When I was just a kid, I was scared of the littlest things. A shadow flickering in the light, the unknown creatures hiding under my bed, even the ladybugs that would crawl up my windowsill. I’ll grow out of it soon, I’d always convince myself as my tiny frame hid underneath the covers. From what I understood, as people grow older, they grow out of the fears they once had as a child.

   Unfortunately, I never did.

   “Come on, Alicia! This could be our only chance!” Marci, my best friend, whines. Her turquoise eyes shimmer with excitement as she adjusts the necklace around her neck, her fingers grazing across the smooth wood of the dangling cross. To protect herself from evil spirits, from what I understand. “Since it’s dark we can easily sneak in without anyone noticing! It’ll be a piece of cake.”

   “I’m not going!” I insist, shaking my head. Not when it’s this dark out. The only source of light is from Marci’s house, which gives me no comfort.

   A chilly wind brushes against my face as I pull out my phone and check the time. It’s almost eleven o’clock, which is apparently the perfect time to sneak around in places where we don’t belong.

   This place I’m referring to is called the Dark Woods Circus. Well, that’s what the kids at Marci’s high school call it. I’ve even heard a little bit about it from my classmates at the college I’m studying at. Apparently, there’s this strange circus that lies in the middle of Jakkob’s Woods. It appeared out of nowhere, the rumors say. The first few times I heard about it, I was extremely skeptical. Then, I started to notice an odd change in the people that supposedly visited that circus. They acted and talked differently than usual. A jock that’s in my classes, a funny and sociable guy, visited the Dark Woods Circus and emerged afterwards as a quiet, isolated loner.

   What about that circus makes you change? Is there something that terrible lying within, maybe some secret truth that completely changes your outlook on life?

   “Alicia, if you don’t come with me, I’ll go myself,” Marci finalizes, crossing her arms.

  I guess I don’t have a choice. There’s not a chance I will let her go by herself. With her luck, she’d get lost in the woods and wouldn’t be able to find her way out.

   “Fine,” I sigh, trying to hide the shakiness in my voice.

   Grinning, Marci rustles through her purse for her car keys.
An hour later, I find myself trudging through the undergrowth with Marci by my side. My shoes sink into the cool earth and drops of fallen rain tickle my skin. Something sour remains in the air, similar to the odor of a dead animal. Oddly enough, I’m not nervous. Maybe the circus is already doing its magic. If the circus can make me fearless, I’ll happily travel there, even without Marci by my side.

   “This is so worth skipping my math assignment,” Marci whispers, flicking her brown hair over her shoulder.

   “It matters in college,” I warn her, resisting the urge to roll my eyes when she shrugs in response. Over the years, I’ve noticed that people with money don’t take scholarships seriously. For example, Marci. Her parents are set and she thinks school is a joke. It’s easy for Marci to sit back and watch school pass by, knowing that she’ll still go to college, even if she fails a few classes.

   I don’t want to confess it to her face, but whenever she says that high school doesn’t matter, it hurts. Growing up without enough money, an academic scholarship was my ticket to college. It was an opportunity that I thought would never be possible under my circumstances.

   While I’m deep in thought, I don’t notice Marci halting beside me. Until she grabs my arm and her fingernails bite into my skin.

   “What is that?” she hisses, her arm trembling.

   I can see it in the distance. Its dark frame blends into the dark night, but I can still see its unusual outline. It can’t be human, I know for a fact. Humans aren’t as tall as trees, nor do they have such unusually shaped arms.

  Why don’t I feel scared?

   Then Marci’s screaming and pulling at my arm, and I allow myself to be pulled out of the forest. My blonde hair whips into my face as I glance back, but I see nothing there. Finally out of the forest, we jump into her car, Marci immediately locking the doors.

   “Was that one of the circus’ attractions?” she gasps, wiping at her eyes. There’s a hitch in her voice, showing how scared she is. She’s never been this terrified before.

   The rumors are true. Once you enter the Dark Woods Circus, you leave a different person.

“I don’t know,” I admit, my eyes fixed on the forest. “I really don’t.”