Fate Brings One Lonely Gengar to the Circus

The high lively piped notes of a calliope carried over the flower fields of Florama Town. Grigori breathed in a pleasant mix of sweet rose scent and carnival food.

The circus had arrived last night. It must have. Where it had come from he didn't know. There had been no notices until this morning. Now the town buildings were plastered with cheaply printed posters for Circus Darkrai.

The name was intriguing and Grigori wondered if there was REALLY a Darkrai at the circus. He wasn't the only town resident attracted to the sounds, smells, and promise of a legendary Pokémon.

With an ache Grigori smiled and waved at his neighbors as they all converged on the striped tent parked in the middle of a field of tulips. Only a year ago he would have seen double the number of  Pokémon. But that was before the plague burned through Florama. Within two weeks half the town was dead.

His own family had succumbed. He had carried them away on a wagon himself and buried them all together. A patch of sunflowers marked their grave. The survivors were trying to get on as best they could, but he saw the same hollow pain in the eyes of his fellow villagers. He waved to the baker and green grocer as he walked passed them and they shyly returned his wave. Everyone had been so withdrawn since the plague. Maybe the circus would help bring some joy and diversion to the community.

A painted banner soared over the entrance to  the circus. It was gaily painted in gold and red and perched on the posts holding up the banner were two Chandelure. Grigori paused to look at the graceful curves of the ghost types. Chandelure weren't native to Sinnoh and he'd never seen any in person before. The Chandelure made a pleasant chiming sound and waved their 'arms' in welcome.

Beyond the entrance was a midway, full of game booths and more colorful tents. Carnival barkers called out to the patrons.
'A penny a toss! Win a toy for your sweet heart!'
'Goldeen Scoop! Three tries for two cents!'
'See the amazing Living Torso! Born without arms or legs!'

The smell of food was overwhelming and Grigori's stomach rumbled. He saw carts of candy apples, sweet poffins, funnel cakes dusted with powder sugar. The first real smile he had smiled in a year stretched his purple face. Grigori levitated through the crowd happier than he'd been in what felt like eternity. His own smile was reflected on the faces of the people he knew so well. Genuine joy could be felt in the air, as palpable as the excitement of the children running down the Midway with newly acquired stuffed toys and wooden circus wagons.

Digging in his coin purse Grigori bought a couple dozen tickets. Enough to see all the side shows,  ride the rides, and play a couple of games.

As he pocketed the tickets Grigori asked, "Is there really a Darkrai here?"

The ticket seller smiled and pushed his straw hat higher on his brow, "Sure is. And not just a Darkrai, THE Darkrai. Name's Mr. Dark. He's the ring master, so if you want to see him you'll need to take in the Big Top show."

Grigori sighed. That was no doubt extra. "How much for tickets to the Big Top."

"Fifty cents, and it's a steal at that," the seller said.

Grigori wasn't so sure, seeing as it was half what he had left, but he handed the copper coins over anyway. "All right, here. The food just better be reasonable," he grumbled.

"Don't worry!" The ticket Aipom told him. "Plenty of penny candy and treats under a nickel."

Reassured Grigori took the ticket for the Big Top and put it back in his coin purse, The show started in an hour so he had plenty of time to see the sideshows and get some food before it started.

The Big Top looked even taller up close. Grigori gazed up at the loft pinnacle of the great tent. A gold and red flag snapped in the blossom scented breeze. Funny the tent looked so big up close. It hadn't seemed very large from the short distance of the midway.

Grigori handed his ticket over to a pretty Sunflora girl who handed back a stub.  Inside the tent was cool and smelled of sawdust undercut with a barnyard odor no doubt due to the feral Pokémon acts.  He had seen a poster promising dancing Zebstrika and he was eager to see them.

The bleachers were hard wood, not terribly comfortable but Grigori settled himself in the third row from the center ring. The stands were filling quickly with an afternoon crowd, most of whom he recognized. The youngest children took the front two rows, eager for the circus acts to begin.

"Popcorn! Get your hot popcorn!" A Rattata with a tray strapped around his neck made the rounds. He tossed bags of popcorn to whoever tossed him a penny. The bags were greasy but smelled delicious.

Grigori had spent his last cent on a massive pink cloud of candy floss and he pulled a bit of fluff off and ate it while waiting for the show to start. He had a wonderful time at the circus, but his thoughts kept turning to his departed family. His mother, father and sisters would have loved the circus. If only it had come a year ago. Or better yet, if only the plague had never happened.

He had gone through the mirror maze for laughs. Grinning at his distorted reflections. But he had kept seeing something in the corner of his eye. Something that looked like his family. Grigori shook off the memory. It was ridiculous. He was just missing them today. That was all. They hadn't been in the mirrors. Every time he thought he saw something he'd turned and there had been nothing there but a cheap painted wooden wall or another mirror.

The Litwiks and Chandelures that lit the tent flared with blue light then dimmed. A band struck up a merry tune and the lights went out, plunging the audience into darkness. Grigori felt an electric charge in the air as the audience held its breath in anticipation.

A white spotlight beamed down from the rafters of the tent and in the center of the ring stood a tall slim figure dressed in the blackest clothes Grigori had ever seen. The Ringmaster. And he was a Darkrai. His long tail coat looked like it  was sewn of shadows. The figure's grey skin was nearly as dark as the coat and his white hair drifted in a non-existent wind. A red collar of teeth like spikes adorned his neck and a top hat perched on his head at a rakish angle.

The crowd gave a collective gasp, Grigori along with them. He leaned a little closer to the ring and waited for the legendary to speak.

"Welcome ladies and gentleman, children of all ages, to Circus Darkrai!" The Darkrai said in a smooth velvet voice. "Here you will witness acts to thrill you and chill you! You'll laugh, you'll gasp, and you'll be amazed!

The crowd broke into thunderous applause. Grigori wondered if there was some trick to the applause even as he clapped along with them. The entire town of Florama barely added up to fifty people . No way could they make that much noise.

The spotlight went out as quick as it had appeared and the houselights brightened a little bit. More colorful spotlights danced across the stage and the first act burst into the ring. Two identical Snorlax clowns rolled across the sawdusted floor snoring loudly. Everyone laughed and Grigori teased another slender wad of candy floss from its stick.

The show lasted two hours and it had been everything the ringmaster had promised and then some. The Darkrai had appeared throughout the show, announcing acts and making jokes about them.

When Grigori left the tent the sun was lowering over the fields. The golden light setting the flowers ablaze with oranges and reds. He blinked in the light. Had he really been inside so long? A wave of longing swept over him. How much would his sister have loved the clowns? Hadn't his mother always wanted to see a wild Salamence? He looked up at the sky and saw pink clouds floating in a deepening blue sky. The best he could do was visit their graves and tell them about the show.

"Why so sad young Gengar?" A resinous voice said behind him.

Grigori spun around. Standing just inside the tent was Mr. Dark himself.

"I...I'm not really sad," Grigori said.

"Oh? I'm sorry then. My mistake," Mr. Dark came forward into the sunlight. His white hair turning orange in the lowering sunlight.

Grigori licked the last of his candy floss from the stick. "I'm just feeling nostalgic today."

"Ah," Mr. Dark said knowingly. "I feel like that often. And what is it you are missing?"

"My family," Grigori said. He wasn't sure why he was telling a stranger, but the Darkrai seemed... Grigori couldn't put his finger on it... reassuring somehow. Besides, the circus would be gone in a few days, taking with it whatever he told the ringmaster.

"Are they gone?"

Grigori frowned. He drifted to the ground, losing his will to levitate. "Gone a year now sir."

"Ooh," Mr. Dark said. "You mean they have truly departed this mortal plane."

"That's one way to put it." Grigori remembered the night they died. He kept running to the well to get them more water. Water they couldn't keep down. The stink of vomit and fever was forever burned into his mind. He mopped their brows and tried to cool them with wet rags. Nothing had helped. Not any berry tisanes, or poultices, not herbs or powders.

"I'm sorry," Mr. Dark placed a hand gently on Grigori's back.  "But surely, where ever they are they are glad you're alive."

Grigori froze. When his family was gone, when the fever had finished with the town he had spent a long time numb. His emotions too raw to process. First among them was guilt. Why was he alive and they were gone? Many others felt the same as him. In every house many were taken but always a few were spared. Some got ill and recovered, some, like Grigori, hadn't fallen ill at all. No one knew why. Perhaps Arceus knew but the creator of all was silent. Lurking beneath the guilt was another feeling. He was glad to be alive. Glad he was spared the awful death. And that made him feel even guiltier.

"No one should be glad like that," Grigori said.

"That's not how I see it." the Darkrai said. "Life is always better than the alternative. And no one be they spared an accident or illness, need feel bad for having what others don't. We all go in our own good time anyway."

"I wish it were not so," Grigori whispered.

"Do you?" Mr. Dark leaned down. "Do you really?"

Grigori was surprised the ring master had heard him. "I do." he replied. "I would live forever if I could..."