This Week's Theme:
"a letter arrives from an old circus performer who has found an undiscovered island"
Week: Zero
Due Date: January 5, 2009
The Island's Child
Eric Drewes
Letter I – Why I left.
Some of you are probably wondering why a man like me, entering his closing years in the midst of a luxurious retirement, would leave his home and abandon his riches for destinations unknown. To the others, the reasons are obvious.
Let me first start with my wife, ah my beautiful wife Caroline. She was once a princess, a miraculous vision of beauty whose kindness surpassed all else and who processed a gentleness in spirit that inspired all who met her. She was perfection, indeed, until I spoiled her. Now she is the queen of her own palace, who has built a court of porcelain dolls that each cost the yearly wages of a simple man, a queen who wears Chinese silks and prances around all day musing on nothing in particular and dares not spare a minute of kindness or generosity to any man, not even her husband. She has become in my mind nothing but a screeching child, a creature who eats mountains of diamonds and gold and yet complains of never being full. She is one of the reasons I am leaving but there are others.
My children are also fiends with no match in this country. My daughter is a whore. No, to my knowledge she does not sell her body, but she might as well. She flitters about with whoever possesses the most treasures to drape upon her, ugly or handsome, man or woman, business man or thief. In her childhood it was me that she adored most, and she was quite the daddy’s girl but with adolescence and finally the full bloom of adulthood, there were others who could delight her eyes with jewels I could not and would not match. She, like her mother, has a hollow heart and an insatiable appetite for that which is shines and sparkles.
My son is no better, but in a different way. He works tirelessly in my craft with great skill and was once my protégé but now exceeds me in many ways. I was once proud of him; he was a skilled performer like his father before him and was capable of playing a crowd like a puppet master. My pride boiled when I used to watch him raise fear and then maddened joy in even the most cynic observer. His development was a great delight for me until I noticed something one night. At first I wrote it off as simply a bad night, that he must be tired or ill, but as I continued to watch him daily, my fears were confirmed. He had no love for his art. No twinkle in his eyes as he inspired great and beautiful feelings in his audience; he simply did not care. He too was a hollow vessel who could only perform through rote memorization and careful practice and who displayed no passion whatsoever for his actions. He might as well be an automaton - he is the antithesis of everything I believe in.
And then of course, it comes to me. The real reason I am leaving my home, my fans, my treasures, my family and indeed all else that I have come to loathe in my age. I have lived a long time. I have lived long enough to see myself turn from prodigy to savant to master to legend, and finally to cliché. The only excitement I invoke to those that watch my performances and tricks now is due to nostalgia, the eyes that watch are too cynical and jaded to be impressed by one like me. So, I have only one conclusion: I must leave, sail far away from this place until I find innocent eyes to enchant, for the true pure joy of an audience is the only thing that has ever brought me pleasure and that a commodity that can no longer be found here. So I depart. Do not try to find me.
Signed,
DeGausio the Grand
Owner of the Enchanted Carnival and Ring Master of the DeGausio and Son Circus
Letter 2
My friends and countrymen! I write this letter with great joy in my heart as I feel renewed. Before I tell you of my life here, let me first tell the story of how I arrived. As previously noted, I decided to sail away. My home had become too weary for a man like me, and my vision turned monochromic as I watched time pass like an endless river with nothing to discern one place from the next and no real reason to. My family, I apologize for the harsh words in my last letter. Each person must make their own way in life and it is not my place to judge any of you for what I perceive to be weaknesses. Many people probably would look at me now and call me much worse things. I have faith that each of you will find the happiness and future you seek.
Now back to the topic at hand – I purchased a boat, a small red sailed sloop. It was a nice boat and it served me well for it’s worth or at least I found value in it. I had left for barely two days when a middling wind blew forward and the foremast of the sail snapped clean off and cracked a small fracture in the hull. Obviously, it immediately took on water and my first thoughts were that I had left so I could see the world in color again and now I was likely to die stranded in the deep blue sea. My hat was too small and had many holes in it and served as a poor scoop to bail water out of the boat and my options seemed limited. My boat sank to the depths and after about an hour of doggy paddling, my head went under the waves as well. Soon I had no idea where I was, what I was or what had happened.
In the wasteland of introspective limbo, I tried to predict who I had been. I guessed that I was a king or a beggar, maybe a blacksmith or a barmaid, maybe I was a baby not yet born and this was only the beginning. I guessed a million things and my first reaction to waking up was frustration at never guessing that I might be a ringmaster! My second reaction was, I AM ALIVE. My spectacles had been lost at sea and so I opened my eyes to a blurry world.
All around me…were children. Children had saved me! One reached down to help me up and I put my hand forward as if to take it and then presented a small coin from thin air. The child squealed with delight and held the coins into the air where it glittered in the sunlight. My heart beamed and I helped myself up. The children lead me to their village, and though I could barely tell before (due to my poor eyesight) I realized these must be savages! They lived in a village of hatch roofed huts, disheveled and obviously lacking in any modern conveniences. As I looked around I realized there was not even one adult, this was a town made up entirely of these young natives. Maybe I had died and woke up in a form of heaven, an unlimited land of easily enchanted audience members! It was hard to maneuver about and get acquainted with the town and nearby landscape but my saviors were very kind in helping me survive, providing me food and shelter. I could not tell any of them apart, they all spoke in a language I didn’t know and my near blindness prevented me from any features I could discern them with.
For many days they have fawned over me. I perform tricks and physical humor, feats of wonder and feats of silliness. They say ohhhh and awwww and squeal and giggle and often applaud. Truly this is a beautiful land… an undiscovered island of wonder. They have wandered off and seem to be preparing a meal so I have taken my time to compose this letter.
Yours,
DeGausio
Letter 3
This letter will be the antithesis of the last. All was well for a couple of days in the town. I performed until darkness filled the sky and was met with enthusiasm and glee from the crowd that surrounded me. My muscles ached from performing and my old bones strained and creaked when I moved. I began to feel very tired and attempted to retire. This act prompted the children to screech and holler. They were relentless and insistent… I had no choice but to give in and continue the show. This repeated itself until I finally had had enough. I began to walk away and was pounced on and beaten, they must have their satisfaction it appeared. Battered, I rose to my feet and with great effort continued the show. Eventually they all began to lay down and finally to sleep. Too exhausted to travel, I fell onto the floor and slept as well. I have woken early and composed this letter to request aid. I cannot escape this island as I am blind and the children will likely prevent my efforts towards that goal.
DeGausio
Letter 4
The children and I have begun to have a rapport that I would not have previously predicted possible. I feel as though I am beginning to understand their language and that they understand my words as well. I have made many (failed) attempts at escape. However I do not feel as much of a hostage as you would surmise. They treat me like a king and while I still perform, it is no longer a forced act and I am no longer beaten if I stop for a break. We are developing an understanding and I believe this will only be a harbinger of good things.
DeGausio
Letter 5
illegible
Letter 6
More wreckage washed ashore today. Among the dead was a man who wore similar lenses to mine. The children are still hiding in the mountains as noted in the previously letter. They KNEW the storm was coming. They even told me before hand! Anyways, with the lenses I am able to see considerably better and am able to see and understand the island much more. I hope the children return soon, I am getting hungry and lonesome without them. I also look forward to finally being able to see them, to be able to tell one from another instead of viewing them as a nameless hoard.
DeGausio
Letter 7
I could not have been more wrong about them. I no longer fear for my life, life fades and everyone dies. I now fear only for my eternal soul. They are not children.
DeGausio
Letter 8
We are leaving this island. I am fluent in the language of the natives and they have welcomed me as a full member of their clan. We understand each other, them and I. This island has grown warm and we are all miserable as the sun scorches our skin even hiding in the huts. I am teaching them to build ships, we plan to leave this island for more suitable a climate. If any of you see me, you will not recognize me, do not coming looking at all. This is my destiny and by following it, I am finally free. Free.
DeGausio