Flip the Coin [BL]

Chapter 499. The Bow and the Bridge

Henry’s POV

"HEY!" Danny ran to me when I jumped out of my pool, apparently having finally figured out how to get down from the unicycle without knocking himself unconscious.

I raised my eyebrows in question at what he wanted before impatiently looking to the hay path leading out of the circus.

He came to a halt in front of me and fell silent.

"What? Hurry up."

Danny pressed his lips together and scratched his clown wig before pulling it from his head.

"Where is this? And what’s up with the time loop?"

"It’s a reset of positions, no time loop. I don’t have time for you; go play with Ren." I looked at our pantomime and saw that he had dozed off while holding his stomach protruding, so he was clearly still alright.

I walked towards the low red and white barricade around the circus ring and jumped over it.

Danny didn’t listen to me and followed but slammed against an invisible wall.

The sound was so loud even with the public’s antics and the other voices that I turned back and chuckled.

Not a very lucky inside Kenny’s space, huh?

My powers don’t work here either, so it was only fair.

I walked out of the tent; it had turned back to night.

I first went to Mrs. Howard, thinking that I could ask Kenny’s unconsciousness to give her some water.

Though I didn’t feel hunger, thirst, or tiredness inside here—so she probably wouldn’t either.

I was still clothed in the hoodie, and the tissue was tucked in the hoodie pocket, so whatever Kenny bestowed could be kept when the position reset occurred.

The giant wasn’t there, probably already gone because Danny had stopped me.

When I stood in front of Mrs. Howard’s wagon, I was surprised.

She had thrown the lengthy beard over her shoulder as if it were a trendy accessory and sat in a leather chair with her legs crossed, a small table beside her, and a cup of coffee in her hands.

Seeing me freeze, she scoffed,

"My grandson wouldn’t mistreat me. Look."

The old woman suddenly yelled loudly,

"Kennith, get me some brandy!"

A bottle appeared on her table, and she smiled until she saw the package.

"That brand is disgusting! GIVE ME A NEW ONE."

The bottle stayed where it was with nothing added anyhow, but Mrs. Howard forced a triumphant smile at me nevertheless.

I clenched my jaw... so she had figured it out as well. I thought I was the only one getting presents, but that seemed not to be the case.

I faked a smile and pointed at my face to ask why she still had her beard if her grandson wasn’t mistreating her, but she changed the topic speedily.

"Where is he? Did you find him?"

"No. I’ll continue searching."

"Hurry up!" She scolded after I had taken a few steps away already, so I stopped and turned back to her.

I squinted my eyes at her, and she raised one eyebrow in return.

I didn’t plan to ask her if she was clear about the manner her daughter-in-law had died.

Besides this not being the right time or place, it was a topic that wouldn’t need discussion if it would cause more harm than relief to Kenny and his grandmother.

Kenny’s vision showed his mother’s drowning, and because of his interference, it turned into her head being split open by a motor boat because of her other two children.

And the mentioned children and their father then decided that it would be easier to blame him than to face their own guilt.

Which of these scenarios was better?

I didn’t know, but what I knew was that at least one of these scenarios had already been known, lived with, and processed by Kenny since childhood.

I also feared that he would feel guilty for upgrading his siblings’ ’plight’ and suffering because of his interference.

So I didn’t plan to rip that wound open for everyone and let the mourning process start anew.

However, there was one thing I could do to anger the old lady in front of me.

I pulled the sign in front of her wagon out of the ground and turned it around before shoving it back in the earth.

Her eyes wandered to the text; she read it, and her pupils shook, and breathing accelerated.

"HOW DARE THAT GANGSTER CONVICT? HOW DARE HE? WHERE IS MY STICK!"

She looked around, but upon not seeing it, she roared for the only one able to help her in this moment.

"KENNITH, GET ME MY STICK!"

"He is no longer a convict, and he was never a gangster to begin with. He is just the coolest and most handsome." I shrugged and sidestepped the cup she threw next and went back to the circus tent before she could throw the bottle.

The little clown was still in front of the circus tent and played the violin exceptionally well, and I watched him, given that I knew he would soon disappear, just like the giant on stilts.

Heavy makeup was on his face, an oversized red jumpsuit with thin black lines on his body, and an elaborate hat on top of his head.

I watched him play the violin, my gaze falling on the bow in the child’s hand.

This size and shape...

I stepped closer and snatched the bow out of his hand, pressing the tip against my hand.

"HAH!" The imprint with the light piece on top showed uncanny similarities to Kenny’s scar on his solar plexus.

Although he was pierced fully, the wound had healed just as if he would have received a deep stab, showing the outlines and manner of injury.

And it left about a two-centimeter-long scar, the upper part more protruding, which meant it wasn’t from a pointy or round object that had just pierced a hole in him, but something that had an elongated and tilted tip.

Just as I guessed, the maestro hadn’t used a conductor’s baton to skew Kenny in the hospital instance he had told me about.

And now I finally know for sure ... it was a violin’s bow, and he pierced my Kenny with the violin string upwards.

I crouched down to take a look at the kid’s eyes, noting his reddish-brown eyes.

But I didn’t step closer, as the kid acted as if the bow hadn’t been taken away, as if he were still playing, except that there was no sound.

Kenny had never had any contact with violins; there was no way, with all the metaphors surrounding the circus, that he would hide inside the little clown to play.

And that in a spot so close to the embodiment of the giant.

The most important factor was, no matter the form, I was confident I would recognize him upon seeing him.

I continued to watch the clown and eventually saw a chubby woman in a revealing dress and heavy makeup hurry over, grabbing the little clown’s scruff and hurling him away.

I followed them and saw her walking behind the wagons, where smaller tents were at the height of the big circus tent.

She seized his violin and took the imaginary bow from him as well.

Then she clothed him roughly, ripped his hat off, and threw him into a big basin in front of one of the tents.

She scolded him harshly in a language I didn’t know while he washed up quickly and with practiced motions.

In the end, she stepped into one of the tents as the little clown turned into Kenny’s replica, or to be exact, into a replica of the child I had seen not long ago.

Just that this kid didn’t have a broken wrist and that he was skinnier; additionally, he had a bunch of scars and bruises on him.

When the woman came out again, she dried the kid with an old rag and clothed him in what seemed to be an expensive little suit, continuing to talk until the child nodded heavily.

Then she roughly pushed him away, and I followed the kid as he went along the little tents the same way the left dirt path would lead to, just that he walked behind the wagons instead of on the dirt path itself.

There were more tents on the way, and when I turned to look into the openings while going with the child, I saw my parents in one of them, my pregnant mother lying on a soft couch, clothed in a big comfortable circus jumpsuit with a few stripes and laces, and surrounded by snacks.

You even took care of them, Kenny.

Don’t worry, I will get you before you know it, just as I did in the past.

When we arrived at the last wagon, the child turned right, and we passed the end of the dirt path that led to a big horizontal stone street.

The street was full of people that apparently had just left the circus areal, and there was not one smudged face.

I was still unsure what the smudging was about.

The kid walked off the stone street, and I followed him into the forest beside it.

He hid behind a tree and rubbed his face until it became red, reminding me of my little love.

Then he stepped back to the stone path and keenly watched the people leaving.

His eyes lit up when he spotted a pair of a man and a woman walking past him, their necks and ears full of silver.

He sprang in front of them and lowered his head pitifully, saying words I didn’t understand.

He pointed at the forest, grabbing the woman’s long ballroom dress in an attempt to pull her into the dark forest, where probably people were waiting to rob them.

The woman smiled amusedly; her partner did as well. Both of their eyes were pitch black, and so was their hair.

She asked the kid something, and he looked startled before nodding.

Then she said something else, and the kid fell to his knees, now deathly pale.

The woman looked at the man with a grin, whispering something into his ear before turning to the kid.

She spoke again and eventually reached her hand out.

The kid thought for a while before taking it.

She helped him up and walked while holding his hand, continuing on their way on the stone street.

I followed, and at the end of the street, the forest of firs ended as well; there was now a proper street with cars coming and going.

The man gave a pass to one of the waiters wearing animalistic masks, and he left shortly to soon drive their car to them.

The waiter stepped out, the two adults entered, occupying the driver and copilot seats, and the kid got in the backseat, looking back in the direction of the circus he had just left.

I hurried up and followed to sit with him.

I said I was playing in earnest, and I was.

If Kenny had sucked in everyone he knew and had already had a connection with the maestro, I would have to find out if their powers and spaces got mixed up and if this was the reason I couldn’t find him here.