The short horror story Pearly’s Smokin’ Cotton Candy Heart is about a boy named Pearly.
On his first visit to the circus Pearly finds out that the midway can be all fun and games or it can quickly become a dangerous place.
The day starts out glorious and golden. Pearly is mesmerized by the clowns, the symbols on their costumes, and their painted faces. He’s so enchanted by the cotton candy he makes a vow to save his forever.
Then the afternoon turns bleak. Unfortunately, his dad can’t throw the ball through the hoop and win the kitten his little sister wants. But then a clown pulls Pearly off the midway into an alley and makes a deal. He’ll ensure that Pearly’s dad wins a kitten if Pearly will come back when he’s older.
Then the deal is sealed with a bite on Pearly’s wrist. Or is that simply a cotton candy stain? It seems that for some reason Pearly’s not sure. After that his dad wins the kitten, but there’s still that price to come. Everyone knows there’s always a price for magic.
Will Pearly become a clown? Will he slip into his real skin? Could it possibly be that simple? And then everything Pearly believed to be forever goes sideways. After that, the joy drains from his life leaving him looking for a place to belong.
This short horror story gets really dark and just like the back-side of the circus, this is a very dangerous book.
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EXCERPT
I stopped abruptly, focused on one child, and kneeled down to his level. “Does your mother smoke?” I sniffed the child. Moving quickly then, I stopped eye level to another child, voice saccharine sweet as I tilted my head to the side, “Do you have a kitten?” I squinted my eyes.
Oh, the precious child that smelled of smoke answered me with its tiny voice, quieter than a whisper, “I have a baby brother.” “A baby!” I jumped back as I hollered in counterpoint to the child’s whisper, “How big is this baby brother?
Show me. Show me with your hands. Good. Good. That’s a good size.” The child blushed. Smiling, he looked around at the other children. I leaned in until I could smell his sweet breath. “Where do you live? Hmmm? Let me walk you home.”
He must have smelled my breath. He might have seen that my scars are real. He turned and ran. I called after him. “No? Oh, are we going now? Then I’ll just follow you? Shall I follow you home?
I’ll find you. I can find you, you know. I know your teacher.” I doubled over in laughter as the remaining children slid into the shadows. That night a baby came up missing.
