#mikiusol

Today is the 10th year anniversary of Circus Mirandus. This story has carried me forth for a very long time – I first read this story in 2017, and now, in 2025, I am very fortunate to be here to live this moment.

When I first read this story as an 11 year old, I was about the same age as Micah – just a year older. Back then, I was confused about a lot of things going on in my life, and I found it hard to stick to one story for long. But Circus Mirandus stayed with me for a long time even after reading it.

The first book left much to be answered, and I spilled many tears reading the end of it. But my life went on, and gradually I'd forgotten about the story. Thinking back, I think I still carried a small part of the circus with me, because I also read Beasley's other story, Tumble & Blue (which I also love and adore).

Then by pure chance in January of 2020 – I stumbled upon the sequel, The Bootlace Magician, in the Harbourfront National Library of Vivocity. I still remember being so surprised, standing in front of shelf 56, and looking at the thick hardback beside the first story in the series. At this point, I was 13 going 14. I didn't expect I would end up loving the second story more than the first, but I did, and this time the story stayed forth and centre for a very, very long time in my mind.

Being 13 and in Secondary 2 of an all-girls' school wasn't very fun for me back then, but reading Circus Mirandus was like having a guardian angel around.

I had wondered for a while, after reading the first book, if Micah ever found a place in the circus. Did he find peace after Ephraim's passing? Did he still keep in contact with Jenny? Did the world keep spinning on and on in Peal, while the circus played its pipes and drums on and on in a land far away? When TBM answered, “Yes! Of course!” To all my questions, it made me feel that for a few moments, everything in the world would turn out to be okay and that there wasn't much to be afraid about growing up and growing old.

During my O-Levels, I read TBM every night (every night straight) before I went to bed. Then months later, I started polytechnic, and that was when the real trials and tribulations began. I hated every waking moment of going to school for the first semester of school, and as embarrassing as it is to admit, I cried for the first month of this new environment because:

I didn't have any time to draw or read

I sucked ass at talking to new people

I didn't have a clue how badly I would be humbled academically. (What the hell was a PCR cycle?)

But I gritted my teeth and rode out the first two years of polytechnic. I'm now in my third and final year.

In these two years, I did better academically than I'd ever done in my entire life, and I have Circus Mirandus to thank for. Without a story to lean on (and drag me forward towards the future when I wanted to give up…), I think I would've given up on studying, changed diploma courses, or performed less than I did.

In polytechnic, there's not much time to read or relax as I used to have before. But every day, on the bus, after lessons, walking to class, or walking home, I thought of Micah and the circus. I wondered and thought of fun scenarios the characters could experience, I thought of things to draw them doing, and I spent an ungodly amount of time scrolling through Pinterest to figure out exactly how I imagined the main cast to look like. I still haven't nailed the last one yet, but it's a work in progress.

For the first year of reading the sequel TBM, I read/watched every interview out there on the internet. Blogs, Q&As, YouTube channels, book reviews, etc. If there's a Q&A done with Cassie Beasley, high chance – is I've read it. For years since then, I scoured the internet for other readers, and was disappointed to find none at first. (Circus Mirandus isn't popular in Singapore.) Back then, it felt like I was the only person in the world who loved the stories. But fortunately, I found readers online from France and Italy, and even got a friend from home, Thalen, to read it too. So I also want to say thank you to Thalen for joining in with me whenever we passionately discussed about the books together. Without someone to match my excitement for the stories, I would be less open about it.

I've met other readers on Tumblr and AO3, all of whom I'm so grateful for. I've had many fun discussions with all of them, and I'm grateful I have a small community of readers to talk with whenever.

At this point, I want to apologize for not having drawn the series enough. The infrequencies of my postings about the circus do not match the frequency of my thoughts of them, and I could go on and on about Micah and the Lightbender and everyone else if I could. But I think it's important to acknowledge one more person.

No amount of words can express how grateful I am to have Circus Mirandus in my life, and I only have Cassie Beasley to thank. I love and own all 3 books she's published, and they've played a pivotal role in my life so far. Many dull and down moments of my days have been filled with fun from rereading her stories; the person I am today would not be here without Circus Mirandus.

A central theme of Circus Mirandus is learning to still remain a child at heart, to believe in yourself no matter where you go in life. I'm still not sure how to do that last part very well, but I hope I'll have the rest of my life to figure it out.

I'm 19 now. I have one more year before I become an adult, and I'm going to cherish it with my copy of Circus Mirandus on my shelf. I don't really want to grow up, but life goes on, and there's very little I could do to stop it from happening, but at least I can have the peace to let it be.