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Primrose/Primus' POV
I was expecting of house with luxurious items, huge dining room where foods are ready to be served, a hotel-like guestroom to spend the rest of the night but it turns out to be a place where tents are everywhere.
Yeah, tents. DO I LOOK LIKE SOMEONE WHO CAN LIVE IN THAT KIND OF STUFF?!
"Where are the hotels? Don't tell me wala kayong gano'n dito?" usisa ko kay Moiselle sa gitna ng aming paglalakad. Medyo dumidilim na so may mga ilaw na rin sa paligid.
"Hotel? Hmmm..." Hawak niya ang baba na tila napapaisip. "Bago sa 'kin ang salitang 'yan."
"So wala kayong hotel or inn na puwede kong tuluyan maliban sa mga tents dito?" I don't know how much I can take this. This isn't my world! I don't belong here, for heaven's sake!
"Kung ang tinutukoy mo eh, 'yong pansamantalang tirahan, puwede kang makiusap sa neighborhood ng Wonderland na patirahin ka. However, I have no assurance na papayag sila."
"And why is that?"
"Most people here in Wonderland didn't entertain strangers such as yourself." Pansin kong ang cute ni Moiselle magsalita ng English. Mas bagay sa kanyang mag-Ingles kesa mag-Tagalog.
"Just like in America. But more to the point, what is this place? Wonderland? Are you guys for real?" I never heard of town, city or country named after the fictional land from a classic novel.
"Sabi ko na e, dayo ka." Inakbayan niya ko. She oriented me about this Wonderland thing. Based on my understanding, ito ay napapalibutan ng kagubatan. Which is lahat ng tao rito, nakatira sa gubat. How do they live?
Hindi lang sila umaasa sa pagtatanim or pagha-hunting para mabuhay. May dumadating na supply ng pagkain every three days at kanilang binibili iyon kapalit ng kung anong meron sila sa Wonderland. For example, seeds para makapagtanim ng puno, bunga, ultimo hayop, ipinapalit nila. Barter kung tatawagin.
They do have money as well. It can only be used for emergency purposes. Mostly, nilalaan nila ang pera for calamity funds and budget for medical needs.
And you know what's funny? Dalawa lang ang kanilang weather cycle - cloudy and rainy. Para sa kanila, maganda ang panahon kapag makulimlim. 'Buti tumutubo pa ang mga halaman nila. And if the rain starts falling at night, kasing lakas nito ang bagyo.
"Anyway, forgive me for asking, but if you folks were not entertaining strangers then why did you bring me here?" I asked. Habang tino-tour ako ni Moiselle sa lugar, unti-unti kong nakikilala kung ano itong pinasok ko.
Nadaanan namin ang ilang kulungan ng mga wild animals including lions, tigers, etc. Makukulay ang suot ng ilang nakakasalubong ko. Nakapustura. Mayroong nagpapatugtog ng musical instruments, nagpa-practice ng acrobatics, at naglalaro ng bola sa ere.
"I brought you here because we need you, silly!" She raised her both hands in the air as she cheerfully said these words. "Welcome to Wonderland Circus where you can only find true happiness!"
Damn it. We are in circus.
"Our show starts at exact 20, every third day of the week, kada tatlong buwan sa loob ng isang taon. Barter ang process of payment for tickets. For three months, bukas ang circus. Then, we have to wait for another three months for the reopening. Don't worry. Kumakain pa rin kami. During those times, naghahanap-buhay kami sa labas ng circus."
Kakaiba ang circus nila rito. 'Di tulad sa mundo ko na traveling circus ang ganap. Anyway, I don't much care about anyone else here. The reason why I'm with this girl is because she gave me an offer to stay here.
"Oh, I see," I said - kunwari naa-amaze ako.
"Alam mo, mas mabuti sigurong manatili ka muna sa circus ng matagal. Whatcha' think? We need more members, actually." She winks. What the?
"Oh come on, I have no time for some ridiculous thing such as this! Akala ko ba, kaya mo ako dinala rito para may masilungan ako ngayong gabi?"
"Kumalma ka nga!" aniya. "Circus ito, hindi paupahan. Mahigpit na pinagbabawal ang magsama ng outsider dito. Tutal kaibigan na kita, responsibilidad kong tulungan ka sa gitna ng krisis."
Excuse you? Kelan pa tayo naging magkaibigan?
"So ang gusto mong mangyari, mag-apply ako sa circus n'yo and you'll be using it as your excuse to let me stay here for tonight? What the heck is that?" Unintentionally, I raised my voice so she covered my mouth as quickly as possible.
"Shhh! Oo. Wala tayong pagpipilian. Mahigpit ang pamamahala sa circus na 'to. Huwag kang mag-alala, tutulungan kita para matanggap ka. Hindi ka maaaring magpagala-gala kung saan. Ayaw mo naman sigurong gapangin ng bampira, 'no?"
Do vampires really exist in this world? Scary.
Umiling-iling ako bilang sagot. Uh, I have no choice kundi sakyan ang trip ni Moiselle habang naghahanap ako ng matinong shelter na pasok sa satisfaction ko. Argh! Still, I can't believe this is happening to me!
"Tara!" Here we go with this 'hatakan' again. Dinala niya 'ko sa harap ng malaking tent. Compare sa ibang tents, I think kasing laki nito ang gymnasium ng isang public school.
As we entered, bumulaga sa 'min ang ilang klase ng performers na walang humpay sa pagpapractice. May bumabalentong, may nakasakay sa bike, may sumisirko-sirko sa taas at iba pa. Pansamantala silang napatigil nang maramdaman nila ang presensya ko.
"Oi," tawag ng lalaking naglalaro ng... Caterpillar ba 'yong nasa kamay niya? Ang dami ata? Are those his pets? I don't understand people. Baka pagbalik ko sa Constantine Manor, isa na akong baliw na naniniwala sa existence ng bampira at circus sa gitna ng gubat.
"Heyo!" bati ni Moiselle sa lalaki.
"Who do we have here?" Oh no, he's moving closer to me. I'm pretty scared of those little creatures around his hands. "Your name?"
"Uhm... A-a... Ano..."
Hinarangan ako ni Moiselle bilang depensa. "Ano bang klaseng panunuri 'yan? Tinatakot mo si Primrose, e!"
"So, you're Primrose, eh? What's your talent?" He's so cold.
Talent. Hohoho! You must be joking. I know nothing but to throw everything I see whenever I get angry.
"I-I..."
"She's not really talented at all but as you can see, she was willing to learn any kind of bloody stunts."
Moiselle, I'll get back to you on this!
"I see." Finally, inalis din niya ang tingin sa akin. Itinuloy nito ang paglalaro ng caterpillar.
"You don't have to say that I'm not talented! Puwede mo namang sabihing may potensyal ako!" impit kong sigaw rito.
"Huwag ka nang magalit. Ayaw mo n'on, pinagtakpan kita?" Ano pa nga bang magagawa ko, 'di ba? I'm in their territory. "Nga pala, siya si Peter, performer sa show. Caterpillar ang main instrument niya sa pagtatanghal. He's really good at it."
No wonder why. Akala ko alaga niya lang 'yong mga caterpillars na 'yon. "Oi, orange hair!" Tinawag niya ang isa pang lalaki na obviously kulay kahel ang buhok. There was a blue paint across his left eye. Unlike Peter, halatang mabait ito. Mukhang masayahin at laging nakangiti.
"Yo!" sabi ng lalaking orange hair. "Ooooh, seems we have a guest. Where are you from, young lady?" He asked me.
I'm from reality, you stupid fictional characters!
"Somewhere far from here." There's no way I could tell them that I'm a modern young man of the 21st century. They wouldn't believe me.
"Orange, puwede ba kitang makausap sa labas?" ani Mouse. Sumunod naman 'yong lalaking orange ang buhok. At habang nasa labas silang dalawa, naupo muna ako sa sulok at sapilitang nanood ng kanilang practice na saksakan ng boring.
This is insane, I can't imagine myself doing this on the next 2-3 days! I'm very certain bangkay na akong iuuwi sa mundo ko. Cause of death? Head trauma o 'di kaya extreme blood loss dahil nilapa ng leon o puwede ring third degree burns dahil nasunog habang nagpeperform gamit ang hula hoop na may apoy.
Shit. Shit. Shit!
Sa tagal kong nakatanghod sa harap ng performers, 'di ko namalayang andyan na pala sina Orange Boy at Mouse. Inutusan ni Orange na magcompress lahat ng performers sa tent. Kaming tatlo ang nasa gitna.
Si Orange boy ang nagsimula ng introduction. "Everybody! Allow me to introduce Lady Primrose from Somewhere Far From Here!"
Did I hear him correctly?
"The young lady will be part of our family as a trainee. We are expecting you to give your best in order to be qualified in our main casts! Let's give her a warm welcome, folks!"
Sabay-sabay silang nagsabi ng, "Hello," in their most uninteresting voice. How rude.
"I forgot to introduce myself, I am the ring leader of Wonderland Circus. My name is Happy." Oh, so orange boy was Happy, not literally. Pero parang gano'n na nga. Ayaw mabura ang ngiti sa mukha nito.
"Kilala mo na ako pero magpapakilala ulit ako. My name is Moiselle, first-string member ng circus."
And the non-stop getting to know each other has begun.
"From left to right, first we have the beast tamer at ang ate ng Wonderland Circus family, say hi to Barbara." He introduced this mean-looking woman in see-through outfit. Is she related to Peter? Parehas kasi silang nakasimangot.
"Second, say hello to Cheshire, the show's fire breather." Another creature--este, person with unique facial feature. Cheshire had this long black hair and glasses, and his teeth were like razors. Oo, isa siyang lalaki. Pero parang may mali. Ba't ang lambot niyang kumilos? 'Di kaya...
"Meoow!" he cried in a girlish way. Just as I thought.
"Third, say yo to our trapeze artist and Moiselle's brother, Dorofey! I'm sorry for letting him sleep in the middle of his practice. Sleeping while performing is one of his talents."
He's not kidding. Dorofey was really sleeping with his mouth open. Partida, nakatayo pa 'yan.
Hilik ang sinagot nito.
"Fourth, this short guy over there is my younger brother, Peter." I know. Kampon siya ni Barbara--teka, ano?! Magkapatid sila ni Happy? Unbelievable!
"Lastly, our fellow member Four--asan na 'yon? I could've sworn I saw him earlier!"
Four what? I wonder who it was.
"He came back to his tent. He said it's gonna be a boring night for him," the mean-looking Barbara replied.
Tell him he wasn't the only one who feel the same! Jeez!
Okay so these are the main cast, the big stars of Wonderland Circus. Happy, Moiselle, Barbara, Cheshire, Dorofey, Peter and the other one. Let's assume that some of them are their stage names. Hmmm... I was wondering what are the names behind those.
"Now, let's get back to Primrose! Do you have anything else to say?"
Ano nga bang sasabihin ko?
"U-Uhm..." I looked at Moiselle. She just gave me a nod. "I'm so happy to be here."
NO, I'M NOT!
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Ako'y mamamatay na 'ata sa init ng lugar na 'to. Sa unang pagkakataon, nakatulog ako sa tent sa kasing init ng impyerno.
Kung ikukumpara mo sa tent ng main cast, 'di hamak mas maliit ito. Mas maganda ang structure at secure ang privacy ng tent nila dahil katapat lang n'on ang cage ng ibang hayop na ginagamit sa circus, most espcially kay Barbara na isang beast tamer.
Bakante ang itaas na bahagi ng double deck kung saan ako nakahiga ngayon. Sakaling may dumating na bagong member, tiyak may magaganap na giyerahan sa tulugan. I hate being distracted and most of all, ayoko ng may kasama sa tent. Urgh.
"Uh, wala man lang electric fan? Matutusta ako ng 'di oras nito!" I'm dripped in sweat. Basa na ang damit na pinahiram sa 'kin ni Mouse. How much more kung 'yong pink dress ang sinuot ko hanggang sa pagtulog, 'di ba?
Naiirita ako!
Mamumula-mula ang leeg ko sa kakakamot. Pa'no ba 'to? Maliban sa nagbabagang init na nararamdaman ko, ang ingay pa sa labas! Ang daming umaalulong na aso--wait, I suppose wolf is quite correct.
Sa'n ba galing 'yon? Bumangon ako sa matigas na kama at lumabas ng tent. Dahan-dahan akong naglakad, ayokong may makaalam na nagpapagala-gala pa 'ko rito dis oras ng gabi. Mahirap na, 'di ko kabisado ang Wonderland at kung anong rules ang kanilang pinapatupad. Who knows? Baka uso rin ang curfew dito.
The more na papalayo ako sa circus, mas nagiging klaro sa pandinig ko 'yong mga unecessary noises. I also heard screams and moans. Quit thinking, you green-minded freak. It's not what you think. It's more likely someone was attacked nearby.
Kinakabahan man, walang pagdadalawang-isip na sinundan ko ang pinagmulan ng tunog. Lumunok ako ng laway bago ko sinimulang lakarin ang madilim na gubat.
Nakaka-tatlong lakad palang ako ay biglang akong natigilan nang may humawak sa braso ko. Lumingon ako at 'di ka maniniwala kung sino ang taong iyon. She was carrying a lamp, that's why I knew it was her.
"B-Barbara--" She tightened her hand to my arm. "A-anong ginagawa mo rito?" I asked her but instead of getting answers, she replied me with her signature mean look na sinamahan niya ng iling. Then, she walked away.
She left me and because of it, I was forced to go back. Sa tingin palang na itinapon sa 'kin ni Barbara, kinilabutan na ako. Pagbalik ko sa tent, nagkulubong ako agad.
"Sleep tight and don't let the vampires bite!" I stupidly whispered to myself.
It seems like I won't get any sleep tonight because of what happened. Now, I'm starting to believe in Moiselle's stories that werewolves and vampires are existing in Wonderland.
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