Midnight Circus

Chapter 5 - Twelve Years Later...

Rosaline Levington (seventeen years old):

Rose sat on the foot of her bed, mindlessly gazing out the window through tired eyes. She had woken earlier than usual, sweaty and distraught from a haunting nightmare that she now could not recall. Though she could not remember it, the terrible feelings did not slip away. 

Her overstrung nerves prevented her from going back to sleep, and so, for the past four and a half hours she sat in the dark, staring out the window of her room from the third floor. 

Dark ominous clouds cloaked the late morning sky like a mourning parasol, obscuring any warmth from the sun. The trees, now bare of leaves, rocked violently in the wind, as sounds of thunder rumbled from beyond the horizon. She mutely watched the dead rotting leaves race around the barren courtyard of the asylum. 

Twelve years had come and gone. Twelve long years. Rose shut her eyes, attempting to remember the face of her loved ones: her beloved father, mother, and Elli. She missed them all so terribly, even the maids and butlers, her heart continued to ache for them--least not as severely as the first few nights alone. Their kind smiles, their comforting embraces, their joyous laughter will soon be nothing more than distant memories, subsiding in the far back of her mind. 

In time, they will fade away as the warm summer day that had come to pass. An unwelcoming wave of sorrow washed over her. 

Both of her hands clenched onto the white sheets until her knuckles turned the same shade. A knot was quick to form in her throat, tears that brimmed her eyes threatened to spill. The feeling was all too familiar for Rose. 

Some days she would feel nothing at all--no pain nor sorrow. Even with the knowledge of past tragedies, she felt fine. Other days, however, she would not be able to get out of bed because it was too painful to do so. Today just happened to be the latter case. 

Rose took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to think optimistically in hopes of easing her depressive state of mind. 

On the positive note, Rose thought, she had Adrian whom she love and admire, but she barely got to see. After stepping up as the new superintendent of Grace Gates, he became much too occupied with work. Adrian would visit her on occasions though, baring small gifts that made her heart patter with joy. 

In Roses mind, he was the most perfect human being to walk the earth--gifted with intellect, kindhearted, and strikingly handsome; it was as if he had not age a day since she meet him. One might guess his age to be between twenty and thirty, His real age, as Rose found out, was really thirty six. He was like an angel. Every delicate detail of his fair feature, Rose had it seared into her brain. With black conté crayon, she had drawn them down into the sketchbook that he had given her. 

...and there was Lulu.

Her eyes darted to Lulu. The hem of Lulu's skirt was tattered and the rich vibrant colors faded. For a long minute she stared at her weird doll who sat cross-legged on the pillow as if it were a throne, looking back at her. Lulu cocked her head, probably wondering why she was staring. 

Lulu always lectured her about how rude it was to stare, yet Lulu did it too. 

What a strange strange fairy, Rose thought. Nonetheless, she was grateful to have Lulu by her side, telling her that she was not alone. Through the years, she had developed a strong attachment to Lulu; Lulu went wherever she went. 

Her eyes shifted back to the window. 

There was the clanking  sound of keys coming from outside her room. Seconds later, the lock clicked and the door swung open. A middle age nurse fully clad in white strolled into the room with a tray of food in her hands.