The old tiger

Whiskers all curled or half cut off, paws bleeding and hungry as hell... all alone in her open cage she slept. Waiting for the next day, the next show, Her next big number...

The circus burned down a week ago. Half the clowns died with it. The other half started doing stand up theater or mime stuff in the nearby park. The parrot had said that people gave them apples.
The monkeys moved to New York and it's public knowledge that they are doing just fine in the stock market business...wau,  who knew?!

The old tiger. She didn't know of any other life. The circus had always been there for her. Her life. Her home. Her daily piece of meat... but now... no matter how she growled and jumped through the twisted metal hoop that once used to burn with a bright yellow flame... no matter how scary and cruel she looked, no one applauded, no one screamed, the scent of popcorn was gone, no music, no lights, no dancing bears or high wire acts :(

She still got in the ring every night and did her great act. She still smiled with her heart at the audience she wished she could see once more and bowed in the end like she had seen the horses do in the cowboy act...

She was the last one left.
The one who couldn't leave. No. Not just yet.

Circus Mumundus. Once a glorious place to live and work, now a burned down dream, a pile of ash and tangled metal bars.

Her tail dragged behind her as she walked past the once joyful and full of life trailer area. Black dust stuck to her tail and back legs. Soon she would look more like a dirty old house cat than a fierce, wild tiger...

The stables were empty except for the bats that had moved in yesterday. They loved the location. Close to a park with lots of insects in the trees.

Some of the horses got movie roles, others just retired and moved down south. The bears cashed in their jar of tips and moved to Montana. (I hear the mountains are beautiful this time of year. And that there's plenty of room to sleep through the winter.)

"I'm so tired..." she knew she couldn't keep this up for long. No memory could keep her alive. She needed to feed. Maybe a rat would wonder before her and she could force it to show her where the meat locker was... or maybe not. The rats left before the fire. There was a rumor that they started it. Playing poker with the local alligator. Alligators don't take losing too lightly.

***

I felt REALLY sad writing this.

Something hit home.

But don't EVER ask me about the old tiger.

I'll rather keep her in her open cage right now.

She'll rip your throat open if you ask stupid things.

And she's not That old. Just over 6 years... In her prime! :)