Chapter Text
In a small wooden house on the outskirts, an orange animatronic holds a crying little girl in its arms. They sit under the stars, and the animatronic's eyes are hollow, but it still touches the little girl's swollen forehead - the place she just fell.
The girl's crying gradually turned into sobbing and choking, and the animatronic, in order to appease her, began to tell his repeated story with mechanical electronic sounds.
That's two stories, with the protagonists named Sun and Moon.
More than a decade ago, there was a circus in the city, and you would never imagine how popular that circus was back then. They never missed a single performance, and cheers and applause never disappeared from the tents.
Sun and Moon each held their mother's hand, which was a promise they had made with their own mother. The little animatronic was extremely happy, and they danced and talked to their respective mothers about their expectations.
Sun's mother looked at him with gentle eyes and patiently listened to him speak. But Moon's mother is different. When Moon looks up, her expression becomes indifferent.
The circus tent was getting closer and closer to them, and outside the circus stood a clown who stood in front of Sun. His comical movements caught his eye, and Sun clapped his hands and watched as the clown in front of him used a balloon to create a cute little dog. His face was full of a bright smile. The kind clown handed over another red balloon tied in his hand, and Sun turned to look at his mother and took the balloon with her encouraging eyes.
Moon also came in front of the clown. He was a little scared by the clown. He held onto his mother's hand and leaned slightly behind her. His mother patted his little head and pushed him out. The terrifying Mr.clown, with a smiling face painted with oil, handed the red balloon in his hand to Moon. Moon turned to look at his mother, who gestured for him to hold it.
Sun was held by his mother and happily showed her a beautiful balloon. The red balloon covered the sun and cast a beautiful glow. Sun let go of his mother's hand and ran forward a few steps, walking happily and shouting to make his mother faster. His mother followed him with a smile.
Mr. Clown grabbed Moon and followed him clumsily, but he soon realized that there were no footsteps behind him. Moon turned around and seemed to finally see his mother's expression - it was so cold. Moon wanted to stop, he wanted to see his mother's expression, and the clown grabbed his hand and began to exert force, causing him to stumble. The balloon in his hand flew out, blocking the sun. He started shouting, hoping his mother would follow him, but her mother just stood there.
Sun ran to the audience seat, with his mother smiling behind him and reminding him to be careful with his feet. Sun stood still, and the balloon that his mother had carefully tied to his arm playfully turned, imitating his well behaved stance. Sun opened his arms towards his mother, who picked him up and placed him on the seat. His mother's gentle palm caressed Sun's head, and Sun smiled like a little sun, happily spinning the sunlight on his head as before, once again making his mother laugh.
Moon was taken to the circus, where he was lifted up and shackled. The heavy sound of the chains left him stunned, followed by the pain of a whip hitting his shoulder. His metal shell left scratches, and a beautiful layer of paint no longer existed. Moon wanted to cry, tears just welled up in his eyes, and the person holding the whip made a show of force to wave it again. Moon could only swallow his pain.
The circus performance was as exciting as ever, and Sun saw the rider on the unicycle throwing colorful balls in his hand; The animal trainer waved his whip and directed the glowing tiger into the fire circle; Stimulating dance on the steel wire; And the clown gentleman he first saw at the door was performing a magic trick that excited him. Sun tugged at his mother's clothes and chirped at her amidst cheers.
Moon fills the rider's bicycle with enough gas; He trembled as he wiped the fur of the tigers, making them look even more beautiful; He needs to hold ribbons and sticks in the sky for the dancers; He also needs to prepare magic props for that terrifying clown gentleman. Moon, through the screen, picked up the whip that was being whipped on his back amidst laughter and cheers.
The performance quickly came to an end, and the audience left the tent with contentment. Moon was instructed to clean up the scattered ribbons. His limbs and neck were shackled, and he couldn't escape at all. Wave after wave of the audience left, and among them, Moon saw the boy holding his mother's hand. Sun, who was holding his mother's hand, also turned around to look.
The pure doubt in the boy's eyes burned Moon, causing his eyes to heat up. He lowered his head. Sun's mother called out to her child in a gentle voice, protected him from the tent, and they returned home.
The lights in the circus emit beautiful radiance, and Moon's side is adorned with light that falls from his face. The colorful ribbons took up the coolness.
The little girl in the arms of the animatronic has stopped crying. The crystal clear tears in her eyes were wiped away by the animatronic, and the muffled voice of a child echoed in the arms of the animatronic, "And then?"
Holding her animatronic for a moment, he seemed to be looking ahead. Under the soft moonlight, he saw the cheerful Sun and gloomy Moon, as well as others... A strong buzzing sound echoed around him.
"Eclipse? "The girl in her arms tugged at his sleeve, hoping that Eclipse could continue speaking.
Eclipse snapped out of his daze, his side was quiet, and the only thing in front of him was their little house. He hugged the little girl in his arms and began to recall, "After that, Moon was forced to stay in the circus."
"He's so pitiful. "The child's empathy was always so strong that even though Eclipse knew the little girl would forget the story tomorrow, he still smiled and said," Do you still want to continue listening."
You tightly grasped Eclipse's hem, stared at Eclipse's beautiful golden eyes, and nodded silently. Eclipse wraps you in a blanket, isolating you from the coolness of the night, and he begins to narrate again.
Thanks to the animatronic's body, Moon is more agile and soft than the team leader imagined. His slender and agile fingers can do many things that humans cannot do. Therefore, in Moon's second year at the circus, he stepped onto the stage from behind the scenes and has been doing so ever since. He effortlessly hung on the swing and traced a beautiful and thrilling arc in the air. He grabbed another swing and skillfully lifted himself up, spinning in the air and landing perfectly on the jumping platform, bowing to the audience and enjoying their cheers.
Sun hasn't been to the circus for a long time. He stays at home with his mother, enjoying a mundane life. The bookshelf is filled with books that he and his mother like, and they always snuggle up on the sofa at night to read. He has grown taller than his mother, and he can get the seasoning placed at the top of the cabinet for her. Today they are going on a picnic. Sun sat on the swing, waving at his smiling mother as he swung higher and higher. Then he jumped off the swing, stood still in his mother's worried expression, and mischievously blinked at her.
Moon waved his arms from above, but he inadvertently looked down and saw the scene below - the once gentle tiger seemed to be provoked by someone, struggling. Moon seemed to hear the crisp collision of the chains, and then the tiger escaped from its restraints and pounced on the captain.
Standing in the same place, Sun listened to his mother's words, smiling ingratiatingly and still not giving up on his claim of credit. He felt that his performance just now was perfect. There was a barking sound behind his mother, and the two turned their heads to see a large dog running over, followed by his owner shouting.
The cheers gradually gave way to panic, and Moon felt his mind go blank, his eyes filled with a crimson haze.
The dog's barking soon faded away, and the laughter of Sun and her mother rang out. Her mother was knocked down by the big dog, and the weeds flew up, covering her white skirt. The big dog, which had done something wrong, lowered its head and rubbed against her mother.
Moon is free. He stands outside the tent, looking back at the place where he has been trapped for more than ten years. After the death of the troupe leader, the circus disbanded, and they each took some money and planned to leave. Moon uses his hands to block the hot sun, which he has not seen for a long time, and can only see the cold spotlight. Moon is free, but what next?
Sun was extremely happy and walked home with his mother. In her arms was his little sister, small and soft. This was his lovely sister! He wanted to stroke his sister's cute little face, but he was afraid that his hard fingers would hurt her and make his mother laugh and tease him.
Moon walked aimlessly, but he quickly stopped in his tracks. A buzzing sound appeared in his ear as he stared fixedly at the woman in front of him and the baby in her arms. Such a warm scene appeared before him.
Sun followed his mother back to their home. His mother advised him to touch his sister's little face, and her sister smiled at Sun. Finally, Sun couldn't help but touch her. They were so warm at this moment.
Night quietly descended, and Moon slowed down his pace. He was accustomed to quietness in the circus, which was easy for him.
The moonlight illuminated the corridor, and Sun tried to slow down his pace. He didn't want to wake up his mother, but it was still too difficult for him.
Moon arrived at the babycrib and couldn't help but want to strangle her. His brain kept buzzing, and the sharp sound made him lose all ability to think, except for jealousy. His hand touched the baby's neck, but his hand only lightly pressed on it.
No, that's not right, Moon thought.
Sun arrived at his sister's bedside, unable to control his desire to get close to her. His brain was filled with joy, and he wanted to touch her cute little face again. His hand touched his sister, but it pressed against her neck.
No, that's not right, Sun thought.
Screams came from behind, and Moon turned around.
A shout came from behind, and Sun turned around.
"You monster! What are you doing?!"
Sun looked at his mother in confusion, feeling a little aggrieved. He didn't understand why his gentle mother suddenly called him that... No, he knew, Moon knew, the moment she threw himself away.
"Eclipse! Stay away from my child!"
The sharp roar of the woman made his brain even more dull and painful. When he regained consciousness, he was holding a vase in his hand.
The animatronic gasped heavily, his gaze shifted downwards, and he saw the mother wrapped in a bright red.
My little sister was awakened by the sound and was crying. The animatronic turned around and saw a pair of golden eyes in the mirror not far away.
Ah... this is the reality.
Eclipse stood up groggily, and the cheerful Sun asked him to pick up his sister, hoping that he could take care of her. The gloomy Moon was asking him to strangle the baby, hoping to kill her himself.
Eclipse looked at the child in the babycrib and reached out his hands, covered in bright red.
You are already asleep in Eclipse's arms, tightly gripping Eclipse's hem. The energy of a child is like this, and once again you haven't heard the ending.
Eclipse sat here absentmindedly until you in his arms trembled from the cold, and then he put you back on the bed.
He seemed to unconsciously tell those two stories again, and Eclipse sat on the floor, the coolness of his fingertips unable to dispel the pain from deep within his brain.
Another argument came to his ears, and he remembered that it was happening almost every day.
"Kill her! Kill her!"
"No, no! That's our sister!"
"That's the monster that stole our mother!"
"She didn't! She's just a little girl!"
Eclipse held his head down and murmured, "No... she's just herself..."
"By the way, Eclipse, do you remember the stories you told me when I was a child? "You poked your head out, holding a plate of dishes that made you feel appetizing, and placed them on the table.
Eclipse sat at the dining table and was stunned for a moment. "What story?"
"I can't remember, it's a blurry story about a circus and two boys." You bit your chopsticks and tried your best to ponder.
Eclipse removed the chopsticks from your mouth and joked, "Fairy tale books are in the storeroom. If you want to look back on your childhood, you can go fight with those dust and flip through them."
You rolled your eyes,as a grown-up girl, you chose to forget about it. After all, it was just something that flashed through your mind when you were beating up those guys who said bad things about Eclipse. The indifferent attitude towards Eclipse may really be just a story from a fairy tale book.
You swallow the food in your mouth and praise your cooking skills. Eclipse is picking up the rice in his bowl and saying salty words. You were dissatisfied and asked him not to eat, which earned Eclipse a kind word.
It is estimated that in the end, the sunny one saved the tragic one. With this thought in mind, I looked at Eclipse again, just like you and this guy. Do you remember when you were a child, Eclipse was always in a daze, but now that mouth never stops, it's always cheerful.
"Ah! My eggplant! That's the one I kept to eat last! "
" Who told you to keep daydreaming, I laughed. "
"Eclipse!"