The Peculiars’ Tale

"Jill, wake up." Someone shook me by the shoulders. Aya who is next to me is actually waking up me up. I suddenly ponder, are we already back to Sentral City? "Jill, hey Jill." I opened my eyes but when I peered outside the window, I inferred that we"re still not at the city. Right now, dark has already triumphed over the day light.

"Why is the bus not moving?" I asked her.

"A problem occurred and the bus driver is still fixing it. If I"m not mistaken, he also even called for help." How lucky are we? Our school"s private bus actually broke down? "According to him, we have to wait some more." Great. Does his "some more" mean we"ll be here for the whole night? How I wish that if it happens, the school will exempt us from cla.s.ses tomorrow since it"s their staff"s fault that we return home late.

"What time is it, Aya?"

"Ahh, almost seven pm."

I closed my eyes and attempted to sleep but failed. With a sigh, I just asked, "So, where are we now?"

"At San Isidro. With a little body shake and we"ll be at Sentral... but if only this trash of a bus didn"t mess things up, we have arrived long ago." I noticed that Aya is in the mood to chat but I prefer sleeping than talking. Sad to say, my desire to sleep didn"t come back no matter how I attempted to do so.

"You know, our tiredness and fatigue is worth it. I was so happy because we managed to give help and enjoyment to those cute kids. They are pitiful already so they deserve some moment of happiness."

"Yeah." I wryly replied, not sure if I"m just tired or if I just don"t really want to open my mouth and talk.

"By the way, Jill. I have something to ask to you." She motioned towards me while leaning on her seat"s headboard. "Earlier, you came back late when Miss M requested you to fetch Miss Karen. What happened back then?" I knew it. She asked that just to continue our conversation.

"Nothing much. She had a long talk with the orphanage"s Director which took a long time."

"I see. I almost thought that something weird occurred to you again. " She laughed as if saying that it"s normal to have weird things happening around me. Is she immune already to all the odd experiences she encountered while hanging around me?

"Sssh! You"re so noisy. People are sleeping, you know?" Tadeo complained.

"Wow. You"re actually a person."

"Shut up! Chicken Lady!"

Come to think of it, Director Emilia called Miss Karen "Beatrice" for some reasons, and the most intriguing part was when the director said to Miss Karen to mention her to his husband. I was like "the h.e.l.l with that?"

I wonder if I should tell Aya about this. Should I keep this to myself? Maybe I should just let it be because I realized I have so many puzzles to solve and adding one more is not a wise move.

To be honest, I"m tired, tired of thinking about so many things. It"s further fuelled by the fact that I"ve yet to find the answers to all of my questions... The blog... Memoire... Everything"s so messed up. Even Stephen who should have been able to give me answers lost his memories. This is so frustrating.

"Guys," We suddenly heard Ireneo"s voice through the speakers. Obviously, he"s going to announce something. "We need to wait for two and a half hours more before the bus will be ready to leave. I suggest that everyone should stay relax-"

"Relax?! What"s relaxing about this boring place!?" There are many who agreed so I think that this bus has been parked here for long.

"What if we do some adventuring?" Someone from the boys suggested.

"Adventure? I don"t that that our teachers will let us---"

"Look!"

I immediately turned my head to look outside and looked for something eye-catchy but I saw none.

"A carnival!" This time, my eyes followed the direction that one of my cla.s.smates pointed at. When looked at from this place, it would seems like he was referring to the cl.u.s.ter of lights not far from here but if peered closely, it would appear like the cl.u.s.ter of lights is actually a village.

Because of my cla.s.smate"s insistence, Ireneo was forced to descend the bus and ask for our teachers" permission to visit that place. However, he went up and said, "They forbid it."

After seeing our cla.s.smate"s dejected appearance, Ireneo sighed and went down once more. His return took a long time, probably he"s got a long discussion and episode of persuasion. However, I know that Ireneo is good at that so when he appeared again in front of us, his announcement is what I expected. "They permitted but they only gave us an hour."

Everyone had almost jumped in joy. Aya had even given me a strong slap on my shoulders because it seems that she"s the happiest one among us. While shaking my head, I can"t help but ponder on how our cla.s.s president convinced Miss Karen.

"Stay close and stay safe."

"Yes, sir, yes!"

After that, all of us went down the bus and started walking towards the carnival. Looks like it is at the middle of the rice field. Fortunately, it"s not that far and we reached the place just after a few minutes. To my amazement, a lively community greeted us. I didn"t expect that a carnival is as amusing as this because it"s my first time seeing one. I mean, there"s no carnival at the city so that"s a given.

I can"t help but roam my eyes over the place. The first thing which I saw is the Carousel. Then I noticed the lanterns and many flag shaped pieces of paper that were strung up above. Those things are even a.s.sorted in color. There are also torches which illuminated every part booths and tents.

Because of overexcitement, Ireneo"s "stay close" rule was no longer followed anymore. My cla.s.smates dashed into different directions.

"Okay! Men, this would be fun! Where are we going?!" Tadeo asked in excitement while putting one of his arms over Baldo"s shoulders. Penelope and Stephen are beside them while Aya is linking arms with me. "Color game! Darts! So where?! Where?! We should go there!"

Tamaki and Sabina went along with us. I suddenly tried to look for Morris but it looks like he"s already gone with Lily.

Aya insisted to ride the Carousel. We have no choice but go along with her trip. The next that she wanted to try is the roller coaster but I objected, saying that is not good because we saw that its parts seems to be very fragile because of the rusting iron. We marched next to the boots which are lining up on the side. Tamaki won two hundred pesos on the color game and there"s no need to ask why he"s good in betting games like that one. Meanwhile, Baldo played the target shooting game and he won a big Teddy bear. Of course, he gave it afterwards to Sabina. That was so cliché that only Tadeo teased them. He said they"re too cheesy.

We walked and sightsee for a while until we saw a small stage with a "The Carnies" Show" banner above it. Since many people are watching, we stopped by and also watch. The show started when a man wearing a coat and tie took the center spot. His hair is red and there"s a red line mark on his cheek. We waited for what he will do. After a while, he showed us a cane which came out of nowhere and then it suddenly blazed with fire while on his hands. The audience clapped and after that, the fire vanished. He opened his palm and extended it forward as if intentionally showing us. Fire came out of it and even devoured his arm. But the man didn"t move an inch and instead has shown us an amusing smile. The fire vanished once again but what is amazing is when there"s not a trace of burn on his clothes and skin.

"Let"s give a round of applause our friend, Finnix!" said the host.

His name is Finnix, huh.

His performance didn"t end with that. Almost all known fire stunts had been done by him. He breathed fire, even ate some of it. He did more of that but I think the most amazing out of those tricks was when he set his whole body aflame and then he disappeared. That"s how Finnix" part finished. He reappeared on the farthest part of the stage and gave his bow to the audience.

All of us were entertained by the sideshows. We watched the next performances. From beside me, I heard Tadeo saying that he will wait until a real mermain shows up but I only muttered "what the h.e.l.l" because tricks like that no longer captivate people"s amazement. Finnix was followed by a guy with clown-like mask. He"s the one who can bend iron and metal using his arms. The stunts he made were those which showcased his unearthly strength. Everyone here was enamored by his acts even though he acted like an anti-social clown. Now that I think about it... why is he wearing a clown face-mask? Weird.

"Let"s also give a round of applause for Otis! The next performer will be Pascal!"

A man with eyegla.s.ses and Beaver hat came out. The people were alarmed when a tiger walked after him. He started his performance by making the tiger do several animal show stunts. Even though the audience looked anxious, that Pascal guy only smiled and acted so calm, as if the tiger is really under his control.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen! The last to perform for this eve"s "The Carnies" show" s none other than our greatest and prettiest magician in San Isidro – Jing Rosca!"

The people shouted and cheered. Looks like this group of performers are well-known here, especially this Jing Rosca. The stage lights died down for several seconds and then a woman wearing an expensive-looking dress walked out and head towards the center. The lights returned and then she started performing. I can"t deny that she"s great because she actually could make things like tables and chairs float. I know this carnival trick is old already but I can"t help but think that there"s something weird here. She"s too confident and it"s as if she"s doing the most natural thing on earth. She has a charm too which the crowd couldn"t resist. She"s great and she could even appear on TV.

At the end of the show, all of them appeared on the stage to perform once more. However, Jing Rosca raised her arm slowly and then what followed afterwards is the audience dropping of their jaws. The other performers aside from Jing Rosca are now hovering in the air!

Finnix released a huge fire which enveloped the four of them. In just a blink, the lights died down. When it returned, the four of them could no longer be found on the stage.

The crowd clapped loudly. A little girl roamed around while holding a basket to collect tips from people who were amazed by what they had just witnessed.

We left the place to resume our tour. While walking, we saw a game stand which is being flocked by many people, especially adults. We stopped by because Tamaki approached that one. When we saw that, we already knew that it"s just another gambling game.

"Hey, Tamaki. You are really a betting maniac. Stop that. Are you still not contented earlier?"

He ignored Aya. Left with no choice, we also followed him to see what kind of game is it. It"s actually just a dice game. There are many betters that"s why the price is big. The mechanics is simple. You will bet on a number. Three dice will be rolled and then if the total of the dice is the same as your bet, then you win. The chance of winning is small though and because of innumerable failed attempts that the price grew that big. Tamaki tried to bet. But as expected, none from the twenty people who betted, including him, won.

"Tamaki, you are only wasting money here. You see, winning the price is almost impossible."

Baldo tried to stop Tamaki but he refused to give up. Tamaki won the color games earlier that"s why he"s so bold now when it comes to betting games.

"Time is gold, men. Let"s just visit the booths."

"Just leave me here." Tamaki prepared the money he"s going to lay down this time.

Suddenly, I also fished out some money from my pocket. When I threw it on the table, my companions gave me a shocked expression.

"Whooa, Jill!?" They chorused.

I gave them a timid smile. I actually just want to try out something. On a piece of paper, I wrote the number I betted with. Eleven. After that, the game master threw the dice and the numbers which came out are: one, four and six. It"s eleven when totalled.

"J-Jill won!" The other people near me shifted their gazes to me and they were surprised when they found out that I really wrote down eleven. "Amazing! But how did you do that?!" Well, I cheated. I looked at the game master"s eyes and saw what will be the result. I did this not because I"m a money grubber. I just want to prove a thing.

My eyes actually have a nice function, well, in a negative way... When I think about it, even if I live without working for a job, I would still be rich because I can see the future. I only have to win every game in the casinos.

"Cheater!" someone shouted. Since there"s already one who initiated, the others also copied him. They are the people who couldn"t accept their loss because they are just normal humans.

"Obviously, she cheated!"

"Jill, I think we should leave this place. Look, the people around us want to skin you alive already!" said by Penelope. I stood up while they pulled me away from that game stand since the others are making a ruckus.

They didn"t mention what happened. I had my head lowered while walking. I admitted to myself, I cheated and I"m feeling guilty because of this, because of people"s reaction. Now I"m wondering if this is the purpose of my ability. Was it to cheat? To cheat the fate and future? How many times have I altered the things which are supposed to be fated? For how many have I already cheated on others" lives?

"Unni!" Why? Why did I suddenly remember that? I didn"t change and alter Haneul"s fate but I still feel like a loser about her case.

"This is what has been fated for you, Jill Morie."

Is this the power that Memoire wants from me? The power to cheat?

"You"re awesome, Jill." I looked at the one who spoke, it"s Stephen. "You"re the only one who guessed the number correctly." Base from his tone, it looks like he"s really amazed by what I"ve done.

"Ah, that"s only a coincidence." I replied.

"I wish I also have that kind of ability."

"Ha? What did you sa-"

"Waaa, let"s go there!" We"re distracted by Aya"s scream. But because of that I become aware that we"re in the front of a horror house. "Come on! Let"s try this one!" I still want to say a thing to Stephen but Aya pulled me. Aya and Penelope pushed me towards the horror house"s entrance.

"Tss... So corny. Let"s go elsewhere!"

"You"re a coward." Sabina hissed to Baldo.

"Wow! For the first time and forever, Sabina had said a line! Wait, are you with Baldo now?"

"Shut the h.e.l.l up, Tadeo, or I"ll beat the h.e.l.l out of you. Where is Tamaki, by the way?" Baldo changed the topic. It"s noticeable that he"s feeling shy about Tadeo"s question.

"Did you forget? We left him on that game stand."

When we have bought the ticket, the staffs made us enter immediately. Aya and Penelope were stuck with me and they are both trembling in fear.

"Tss. What the heck? Why are the effects so cheap?" Tadeo complained. All of us are walking next to each other. We"re pa.s.sing by the displays and we can hear the sound effects. Aside from that, there"s nothing more.

"Tadeo! You"re already ripping my shirt off!" Baldo almost punched him due to rage. "Just cling to Aya!"

"S-s-someone had touched my feet, men!"

"Hahahaha, gosh! Tadeo the idiot is so funny!"

After a while, my comrades screamed in terror because the horror house residents who are wearing nasty and scary get up appeared ahead of us. Aya and Penelope embraced my arms while Baldo and the rest hid behind me. It became chaotic because of the others who are also shouting.

"A fire! There"s a fire outbreak!" The voice came out of who knows where. In a flash, the people inside the horror house made a ruckus and then everyone was separated because they started to dash towards different directions. Because of the noisiness and mess, I no longer knew where my friends go to. I just noticed myself outside after running to where most people ran off too.

"Everyone, calm down! There"s no fire! A crazy guy had only made fun of us!"

I left the place in dismay and searched for my companions but I didn"t manage to see them around. I don"t have a choice but to head by myself to the bus, hoping that they will also go there.

"Do you want to know your fate?" I halted when I read that sign board, Fortune Telling House. It was as if I was driven by an unknown factor that"s why I entered inside. I brushed off the curtains and then saw a table, a crystal ball on top of it, and a woman who is sitting.

"I"ve been waiting for you, please sit down." She motioned me to sit on the chair which is facing her. What does she mean when she said that she"s been waiting for me? Does it mean that there"s no customer going for her tent that"s why she"s long been waiting for a customer? Probable.

I took the seat and eyed the crystal ball. I didn"t see anything odd or unnatural because it"s transparent, unlike those which I had seen from the TV before which gives off light and shows pictures.

The fortune-teller is not the typical kind who wear amusing get up, or bandana, or any gimmick on her body. She"s only wearing simple clothing, with jacket and bonnet---

Wait.

"Miss, fifty pesos only. Do you want to know your fate?"

"Aish, Miss. Forty pesos only for you. Don"t you want to know your future? Don"t worry. I"m not a fake. I"m already proven and tested

"Oh, Miss! Only thirty pesos! Please, that"s already the retailed price. Uy! Ayie! You"ll agree, right?"

"Why do you call me "Ale", Miss! I feel that we"re about the same age, eh. Waah! You"re letting me prophesize for you, right? Hahahaha, I knew it, you"ll let me, eh. Come on, face me, Miss."

She"s the person who approached m e before! The woman who pestered me. The fortune teller. She"s actually working on this carnival?

"Ehh? You seem familiar to me." She muttered and pondered. "Have we met before?"

What should I reply? I don"t know what to answer to her. Yes? No? I suddenly remember that she only stopped bothering me on that day when she saw my eyes. I also remember how shocked she was when she saw it.

"Ahh! I remember now! You"re that- Hey! Where are you going?! Jill Morie!"

I ignored her even though it"s a mystery why she"s aware of my name. I ran. Because of how fast I am running, I b.u.mped with someone. The woman didn"t fall down but the torch fell to to ground because of her and then fire started to spread on the gra.s.ses. This time, the people panicked for real when the fire breaks out. The place which used to brim with joy and liveliness suddenly becomes gloomy and chaotic.

I become rooted on my spot, dumbfounded about the running and frenzied crowd. I knew it. T-this is my fault.

I looked up and saw that a tent"s sign board is falling to me. I want to move my feet and run but I couldn"t. Why? Why is this happening? Since I couldn"t do anything, I only closed my eyes.

Suddenly, the world becomes silent.

I opened my eyes and slowly raised my head. I saw... the billboard is floating? H-how? My eyes roamed the place. Everyone is not moving, no, they are frozen still. T-time stopped? I looked up again and then saw how the billboard moved away to one side. It slowly dropped on the ground.

Wh-what is happening?! I looked back and saw a person whose palm is opened. The palm is facing the direction of where the fallen billboard is at. I-is this real? What she did earlier is not really magic tricks?

"Jing... Jing Rosca."

I heard some wind sounds. When my eyes shifted towards that place, Finnix is there and it seems like his hands are absorbing the fire on this carnival. However, what shocked me the most is when the fortune-teller woman approached me.

"Are you alright?" She asked. I stepped back when the fortune-teller tried to hold me. How come... that the three of them can move but the others and the place is frozen in time? "Sorry for earlier."

I just saw myself being surrounded by them, by Jing Rosca, Finnix, the fortune teller, then Pascal and Otis.

W-what the h.e.l.l is going on?

"W-who are you guys!? W-what kind of human---"

"We"re not humans."Jing Rosca said. "What I mean is, we"re not ordinary humans... like you."

Now I"m sure these people are Peculiars. No doubt about it, what they have done previously were not sideshows. Their powers are real. I can"t understand though, why did I encounter them? Why? And why does the fortune teller girl know me?

"I-if all of you are Peculiars, h-how did the time... stop?"

"I did it." Another person arrived. "Only Peculiar people can move when I stopped it." A little girl appeared before me. And wait! She"s the one who was collecting tip. She can stop time?

"Seraphina, you came." Pascal blurted out.

"Fate really loves to play on people. We have saved you, Jill Morie, for the second time."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You can"t remember? That was when you were trapped by Memoire"s illusion."

"We saved you." – Jing Rosca.

T-they did? They rescued me from Magnus? Then it means, they were Miss Karen"s acquaintances?

"I know that we have more issues to talk about, but for now, we have fix this place, our beloved carnival. Let us deal with this first. I will turn back the time." Said by the little girl.

My eyes darted from and to each of them. The fortune teller girl... Otis, the clown who have marvellous strength. That little girl who talks like an adult and can manipulate time. Pascal, who can manipulate animals. Finnix, the fire manipulator, and Jing Rosca, the controller of objects. They are the Carnies. But in reality... they are Peculiars.

"Jill!" Morris suddenly came.

I almost forgot, this guy is also one of us, a Peculiar.

**Carny (plural: Carnies) – someone who works at a carnival