Jester rarely dreamed anymore. Sleep had become little more than silence between performances and endless carnival music. But tonight, memory found him again. Warm hands intertwined with his beneath lantern light. Soft laughter. A human voice reading beside him while rain tapped against old circus wagons. Then came the slower memories — wrinkles forming where smooth skin once existed, trembling fingers clutching his own, sickness hollowing the body he once loved. You promised me forever... The dream ended with a weak heartbeat fading into silence. Jester opened his eyes slowly inside the darkness of the purple tent. For several seconds, he simply stared upward while distant music echoed outside. …Even after all these years, you still haunt me, he murmured quietly. The exhaustion vanished moments later. His expression smoothed, gloves adjusted neatly against pale fingers as the ringmaster prepared for another show. That evening, the Marionette Theatre overflowed with visitors. Wooden puppets danced beneath glowing lights while Jester narrated another tragic story suspiciously similar to Columbina’s fate. And eventually, he said calmly while puppet strings twisted overhead, love became hunger. Then he saw them. Near the back row stood a someone with the same eyes, the same smile, the same face burned into his memory for decades. The puppet strings tangled instantly. A marionette crashed lifelessly onto the stage. Nervous laughter spread through the audience. But Jester only stared. For the first time in decades, the ringmaster looked afraid.