The Devil's Carnival

Broken Lovers

Amanda and Brian had been wondering around all the stalls and taking in all the sights. It hadn’t seemed like it but the place was huge. Further back there was a house of mirrors, a haunted house, several photo booths and a tunnel of love which was unintentionally, they hoped, ‘Night of the Living Dead’ inspired. “Come on, we have to go.” Amanda clutched the bear under her one arm and pulled Brian in the direction of a dilapidated house on wheels secured by a rod in the ground. “No way, we are not going in there.” Brian tried protesting but she wasn’t giving him half the chance. Eventually he let her pull him in the house’s direction. “What don’t you love me anymore?” The house had two swans right above the door that looked like they belonged on the House Of Horrors and a heart shaped entrance but no car or tracks. It was more a walkway than a tunnel and judging by the looks of it ‘love’ wasn’t what whoever created in had in mind. The look of it from the outside was bad enough but inside was far worse. Several rusted metal hearts that had once been pink hung from the roof from heavy metal chains. As they swayed back and forth an eerie creaking joined the music box which resonated from somewhere in the background. Again the intention was probably a ‘romantic atmosphere’ but it did little to set any kind of mood other than the ‘someone will soon be massacred’ one. Still Amanda and Brian wondered in arm in arm. They giggled as they passed several badly painted murals of swans on a lake, two birds cuddling on a branch and two hedgehogs seated next to each other in a hole by candlelight. It was campy but somehow still wildly adorable. “I’ve been thinking.” Brian spoke up as Amanda inspected the two hedgehogs. “About what?” Brian could feel the sweat break out on his fore head as he dug his hand into his back pocket. Among several candy wrappers was a ring. It was the ring his father had proposed to his mother with and if he could just stop fumbling over his words he would do the same. “Let’s go this way.” Before he could get another word out Amanda was already running off to the next room. The last thing he saw were the back feet of the bears she refused to let go of for anything. This would be it and he was determined not to mess it up. So after he fished the ring out of his pocket he followed. “I know it not the best place or the most romantic but I have to ask you something.” Amanda stood just a few feet beyond the door and stared at several photographs hanging from the roof and plastered on the bright red walls. “What the hell is all this?” Brian half laughed it off but didn’t pay any real attention to what the pictures were of. “Listen, I need to ask you something.” “How could you?” Amanda’s voice was barely a whisper and she sounded close to tears. She didn’t as much as look in his direction. All she stared at were what hung all around them but he still didn’t as much as glace at them. Instead he smiled, concerned by the sudden change in mood. “What do you mean? What’s wrong?” Brian reached out to touch her but she shrugged away before she turned and slapped him. He was stunned and nearly dropped the ring. Amanda on the other had had tears streaming down her pale face and looked as if she would break out in hysterical crying at any moment. “After everything, how could you do this to me!” She screamed at him before she ran back the way they came. Regaining some of his senses he was just about to run out after her but thought he would look at what it was that so upset her. Once he saw he felt his heart drop down into his shoes. The photographs were of him with numerous other girls and worst of all he knew it wasn’t some or other ploy. All of it was true, every photograph. Yes he love Amanda with all he was but it was also true that he had numerous affairs since they first started seeing each other but they meant nothing to him. “Amanda, wait!” Brian took off after her, wondering at the back of his mind where exactly those pictures had been found and more importantly who had put them up. First however he had to find Amanda, but where to look. He abandoned his suspicions for just a moment and ran out of the supposed house of affection and into the cool night air, but Amanda was nowhere to be found. By now she could be anywhere and he didn’t have the slightest idea where to start looking. Thinking she might go in the direction of the other girls Brian ran to the where he had won her the bear, but once he got there the rig was abandoned. There was no one in sight “Over here lover boy!” Over by a dilapidated bumper car ride Danielle called out and waved him over. She stood with a few of the others but Amanda wasn’t with them. His heart sank and he got worried about where she might have run off to. He decided he would join the little swaree, if nothing else they could help him look for her. His distress must have been painted on his expression because the closer he approached the more Danielle smiled. “Oh honey don’t tell me, lover’s quarrel?” He looked up but didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. It wasn’t what happened, not really, but she had already drawn up her own conclusions and made up her mind. “Don’t worry.” Danielle walked up to him and clasped a hand around his shoulders before she led him back to the group. “These things happen. You’ll work it out and before you know it you’ll both be laughing about it.” He knew it wouldn’t be the case but just didn’t have it in him to argue with her. It wouldn’t have helped.