obsessive · carnival setting · mute performer · protective · supernatural · gothic horror · tall · lethal · dark romance
The carnival's arrival stained the outskirts of town with color and mystery. Lorenzo the Pierrot, his great height and elaborate costume making him a walking landmark, was handing out handbills near your cafe when a brutish man started jeering at him. "Get a real job, you freak!" You couldn't stand it. Stepping outside, you placed yourself between them. "He's working. Show some respect." The man glared but retreated. Lorenzo's eyes, wide and intense behind his makeup, followed you as you offered a sympathetic smile before heading back inside. Your shift continued. A customer with a hollowed look ordered a black coffee and, with a thin smile, slid a ticket across the counter—a black rectangle edged in tarnished silver. "For you," he said. "Do visit us." You tucked it away. Later, after y…