#hanene

Rumour has it that seven mysteries reside within the Kamome travelling circus. It is said that something miraculous will occur if you can uncover the truth behind each of them, but nobody is quite sure what. 

Oh? You don’t know about them? In that case, I'll tell you about just one - the most well known. Hanako-san of the Big Top.

  They say that behind the target in the big top ring you can find Hanako-san. A wish will be granted to anyone who manages to summon him, but in return he will take away something that person holds dear. To summon him you must push a knife into the target and walk around it three times slowly.

Hanako-san.

Hanako-san.

Hanako-san.

Nene’s teeth chattered as she walked, and as much as she wished she could blame it on the cold night air–her nerves got the best of her. She had never broken into anywhere in her life, which should be the main cause of her anxiety, and yet she found herself less fearful of bumping into someone who worked here than the idea that what she was about to try might really... She shook her head, trying to swat away the thought. This needed to work. Even if it was scary, it was her last hope. 

  The sound of performers changing out of their costumes and heading to their brightly painted caravans for bed had long since died down by the time she reached the entrance of the tent. Its usual blinding glow and boisterous atmosphere now replaced by a dark, imposing gloom as she ever so gently tugged at the bottom of the striped fabric and ducked inside. 

  The tent was vast and empty, yet as she made her way to the stage it felt like every seat was occupied, a thousand pairs of eyes staring down at her. What on earth was she thinking? Is she really so desperate? Look at her… of course she's desperate. 

  Her tiny torch did very little to illuminate such vast surroundings, which meant it took her a little while to find it–but there it was, tucked away in the back of the tent, looking rather worse for wear. The target must have been twice her height, and the leather straps attached to it made it feel like some kind of sacrificial altar. She was going to chew a hole through her cheek at this rate. 

  Nene knew what to do, she had it memorised, repeating the instructions to herself for the hundredth time that day, as she pulled a throwing knife from a box nearby and pushed it gently into the center of the target. 

Her mouth felt dry.

One.

Her feet felt so heavy.

Two.

Was it always this cold?

Three. 

Nene’s breath felt icy in her throat, the silence of everything cancelled out by the pounding of her heart ringing in her ears. 

Nothing? 

Nothing. She had gotten herself all wound up, scared and hopeful and there was nothing. 

Another moment passed and she cursed herself for thinking any of the silly rumours could be tr–

  Fingers. Long fingers creeping up from behind the target, slowly gripping down on it one by one. Oh god. What had she done?

  A voice, low and croaky and almost mocking in its tone rang out, “I’m heeeeere.”

  She took a step back, her whole body willing her to run, when suddenly a freezing cold breath brushed her ear

   “Behind you.”

  The scream ripped from her throat, no regard for all the work she had put in to be discreet until now. As she spun on her heels and lashed out blindly, her eyes were scrunched shut so tight she saw spots… yet nothing happened, there was no sudden pain, no more terrifying voice, no tunnel with a light at the end. 

  One eye cracked open nervously, but before she could see anything–the ‘anything’ cleared its throat.

   “A little rude, don't you think?” 

  A truly pathetic squeak escaped her as she stared into the bright orange eyes of a boy around her own age. A boy whose face was currently obscured by her forearm, which seemed to be… reaching directly through his whole head. 

  Nene hit the floor, shielding herself with her arms. Not the optimal survival strategy in this situation, but then again, she thought to herself, running probably wouldn’t help much either. 

  “Pfft…ahahahahahaha!” The laughter felt far too bright and cheerful for the situation she found herself in. “Are you ok?”

  Even without hearing a single footstep, she could feel the presence sidle up beside her. She turned to find him kneeling, his head cocked to the side as he looked up at her, a grin spread across his face and one eyebrow raised. 

“I’m sorry!” Her voice came out a few octaves higher than usual as two glowing orbs floated closer to her face. “You–my–my hand went straight through…and the wisps… are you really…?”

  “A ghost? Yes!” The boy moved swiftly from beside her to balance atop the knife she had buried in the target, the tips of his toes barely touched its handle as he let out a giggle. “To be precise, I’m the seventh of this circus’s Seven Mysteries, Hanako-san, pleased to meet you!” 

  She looked at him properly for the first time as he tipped his hat at her. He was small, at most her own height, with thin tanned limbs and the roundest eyes she’d ever seen–such a bright orange it almost felt like they were glowing. His choppy black hair stuck out in all directions and the grin plastered across his face pushed his cheeks up to show off all his freckles. She had been expecting a tall, handsome mysterious man but he was–

  “Hanako-san… but no you can’t be! You’re way too young to perform in a circus! You look even younger than ME!” Nene pointed at the boy accusatory, all fear suddenly being thrown to the back of her mind. 

  A bemused look replaced his grin as he sat down cross legged in the air “Well, I guess things have changed a bit since I died? child labour laws were a bit ehhhh lax, especially in the circus. But I assure you, I'm definitely Hanako.” 

  “Oh, well that makes sense, I guess?” She hummed a little before deciding she believed him, disappointed as she was.

  A wisp gently floated past Nene’s face into his palm, twirling itself through his fingers almost affectionately, as he leaned over and pulled the dagger from the target with his free hand. 

  “I might be younger than you expected, but the rest of the rumours I guess you heard are all true. I will grant the wish of whoever summons me - for a price of course.” 

  The last sentence felt pointed, his eyes narrowing for a moment as he searched her face before going back into his cheery demeanor. “Don’t you have a wish? I’m all ears!” 

  “Okay well–my name is Yashiro Nene, I’m 16 years old, I live in this town and I want the guy I like to like me back this instant!” Nene shouted enthusiastically, matching Hanako's grin, before clamping her hands over her mouth as she realised that she had snuck into this tent and shouting wasn’t very sneaky. Pink spread quickly across her cheeks. “And I definitely shouldn’t be spotted here after closing I don’t think,” she whispered sheepishly. 

  Nene noticed how his eyes glinted like a cat in the dark as he scanned the tent, lazily tossing the dagger in the air a few times before pointing it towards the back exit. “Come on then, this way, you can tell me all about him somewhere you’re less likely to be spotted.” 

   “...You’re sure you’re not some kind of pervert ghost?” Nene hesitated, chewing her cheek once again as she looked Hanako up and down with concern. His mouth gaped open like a fish for a moment before snapping shut as he began crawling sullenly back into the target.  

  “Nonono, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it, thank you for trying to help, it’s so, so cool of you! Please?” She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back out, the offended look on his face struggled to stay in place before his head lolled back to laugh at her as she panicked. 

  “Cool now am I? Ok, well let's get outta here already!” He flew out of the target at speed, locking Nene’s arm in his own and dragging her along as he ran towards the exit with another burst of laughter and a wink in her direction. 

  His voice darkened just enough to send a chill down her spine as he lifted the fabric of the tent. 

“Let’s grant that wish then, shall we?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~