Born To Write

The night time was broken by the bright lights in the sky. Mathew stared up and wondered how many worlds revolved around each of the stars. Mathew was a dreamer and looked to the heavens throughout his youth and tonight was no different. He looked back down and dirt below his feet made him think of the many days on the beach as a child, but he was no longer a child and this wasn’t the beach.

He took slow steps toward the large shed ahead of him. The only light seen was the little bit that came through the small cracks around the door. He wasn’t sure why he was here, but he knew he needed to be here. He felt a calling from somewhere that told him he needed to enter this building and see what was beyond the door.

He heard a yelp in the distance. He stopped for a second and heard more. He moved faster towards the door. The dessert was full of wild animals that when desperate showed no fear when it came to bringing a man of his small stature down for a meal. Drawing closer to the door he heard something that reminded him of his childhood and the faint smell of popcorn.

When he reached the door, he heard a crowd of people cheering. What could all those people be doing out here in the middle of nowhere, he thought to himself. He flung open the door and there was a full circus with three big rings full of performers and animals. The clowns came running toward him and pulled him into the middle ring.

A man in a red jacket and black top hat took his hand and brought him towards the crowd and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, here is what you have all been waiting for. The great Matthew the Terrific will be launched from that cannon over there to the net on the far end of the tent.”

Mathew stared at the cannon and the tent and whispered to the obvious ringmaster, “I’m not doing that. I don’t even belong here,” the man with the thin mustache said, “Oh but you do my young man.” He pushed Mathew towards the cannon and two other men, the strong man and what looked like the werewolf, grabbed him and took him to the cannon.

Mathew fought to no avail. The two men wrapped rope around his wrists and began shoving him into the end of the cannon. “Get in there young man you are the main attraction,” the strong man said as he shoved him down inside.

Mathew struggled with the rope but to no avail. He began to hear the countdown as if it was to the end of his life, how could he possibly be the star attracting. He closed his eyes when he heard one and anticipated his certain flight of death, and then he heard his alarm.

He woke to the sun shining through his window. “Whew, it was only a dream,” he said.

He got up and walked to the window and looked out into his small town’s street and saw the circus was coming to town, but Mathew would never see it. He decided to stay in that day just in case dreams do come true.