Circus Solace Read Free

the same. The man nodded, accepting their apologies and made to go back to his book. He hesitated, as if he was thinking over something that had not yet been spoken and looked at Matt with some curiosity.
    “You just passing through?” he said, pushing the book to one side. From out back, the waitress dropped a plate that smashed with loud , echoing chimes.
    “We’re at the top of the hill. The place on a tilt,” Pa said. Matt saw the man’s eyes widen slightly and he gulped hard, his gullet rolling up and down as if he’d just swallowed a world-sized marble. He composed himself, as if debating on how to proceed.
    “ Wasn’t always on a tilt,” he said finally. “Used to be just as right and true as the rest of this town,” he went on, as another plate broke in the distance. Matt wondered just how much the waitresses’ hands were trembling to smash two in a minute and why a simple conversation would scare her so.
    “What made it that way ?” Matt asked and braced himself for the old man’s hard stare. Sure enough, it came.
    “I would say life, young man. I think some boys your age wouldn’t know much if an old geezer like me said that but I think you’re a little different than most, aren’t you?” He nodded, almost to himself and didn’t wait for Matt to answer.
    “This used to be a town that was as pretty as its name, young fella. That’s how fine it used to be.” He made a pyramid with his hands and shook his head.
    “Someone’s changed all the street signs now,” Matt said and saw the old man glance out of the window.
    “You’ll do well if you keep your eyes wide open, young man. Something this town could have done well to remember not so long back.” He blinked and pinched his eyes, as if to prove his point. “But like I say, it wasn’t always this way.”
    “Pa,” interrupted the waitress, who appeared at the counter. The nervousness she wore had slipped a little now and was replaced with determination. “Careful,” she said and it seemed as if just that one word was explanation enough for what was going on.
    “If they’re in the house on the hill, I’ll tell it. Needs to be told.” He said, looking at his daughter. There was no threat in his voice, no bullying. He nodded and she wiped her hands, as if to say she accepted it. As she slipped back to the kitchen, the old man rose up and wandered over to their booth. It would not have been remarkable, if not for the fact that he reached almost seven feet tall.
    “Marcus Whiteflower,” he said, offering up Matt his huge, paw-like hand to shake.
                                              *
    “The history of Moon-Dip Falls,” Marcus said, as their drinks arrived, “began with a gold rush and ended with a silver coin.”
    “It started when the family found their gold nuggets and made their home right here in the Falls. No-one knows why they chose the place. It was different back then, I suppose, with land all open and little more than dust. So they staked their claim and built that house on top of the hill and went about making a dust bowl into something like a home.” The daughter, whose name was Peggy, brought out the plates and drinks. She sat back at the counter listening.
    “So, the y built their home and soon enough other folks came through and so on and so forth and out of the dirt grew the town. It was said they named it Moon-Dip on account of the way it always seemed to drop behind the house on the hill, like it was hiding from the town or some such. The town grew and prospered and everything seemed to be moving on nicely enough.
    “When was this?” Pa asked. He had always been fond of history and the books on his shelf almost always had dates along the spine.
    “Time’s a little of a mystery when it comes to Moon-Dip history,” Marcus said smiling. “See, we got so good at fudging the dates of things, we even made it rhyme a little.” He winked at Matt and it reminded him so