Chapter One
Dark clouds rolled through the sky, casting eerie shadows over the terrain.
Even though the conductor announced it was midday, that was hard to believe, given the grayness of the sky outside. I was used to the clear, sunny skies of Iowa. Or maybe I’d deluded myself into thinking summer would last forever—and that autumn wasn’t already enveloping everything in its cold, dreary grasp.
“All disembarking for Tanana Riverfront, please watch your step.” The conductor’s voice carried over the squeal of the train as it finally rolled to a stop.
I stood up, my heart racing as the buzz of sheer excitement coursed through my veins. I disembarked from the stuffy train and stood on the age-worn wood platform, poised to take the first step toward the fulfillment of my lifelong dream.
Fingering a few strands of loose, blond curls that had slid out from my ponytail, I glanced around the station for a familiar face.
“Nothing but a sea of strangers,” I said to myself on a sigh. A handful of weary travelers disembarked from the train, hustling to places unknown to all but themselves.
Shifting my bag to my other shoulder, I set off across the platform. It was only a mile away; or at least, that’s what Amelia had said in one of her many letters.
Cirque du Noir.
The name tingled on my lips, pulling them into a slight smile. The circus. The only place I’d ever felt inexplicably drawn to. It had been dreams of the circus that had helped me escape the humdrum life of a farmer’s daughter growing up in the middle of Podunk, America.
It was visions of the circus that helped me settle into sleep each night—dreams of leading a life full of excitement and adventure. The most thrilling way to see the world and escape the unremarkable existence I’d been leading for the past nineteen years.
And, now, that’s exactly what I was about to do…
One more deep breath and I marched toward the train station exit, the weight of my meager belongings suspended entirely on my right shoulder.
Tanana Riverfront was the sort of place you could pass through without realizing it, as it housed only a tiny handful of shops and eateries. It was no more than a steppingstone to a final destination. Occasionally, my family and I passed through small towns like this one when we had to pick up supplies or livestock. My father used to say, “Don’t blink or you’ll miss it!” as the yoked oxen pulled our work wagon. At the time, I thought how awful it must be to live in a town that folks passed every day—a town where no one ever stayed long enough to learn people’s names or remember their faces.
Regardless, Amelia and I had agreed to meet at the Tanana Riverfront train station. But, now, there were only four people who remained at the station and none of those people were Amelia. Her train had been scheduled to arrive twenty minutes before mine. Maybe it was late… I plopped myself down on an empty bench and waited, swinging my feet back and forth as I listened to the heavy chugs of coal-fired engines rolling down the tracks.
After ten minutes, I decided to head for the circus grounds. After all, Amelia and I had agreed in our last telegram that if our trains were delayed; we’d just meet at the circus instead.
I walked around the entire train station, which wasn’t very big, to make sure she wasn’t waiting in another area, but she was nowhere to be found. An elderly man in a red cap and vest sat quietly humming to himself in the ticket booth. Other than him, the place was empty.
I adjusted my heavy bag on my other shoulder and headed for the front of the train depot. Luckily, the circus was within walking distance of the train station.
As I walked, the dark clouds overhead rolled across the bleak, gray sky. In the distance, the faint silhouette of a huge tent peeked over the tops of the old oak trees lining the street.
The big top.
It had to be less than a mile out, planted attractively in waving fields of yellowing prairie grass.
As I stepped onto the dirt path leading through the field and fixed my gaze on the huge tent, an icy shudder rolled down my back and gave me cause for pause.
Why in the world was I suddenly feeling nervous, scared even?
Perhaps it was just the ominous feeling of a gloomy day, when it seemed like the landscape was just waiting for a storm to strike. Whatever it was, I shook off the feeling and focused, instead, on the adventure that awaited me.
A new life.
Setting out toward the tent, golden fields waved in the autumn breeze, giving way to a distant forest so thickly strewn with trees, light barely penetrated the canopy. I hoped to see Amelia walking somewhere ahead of me, but no such luck.
Despite the short walk, the large bag I carried, which had seemed manageable at the start, became oppressively heavier as I plodded along. But the thought of seeing my best friend after so many years apart kept a spring in my step—well, that and the thought of the circus itself.
Amelia and I had met in primary school, becoming instantly inseparable and united in our dream to join the circus one day. We were forced to part when her father, the manager of our local train station, was transferred to another station in Nebraska.
Our kindred love of the circus had never waned, though, and here we were, in the autumn of 1930, finally manifesting our dream… together.
As I walked, I tried to absorb all the incredible sights I passed. A dazzling rainbow of tents and stalls were scattered in casual rows leading up to the main circus tent, which dominated the skyline.