Tremolo

You push through thick undergrowth, much of it loudly objecting to your passage whilst sticking burrs where it hopes you won't notice. A distant melody reaches you. It's less of a sound, and more of a feeling, the idea of a melody rather than any actual music in the air.

This melody has a certain energy, it instills an enthusiasm in you. You must find its source. You must hear it: For it feels eternally on the very edge of your hearing, too far away to distinguish, almost as though you're imagining it. Yet, somehow, deep in your bones, you feel it.

You find yourself humming along.

You happen, all at once, upon a wide clearing. At its centre, a surreal copse. Creeping-jack claws at you, and you find you must fight your way foreward. Yet, the melody compels you. Here, you feel a beat in your body that comes not from your heart but from a grand drum. It draws you forth.

As if sensing your presence, a vibrant figure bursts forth from within the copse.

It grins.

It grins some more.

It continues to grin.

Its entire head splits open to reveal a seemingly endless quantity of teeth. It waves a limb – a hand, a wing? How many fingers do dragons have? - and with floush bows low.

The creeping-jack releases you so swiftly you nearly fall over.

"Welcome!" the dragon croons, voice high yet laced with bass undertones. It sounds...so musical. "To the Big Top!" It rights itself, gesturing grandly up at the copse.

Except it's not a copse, you must have been mistaken. This is an enormous, singular tent, its brilliant stripes the perfect mirror of the dragon standing before you. The music sounds so close now, no longer do you feel it but truly hear it, at once new and familiar. This is a melody your body has known its entire life.

"Come in, come in! The show is about to begin!"

The dragon places a hand on your back and shoves you into the fabric of the tent. It parts like a curtain to accept you, and hands on all sides grab your arms, pulling you forwards, ushering you past the packed seats and towards the ring.

This is where you belong.