The Night The Circus Came To Town

Max pushed up some loose blinds on his venetian curtain to look out his bedroom window on the second floor.  He was wondering about the white 'Friendly Floral' van, with rust along the chassis, that had been parked directly across the street from his house for three days now.  Living in the suburbs, all the cars and lawns looked similar.  Every pristine inch was expensive and cut to perfection.  Max had been staying over with his aunt Ivy for many years now, and he had gotten use to the layout of her luxurious street.  He didn't think a rusty old thing like that would come from anyone that lived in such a dyed in the wool neighborhood.  It reminded him of something he would see on his old block in Michigan.  The van was huge, but there was no windows, except for the drivers side.   

The mystery of the van really intrigued Max.  He was the sort that had to investigate anything out of the ordinary.  He made a promise to himself to get a better view of the van at night, when he was sure there were no lights on in the other houses.  Letting the blinds fall, he bounded downstairs to brush his teeth, and get ready for the day.  He had planned to bleach his hair blonde today.  He was also supposed to go jogging with his friend Lisa, and take her down to Catskills Lake, because she had never gone before.

That night, at around 2:30 AM, Max slipped out the front door, crossing the street to get a better look at the white van.  Even from a closer distant it had a dreary aura to it.  On it's body, half bathed in shadow, was a picturesque bundle of various lilies, and roses, and orchids, and hyacinth, and tulips spilling out in a lush way along the side of van.  The picture, and the phrase 'Friendly Floral' was in elegant cursive, and seemed to be a sticker of some kind that had been plastered to the van long ago.  There were streaks of dirt, here and there, along the sticker edges that made the van look ancient.  Searching in front, and behind him at the dark houses, Max cautiously ducked behind the van, and yanked at the trunk handle as fast as he could.  Oddly, the trunk was unlocked.  As Max lifted it up slowly, he saw a mess of polka-dot clothes in the darkest left corner of the van.  He also saw a pair of floppy red shoes in the other farthest corner.  There was a bad smell coming somewhere, and Max could hear flies buzzing, although he couldn't see any of them flying in the half light.  At the center of the van there was a pile of smut magazines.  On top of the magazines sat an ash-tray that was full to the brim with cigarette butts.  One of the cigarettes was still smoldering, which meant it had just recently been smoked.  Immediately Max felt a chill up his back.  On impulse he stared back at the safety of his bedroom window and instantly froze with fright.  Staring back at him, with a menacing greasepaint smile, was a clown face.  There was blue makeup around the eyes, and exaggerated expressions drawn on the face.  Thinking immediately of his aunt, he bolted towards his house to warn her.  Unfortunately, right then a group of college guys sped past him on the road.  Max was forced to stand still for a moment.  They yelled some obscenity, and tossed a bottle out their window, that he could hear breaking somewhere in the distance.  Glancing back up at his window, Max noticed with horror that the clown had disappeared from the top window!  By the time Max had made it to the front door, and slipped his key in, he heard a blood-curdling scream that changed into a liquid gurgling...

The End

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Bunny Villaire