Of The Ashes

                When Chester Greenwhich woke up that morning, he could have sworn he tasted soot in his mouth. He coughed and gagged into his hands, but saw nothing. The dream was so vivid and scary. His hands tremble as he tries to remember the pieces. But all he remembers is the bright orange and red fire. It was like he could feel it inside of himself. Like his heart was burning from the inside out. Chester sits up and tries to shake it off. It was only a dream, he tells himself. He walks over to the mirror and stares at himself. For a minute he could swear he saw flames in his own eyes.

                Today is the day Chester is going to get a job. He dresses in his best pin striped suit and dark red tie and heads out the door. Northington is a small town with small people. Chester always finds himself looking down at people rather than looking them in the eye. There aren’t many places to get a job at. There’s the Inn, The Bakery, The Market, The Automobile Shop, The Hat Shop, The Dress Shop, and The Suit Shop. He had tried every one of them and still no luck. Nobody seemed to want to hire him. But he would not give up. Chester walked past Northington’s borders. He knew there might be another town close by. He walked with his head held high. But that dream kept seeping into his mind. He could almost feel the flames inside his chest. He loosened his tie a bit, and kept on walking.
The streets seemed dead and empty, no cars nor any people seemed to take this road. Chester was about to give up and try another road when he heard music. It was a cheery tune that seemed to carry through the breeze. Chester turned his head, looking for the source of the music. In the distance he spotted a bright white and red tent.
                The music became louder as he got closer. He noticed that the tent had small red flags connected to it and he finally knew why it looked so familiar. It was the Circus. He smiled wide with excitement. Sure, he’d never worked at Circus before, but maybe they could teach him a thing or two.
Nobody was outside of the tent when Chester got there. He walked up to the tent and peeked inside. A figure sat in the middle of the ring, his back turned towards Chester.
“Um..Excuse me.” He said softly. The figure didn’t move. “Uh exuse me..I’m here about a job.” He said a bit louder this time. The figure still didn’t move. Chester walked inside the tent and the music stopped abruptly. “…excuse me..I’m here about a job.” His voice quivered as he spoke. The figure stood up, and Chester could see that he had on a top hat. The man was tall, almost taller than Chester himself. He walked toward Chester.
                “You want job huh?” The man asked. The top hat cast a shadow over his eyes. His mustache was dark and black.
“Yes Sir.” Chester said. “My names Chester Greenwhich. I’m from the town of Northington..it’s about a mile away.”
“Well, what are you good at then?” Asked the man. Chester took a deep breath and thought for a moment. What was he good at? He could lift things, he could build things. He didn’t know too much about animals..and he was a bit frightened of heights. He thought for a long moment.
“Well sir..I..well I’m good at lifting things.” He said.
“Already got someone for that.” The man said. Chester sighed.
“Well I can..build things.” He said. The man chuckled.
“Already got someone for that.” Said the man again. Chester pursed his lips together and thought.

He could feel the flames again, crawling up his spine this time.
“You seem like your good at being Quiet.” Said the man.  Instead of saying anything, Chester only swallowed the lump in his throat.
“Hm. That’s what I thought. Well Mr. Greenwhich I might have the job for you.”
“Really?” Chester smiled. The man grabbed him by the neck of his shirt.
He pulled out a knife and put it up to Chester’s lips. Chester screamed and tried to fight as the man began cutting out his tongue.
“I think we need a new Mime!” Said the man looking into Chester’s eyes. He could see the bright orange and red flames in the man’s eyes. The same flames he saw that very morning in his own eyes. Chester tried screaming again, he could feel the flames taking over his body, but he was silent. As silent as a Mime.