Cirque Mystique- Don't Tell Me If I'm Dying
Things had been getting worse for Tulio over the past few weeks. Around everybody else, he seemed fine, if a bit sickly. When he was alone though, or with Miguel, what was really going on showed up in full force. The curse was bringing him down, slowly but surely. You name it, Tulio had probably felt it. Migraines, nausea, fevers that would last throughout the night, the curse had shown him no mercy. But despite it all, Tulio preferred to battle it out than get help, much to Miguel’s annoyance. The two had fought about it constantly, putting a strain on their friendship, and making Tulio feel even worse.
“Tulio? Hello? Earth to Tulio?”
Gus’ voice brought Tulio out of his thoughts. He realized that he needed to get back to rehearsal. But the very thought of it made him feel sick to his stomach. He couldn’t deal with this right now.
“I’m going for a walk, Gus. I’ll be back later.”
“Um, okay?” That was all Tulio heard Gus say before he exited the tent.
Of course, as soon as he started walking, the curse seemed to take things up a notch, which was bad news for Tulio. Each step was shaky, his stomach quivered with nausea, and his skin felt like it was on fire. Outside the tent, he managed to find a tree to lean against. He panted for breath as he wiped a hand on his sweaty face. There was no doubting it now. He had tried to tell himself otherwise, but he saw it was true now. That witch that had cursed him, this illness was her fault. This was all her doing.
Suddenly, a painful pang went through his stomach, nausea rising. He gasped and bit on his tongue to prevent himself from crying out. He fell to his knees, clutching his stomach, heaving breaths in and out. Sweat dripped off his forehead. His vision went blurry. It felt like a hammer was being pounded against his head.
His breath got choked up when his stomach heaved. His body lurched and a hand covered his mouth, but he quickly pulled it away when he started throwing up. One hand held his stomach as if his intestines were spilling out, the other had dug into the ground, dirt getting under his fingernails. Tulio collapsed onto his side, feeling like he was suffocating. Tears stung his eyes. He had never felt anything like this before. This sickness, this pain, it was unbearable. He begged for something to end it, a cure or death, it didn’t matter. He just didn’t want to feel like this anymore. He didn’t want to feel like his body was falling apart. It took a while, but thirty minutes later, Tulio got his wish.
He didn’t notice her at first. It was getting dark, and his vision was still blurry. But he thought he could make out a woman coming towards him. He groaned as he struggled to see who it was. That was when he felt a hand touch his forehead. The woman gasped.
“Oh my God, Tulio. You’re burning up.”
It was Esmeralda. Tulio recognized the voice. He swallowed as he struggled to speak. “Esmeralda…” God, it hurt so much to talk. He drew in a shaky breath as his hands started to tremble.
“Hang on, Tulio,” said Esmeralda as she took his arm and hooked it over her shoulder. “I’m gonna bring you to Facilier. He’ll know what to do.”
Tulio clenched his teeth in pain, but he pushed it aside. He feebly hobbled beside Esmeralda as she slowly brought him to Facilier’s tent. He wasn’t sure if he should be grateful or frightened of the ringmaster. The guy still scared the crap out of him. His vision dimmed in and out and he groaned, holding his stomach. But he could still tell when they entered Facilier’s tent. Weird smells hit his nose, scents of something bittersweet and strong. He could dimly see the bright purple and red colors.
“Esmeralda, what the hell…” Facilier’s voice trailed off.
“Oh brother,” Dongwa muttered, who was in his cat form and curled up in a ball under a shelf.
“I found him outside,” Esmeralda explained to Facilier. “He’s in bad shape. Can’t you do something?”
Tulio felt his stomach lurch. A hand covered his mouth, but luckily, he didn’t throw up this time. His knees shook, his pale face still covered with sweat. But he still saw Facilier approach him. The wizard took hold of his chin and tilted his head up. His fingers felt cool against Tulio’s skin, but he knew it was just because he was burning up. He could see Facilier looking at him and he struggled to keep his gaze. After a moment, Facilier pulled his hand away and turned to Esmeralda.
“Well, this isn’t a regular sickness. I can tell you that much. This boy’s been cursed. Put him on the table.”
“Wait, cursed?” Esmeralda asked as she pulled Tulio over to the table in the corner of the room. He whimpered when she put him on the cool wood. “So, this is the result of a spell?”
“Heck, even I can sense it,” said Dongwa as he hopped onto the table, sniffing Tulio for a second. “And it’s one doozy of a curse. Whoever did this to him wanted him to suffer badly.”
Tulio drew in a shuddery breath, his chest heaving in and out. Esmeralda took his hand in both of hers, trying to comfort him. He gripped her hands tight, as if he was drowning and she was the only one keeping him afloat.
“Tulio, I need you to tell me, how did you get this curse?” she asked. “Do you know how you got this way?”
Tulio whimpered again. Esmeralda’s voice, soft as it was, made his head pound and his ear ring. But he managed to say “I stole…from a witch…”
Esmeralda sighed. She looked disappointed. She looked at Facilier. He didn’t seem too surprised.
“Figures. Witches can cast pretty nasty curses when they’re mad.”
“I say we let him suffer,” said Dongwa, glaring at Tulio. “It’ll build character.”
Tulio let out a strangled gasp at the sound of that. Esmeralda, however, whipped her head around, turning to Dongwa with an angry spark in her eyes.
“Dongwa, that’s a horrible idea.” She looked at Facilier. “Please Facilier, help him. For me.”
Facilier seemed to think about it for a moment, his hand stroking his chin. Tulio tried to say something, but he just ended up coughing harshly instead, his whole body shuddering, his eyes wide as he gasped for breath. Esmeralda held onto his hand tighter. Facilier sighed.
“Alright. I think I have something that’ll help him out.”
Facilier pulled out a jar of blue liquid and a needle. Tulio swallowed nervously, but Esmeralda brushed some of his hair out of his face, going “Ssshhhh, it’s okay. He knows what he’s doing. He’s a professional.”
Facilier filled the needle with the blue liquid and took Tulio’s arm. “Don’t worry, Tulio. This will stabilize the curse and prevent it from getting any worse. Just stay still.”
It looked like Tulio was about to say something, but before he could, Facilier pushed the needle into his arm. Esmeralda watched Tulio suddenly become very still, his grip loosening on her hands. His eyes then rolled into the back of his head as he passed out, his head thumping lightly against the table.
“Is he okay?” Esmeralda asked Facilier, looking back and forth between the two men with concern.
“He’s fine,” said Facilier. “The medicine is just a little strong. It is enchanted, after all.”
“You’re lucky he’s doing this,” said Dongwa as he hopped off the table and turned into his human form. “Facilier doesn’t do special favors for just anybody.”
Facilier glared at Dongwa. But then, Tulio groaned a little as he wearily opened his eyes. He found Esmeralda smiling at him and Facilier still looking calm, cool, and collected. Dongwa just rolled his eyes.
“Tulio, you okay?” Esmeralda asked.
“Yeah. I…I think so.” There was still some pain, but even as he spoke, he found it fading away. Esmeralda’s hands didn’t feel as cool anymore. He could see more clearly. “I think I’m just…a little tired.”
Esmeralda gave a little laugh. “I should think so. You were fading in and out for a moment there.”
Tulio gave a little smile back, then slowly sat up. Esmeralda kept one hand on his back, but he was still steady. He looked at Facilier. “So…am I cured?”
Facilier shook his head. “I’m afraid not. This is an old spell, which means it’s really powerful, and can’t be broken by anybody except you.”
“The witch…when she cursed me…” Tulio struggled to remember. “She said that I would stay sick like this…until I learned…to stop stealing…”
“Well, that might be hard for you to do,” said Facilier. “If you’re stupid enough to steal from a witch, then you’ve got a serious case of kleptomania going on here. Some people try their whole lives to get rid of it, but never succeed.”
“So…I could be stuck with this forever?” Tulio asked, his voice shaking the slightest bit.
Facilier nodded gravely. Tulio moaned and buried his face in his hands. Esmeralda put a comforting hand on his back.
“My God, I am such an idiot,” he muttered. “I’m such a worthless moron.”
“Tulio, don’t beat yourself up about it,” said Esmeralda. “It won’t do you any good.” She paused for a moment before saying more. “You know what?” She turned to Facilier. “Teach me how to make that potion that you just injected into him. I can make that for him, then just give him a shot every day and he’ll be fine."
“You would do that, for me?” Tulio found it hard to believe that an almost complete stranger would do this for him. After all, he hadn’t known Esmeralda long.
“Of course I would,” said Esmeralda, putting a hand on his shoulder and smiling at him. “I want to help you, Tulio. You’re not a bad guy, you’re just…lost.”
Strangely enough, Tulio felt some comfort in those words. He had never really had someone want to help him before. For the longest time, it had always been just him and Miguel, them against the world, doing whatever they could to survive. Having someone like this…it was mind-boggling to him.
“Alright, I’ll teach you,” said Facilier. “But once you learn it, you’re responsible for making it on your own time. This is your little…’project’.”
“In the meantime, how about you help Tulio get back to the tent?” Dongwa asked. “I want to get back to my nap.”
Esmeralda rolled her eyes. “Who takes a nap at night?” she muttered. She turned to Tulio. “Can you walk okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Tulio stood up, although his legs wobbled a little bit. Esmeralda looped an arm through his to keep him steady. The two slowly headed back to the tent where all the guys slept. Sitting at the entrance however, was Miguel. And he looked worried. He gave a frown of disapproval when he saw Tulio and Esmeralda walk over.
“There you are,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried, you know. Gus said that you left practice and never came back.”
Esmeralda looked at Tulio. “You think you should tell him?”
Tulio gave a little laugh and patted her hand. “Miguel’s my best friend. If I don’t tell him, he’ll find out on his own eventually.”
“Tel me what?” Miguel asked, giving the two a look.
“You’d better sit down,” said Tulio. “It’s kinda long.”
Miguel rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. Tulio and Esmeralda did the same and they explained how she had found him barely conscious and of the potion she was going to learn to make and inject inside him every day. Miguel was quiet throughout the whole thing and only spoke once they were done.
“Jeez Tulio, this is one big pickle you’ve gotten yourself into,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “But, if Esmeralda’s helping you out, then I guess I’m okay with it.”
Esmeralda smiled. “Thanks, Miguel. I won’t let you down. Tulio will be fine.”
“I guess other people will find out too, since I’ll be going into Facilier’s tent every day,” said Tulio.
“It’s not a big deal if they do,” said Esmeralda. “If they ask, just tell them.”
“But no matter what, we’re in this together,” said Miguel, holding his hand out. “Tulio, we’re gonna do all we can to make sure you break this curse, whether it’s making you medicine or helping you not steal.”
“It’s a promise,” said Esmeralda, placing her hand on Miguel’s.
Tulio felt his heart warm up at those words as he placed his hand over Esmeralda’s. He couldn’t believe he was lucky enough to have Miguel and Esmeralda helping him out. He knew he had a long road ahead of him, but if he had his friends to help him, then maybe, just maybe, he could change.