The Bandaged Man

The only reality I know is chaos.

***

Gazelle hesitated as she walked away from Ariel's glass cage and stood in front of a flower shop. Because for a moment she thought that the white butterfly on the daisies had turned into a huge daisy. She blinked quickly and looked at the florist girl.

Alice was unaware that Gazelle was standing in front of her because she was watching Damon mournfully. Gazelle frowned when she realized what this beautiful unfamiliar florist was looking at. "Love..." she whispered. Alice couldn't take her eyes off Damon as he spoke to the burly man beside him.

Alice had almost all kinds of flowers and they all looked beautiful. Gazelle was glad that the girl, blinded by love, took care of her flowers so well.

Alice hadn't noticed her, even though Gazelle was staring at her. She realized this was strange because witnessing a love that felt so real in this unreal world was the last thing she expected. There was great sadness in her eyes as Alice continued to watch Damon with a faint smile on her lips.

Gazelle was looking at her as if fascinated. Butterflies flying above the flowers circled Alice and landed on her blond hair and clothes, but she did not notice anything, after all. "Beautiful flowers," said Gazelle suddenly. For some reason, she wanted to pull Alice out of her trance, because she had once learned what intoxicating love was.

Alice smiled shyly as she looked startled and stared at Gazelle. "Thank you." She then excitedly pointed to the flowers. "Which one would you like to buy?" Gazelle averted her eyes, remembering that she had to go and had no money.

"Unfortunately I don't have any money with me right now. Maybe another time." She paused and waved at her, not knowing what to do. "See you next time. Good luck." As she hurried away from the florist, Alice looked after Gazelle, confused.

"Weird..." Alice muttered, running her fingertips over the flowers. "How did I know her?"

Gazelle moved away from the florist and searched all over the circus for Raven, but he was nowhere to be found. There was one last tent she didn't look at, and when she entered the tent hoping to find him, the noise and crowd she saw caused her to be surprised. There were so many people in the tent... And they were all shouting incessantly.

Thanks to her small body, she easily passed unnoticed among people and finally saw what so many people were shouting for: A ring fight.

Gazelle looked shocked at the fighters. One was a dark, large, muscular man, sweating all over, sweat running down the tattoos on his body. The other had bandages all over his body, he was wearing only a sports tracksuit and only his eyes were visible. Gazelle watched intently at the exciting fight that took place in the ring. She wasn't even a little excited because she was disappointed. Raven was nowhere to be found.

It was the rising shouts of the crowd that brought her out of her distraction. She grimaced as she looked into the ring and saw the dark, tattooed man writhing on the floor in pain. She then looked at the bandaged fighter who was staring at her, swallowing hard in fear. It was time to go. But for some reason, nothing in this world was going the way Gazelle wanted.

"The dam has burst!" someone shouted from the crowd. Everyone was silent for a moment. Then everyone started running, shouting. Gazelle froze in place. She couldn't move. When someone she didn't see grabbed her wrist and started running, she shook her head to regain her senses.

Looking at the man's face, she freed her wrist from his grasp and started running away from the man, the tent. When she ran all the way to the florist and finally got tired, she saw Alice crying and carrying her flowers into a pickup truck. "My flowers…" she cried. "They'll die if I don't save them all."

Gazelle got angry at her own stupidity and went to Alice and she started to carry the flowers to the truck. Although Alice was surprised to see her, she kept her attention on the flowers. "Thank you," she whispered as their hands touched the same flower bucket. Alice looked into Gazelle's eyes with teary eyes. "I know you."

Gazelle was unaware that her hood was being pulled open in the hustle and bustle. Alice smiled as she was frightened and pulled her hands from the flower bucket. "I won't tell anyone," she said as she picked up the last bucket and put it in the truck. "Promise." When Alice got in the back of the truck and knocked on the bed, the truck's engine started. "I can drive you home," said Alice with a worried face.

Gazelle shook her head no. "I can go myself. Thank you anyway."

"This place will be submerged until the water runs out of the sewers, and the water level will likely exceed your height. Are you really sure?" Of course, she wasn't sure, she didn't even know how to swim, but she couldn't trust a girl she had just met.

Alice realized she didn't want to go with her because Gazelle was avoiding her. She was a little upset, but she still smiled. "I'm Alice. Nice to meet you. See you next time... Gazelle."

Gazelle was startled at hearing her name, and the sound of water from the bursting dam could now be heard. People were running away in panic. Some of them were waiting for their belongings because they lived here, and all those who made money thanks to this place were sobbing at their stands because they could not find a pickup truck.

Gazelle wanted to escape into the forest and stay safe in the hut, but her legs couldn't move. She was sure Raven was here. When the waters reached the circus and started to rise, Gazelle decided to run away, but the waters came to her height so quickly that she did not even have time to run. Tall people might be able to stand comfortably in the water, but Gazelle was not a tall person.

She struggled as she sank into the water in a panic, she knew the most important thing was not to panic and stay still, but she couldn't contain herself. Tragically, she was about to drown in water that was only an inch past her height, but two strong arms pulled her out of the water.

She didn't know who he was who took her out of the water and took her in his arms, but she hugged him tightly around his neck. She took a deep breath and coughed hard. When she opened her eyes, there was water everywhere and all the lights of the city were turned off. "I am scared," Gazelle whispered, trembling. Her heart was beating like it was going to explode.