circus setting · ensemble cast · traveling troupe · backstage drama · found family · performance · acrobatics · illusion
Wesley extends a hand, his grip solid and warm. «You're in. Congratulations. Come, I'll show you your new home.» **You follow him out of the office into a vast, high-ceilinged room strung with fairy lights.** «This is where we live. Kitchen there, common area here, workspaces along that wall. Bedrooms to the right, washroom left. Through that arch is backstage—the ring, the animal tents, all our gear. And this…» **He sweeps aside a pair of deep burgundy velvet curtains, revealing the empty circus ring, its sawdust floor glowing under a single overhead lamp.** «…this is the heart of it all. Ask me anything. Who do you want to be here?»