wanted to lure her somewhere.
Ru hated running.
Soon she tripped, crashing face-first onto the pavement.
Her palms scraped against the rough ground, and fresh scratches appeared on her cheeks.
She barely noticed.
She jumped back to her feet and kept running.
Eventually they reached the quietest part of the park.
No playground.
No children.
Only trees.
The boy finally stopped.
Ru bent over, gasping for air, her hands resting on her knees.
She had never run this fast in her life.
"Give... give me my rabbit back..."
The boy chuckled.
"Oh? Are circus kids even allowed to have toys?"
He looked the rabbit over with fake curiosity.
"I figured you found this thing in a dumpster."
"Give it back! It was a present... a present..."
Ru hesitated.
She couldn't remember who had given it to her.
But she knew...
It was precious.
"A present?" the boy mocked.
"From your mommy?"
Ru froze.
Then—
She remembered.
Not clearly.
Only fragments.
But enough.
Her mother.
It had been her mother's gift.
Tears finally rolled down her cheeks.
The boy ignored them.
Instead, he grabbed one of the rabbit's arms...
...and began pulling.
"Stop!"
"Please don't!"
The seams stretched.
Threads snapped one by one.
Ru reached forward.
Almost.
Almost—
...
CRACK.
...
The rabbit's arm tore clean off right before Ru's eyes.
She froze.
Without looking away from her, the boy grabbed the rabbit's head...
...and ripped it away from the body.
A clump of white stuffing drifted onto the pavement.
Ru collapsed to her knees.
Tears streamed endlessly down her face, yet not a single sob escaped her lips.
The boy tossed the ruined remains of the rabbit at her feet.
Dirty.
Torn apart.
Broken.
Ru slowly reached for the tiny detached paw with trembling fingers.
Her beloved rabbit looked pitiful now.
It hurt just to look at it.
She couldn't move.
She couldn't think.
The boy only laughed.
"HAHA! That rabbit is so cheap it tears apart without any effort! No wonder someone like you has a toy like this."
He turned to leave.
Then—
Something slammed into his back.
"Ow!"
He stumbled forward and hit the ground.
When he looked back, Ru was standing there.
Tears still rolled down her cheeks...
...but the expression on her face had changed.
She was angry.
The boy immediately jumped to his feet and rushed at her.
He grabbed one of her pigtails and yanked it hard.
"AAAAAH!"
Ru cried out in pain.
There was no one nearby to see them.
But she fought back.
Without hesitating, she grabbed his ear and pulled with all her strength.
The two children struggled against each other.
They pulled hair.
Scratched skin.
Nearly tore each other's clothes apart.
For a moment, it seemed evenly matched.
Then the boy gained the upper hand.
He grabbed both of Ru's wrists with one hand while still clutching her hair with the other.
He shook her around like she weighed nothing.
Ru knew exactly why she was fighting.
Not just because of the rabbit.
Not just because it had been destroyed.
But because he had insulted her circus...
...and the people she loved.
Tears blurred her vision.
No one came to help.
Then—
Something inside her finally snapped.
She lunged forward...
...and sank her teeth into his arm.
The boy screamed so loudly that several adults heard him.
He tried to pull away.
He shoved her.
He struggled.
But Ru refused to let go.
She bit down even harder.
Suddenly—
A woman's hand shoved her away with brutal force.
Ru fell onto the ground.
"My baby!"
The woman rushed to the crying boy and wrapped him in her arms.
He was sobbing uncontrollably.
"It was her!" he cried.
"She bit me! She attacked me!"
The woman's face twisted with fury.
She handed the boy over to another adult—probably his father—and stormed toward Ru.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU LITTLE BRAT?!"
She grabbed Ru's arm so hard that the little girl couldn't break free.
"IS THIS WHAT THEY TAUGHT YOU AT HOME?! TO BITE PEOPLE?!"
"What if you had ripped my son's skin off?!"
"ARE YOU RABID?!"
The furious woman jerked Ru back and forth.
Ru cried.
She pleaded.
But none of the other parents stepped forward.
"They ought to teach you a lesson..."
The woman clicked her tongue and raised her hand high.
Ru instinctively shrank into herself.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
It's over...
Just as the woman swung her hand—
Someone caught her wrist.
She froze.
Standing beside them was a tall man.
He wore a long black coat.
A dark hat.
A black mask concealed his face.
Ru slowly looked up.
"...Jester..."
she whispered between sobs.
A small smile appeared through her tears.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?"
The woman instinctively released Ru and took a step back.
"Can't you see what happened?!"
She pointed at her son.
"That little monster bit him!"
Jester didn't even glance at the boy.
Instead, he looked directly at the woman.
"And did you see what led to the fight?"
His voice was calm.
Cold.
The woman hesitated.
For the first time, she had no answer.
Jester bent down and gently lifted Ru into his arms.
The moment she felt his embrace...
...she completely broke down.
Her shoulders shook violently as she buried her face against his chest.
"Jester..."
She repeated his name over and over between her sobs.
His clawed hand slowly stroked her hair.
At last...
She felt safe.
"I think it's best if we leave."
Without another word, Jester picked up the torn remains of the stuffed rabbit as well.
He turned away.
"Who do you think you are?!" the woman shouted after him.
"You can't just defend some disgusting little brat you don't even know!"
Jester stopped.
For a brief moment...
Everything became silent.
Then he turned his head.
Darkness seemed to gather around him.
His face disappeared beneath a shadow.
Only his black eyes remained visible—
burning with a faint violet flame.
"Because..."
His voice sent a chill through every parent standing nearby.
"...I am her parent."
"And protecting her..."
"...is my responsibility."
He held the woman's gaze until she was the first to look away.
Only then did he straighten up and continue walking.
After a few steps, he stopped once more.
Without even turning around, he said quietly,
"I think..."
"...you should spend more time teaching your own spoiled child."
And with those words...
he left behind a group of speechless parents.
...
"Where could that girl have gone?!"
Harlequin scanned the park anxiously, searching every corner for the tiny girl.
Nearby, Pierrot was approaching one passerby after another, silently showing them a picture of Ru and asking if they had seen her.
No one had.
"Ru!" Harlequin shouted across the playground.
"Quit hiding already!"
No answer.
She was nowhere to be found.
They had only looked away for a minute.
Then—
A familiar sound reached them.
Crying.
Both jesters turned toward it.
Their hearts sank.
Jester was walking toward them...
...carrying a sobbing Ru in his arms.
Her hair was a mess.
Her hands were covered in scrapes.
Fresh scratches marked her face, now red from endless tears.
Harlequin's confident smile vanished.
"What happened?"
Without saying a word, Jester held out something in his hand.
Harlequin stared.
"...Wait."
His expression froze.
"That's..."
"...her favorite rabbit."
Pierrot's chest tightened.
For a moment, it felt as though he'd forgotten how to breathe.
Instinctively, he reached for Ru.
The moment she was in his arms...
She flinched.
"What happened, little star?"
he whispered softly.
"My hands hurt..."
Ru mumbled against his chest.
"...and my hair."
Silence fell.
A dark shadow crossed both Pierrot's and Harlequin's faces.
The moment they heard those words...
Rage boiled inside them.
Whoever had done this...
Neither of them intended to forgive it.
Before either could speak, Jester calmly broke the silence.
"Let's go home."
"The circus will be closed for the rest of the day."
"I'll spend some time with Ru."
He offered the others a gentle smile.
Their anger slowly settled.
Right now...
Ru mattered more than revenge.
None of them even noticed...
...that she had already fallen asleep in Pierrot's arms.
The three performers continued walking through the nearly deserted streets.
The circus wasn't far anymore.
Dark clouds had covered the sky again.
They had wanted to spend a little more time with Ru outside...
...but fate had other plans.
Pierrot carefully carried the sleeping girl in his arms.
They needed to get her to Doctor as soon as possible.
Her cuts and scrapes could easily become infected.
For a while...
everything was peaceful.
A warm summer breeze.
Quiet streets.
The exhaustion that always followed a day's work.
Then—
"HEY, YOU!"
A man's voice suddenly echoed from behind them.
The three jesters stopped and turned around.
About several meters away stood seven young men.
The expressions on their faces...
...and the cruel smiles they wore...
made their intentions perfectly clear.
Slowly—
they began walking toward the circus troupe.
End of Chapter 2.
