THE MUMMYBOY

     The little girl begs her father to let her go into the freak show. He plays the typical parent game, dragging her around the fair to tire her out or believing that, in time, she would have forgotten about the ramshackle tent at the end of the fairway.
     Two hours later, he says, "So, you ready to go, Pumpkin?"
     "No," she says with a stomp of her feet, pulling her hand away from his. "I wanna’ see the mummyboys."
     "Aw, you sound tired. Aren’t you tired?"
     "Daddy, please?"
     "Alright, okay. We’ll go see the mummyboys, but we only have a few tickets left."
     "How many do we need?"
     "Well, let’s go take a look."
     They walk hand-in-hand again down the fairway, past the Tilt-A-Whirl and the brightly-lit, double Ferris Wheel, beyond the games of chance and the last ticket booth. The grass beneath their feet begins to fade into red dirt, and by the time they reach the gaudy, painted tapestries which advertise such oddities as "The Electric Eel Girl" and "Mister Hammerhands," the mixture of 80’s metal and calliope music is far behind them.
     "Oh, honey, I don’t see them," the father says in mock disappointment.
     "But the mummyboys were right here," she says in a whiny voice.
     She runs down the length of the enormous tent before them, past the entrance to "The Conjoined Septuplets," "Tina the Stick" and "Regurjo."
     "Honey! Wait!" the father says, trailing after her at a brisk pace.
     As she gets to the end, she sees two men taking down a banner that reads, "Mummyboys of Qyxtople."
     "Where are the mummyboys?" she asks the men.
     "Oh, they’re done for the night, sweetheart," the man on the ladder replies.
     As the father catches up, he says to the men, "Sorry. She just really wanted to see those kids, I guess. C’mon, Pumpkin, he said they’re gone."
     "But, Daddy . ."
     "I know, I know. C’mon! Mommy’s going to wonder why we’ve been here so long."
     He takes her by the hand and they head back to the grassy fairway. As they reach the end of the red dirt, she turns her head back down to the large tent. She sees workmen scramble to take the freak show tent apart. And far in the distance, she sees a little boy in a blue hoodie looking her way, waving at her. She waves back, letting go of her father’s hand and turning to face the boy.
     "What is it, Pumpkin? What are you waving at?" he asks, turning to get her.
     The boy pulls his hood from his head, revealing vertical layers of skin, which are hanging loosely from his face. From that distance, Pumpkin isn’t able to see the red muscle tissue beneath, peeking out from where the loose skin doesn’t fully cover.
     "Adios," the mummyboy yells.
     "Bye," she yells back.
     She smiles as she thinks about the mummyboy while holding hands with her father, walking at a slow pace past the double Ferris Wheel as its light go out.

 

 

 

 

-SLL