Chapter Eleven
Rurik
Bratislava, Slovakia
From the expansive parkland of Budapest’s island, the circus moved to a cramped dirt lot next to a busy Lidl department store in Bratislava, the smallest site on the entire tour. Rurik always considered it a minor miracle when they managed to squeeze into it every year.
After a week of good weather, the circus’s final day saw the clouds open up, turning the dirt lot into a swampy mess.
Rurik slogged through muck that oozed up to his ankles. With every step, the mud tried to suck the boots off his feet. Plus, the clay-type earth was as slick as motor oil. Deep ruts left by their trucks’ wheels had become mini ravines. You slid down one side, splashed into the brown puddle at the bottom, and then had to climb up the other side. Or you just gave
