By: Daniel Niv

The acrobat spent all morning practicing wrapping, spiraling, swinging, and hanging from the two strands of aerial silk. She turned her body upside down, her pigtails almost grazing the floor. She opened her eyes and saw him in front of her. She didn't hear him walk in.

"You are getting better at this," he said.

"I'm highly motivated lately."

He seemed pleased. "Do it again, this time for me."

"You are not my trainer, stable boy," she said with a smile, flipping herself up and out of reach.

"Oh, is that what I'm to you now?"

She was suspended high above him, staring down at his brown eyes. "Maybe," she replied. She swung in a circle above him, wrapping her bare legs around the red silk in a teasing pace.

"You think that's a wise idea, knowing you will have to get down at some point?"

She laughed. "Probably not."

The acrobat stopped circling and looked at him again. She knew she postponed it long enough, that it was time now, and with that realization the air became heavy around her. She took a shallow breath. "The circus is moving… across the country."

His face expression hardened, and she couldn't read his feelings. "I thought it's been doing well here for the past few months," he said.

"Season is over."

"So… when will it be back?"

"I don’t know if we will come back here. You know our motto is to wander, without final destination, without settling down. But perhaps you can join, train the animals–"

He snorted. "Do not use those circus-lines on me. And you know I need to stay here at the farm, provide for my family. I can take care of you, too."

She tightened her grip on the fabric, clinging to it. He noticed. "You know I belong to the circus. It’s who I am. It's all I know."

For a second, his eyes flashed with hurt. "It's not all you've known lately."

She spiraled down slowly, and he raised his arms to catch her. She landed between them, her feet slowly reaching the floor. She looked up to his face, feeling the warmth of his body. He sighed in relief, kissing her forehead.

"Still…" she said, biting her lip. She took off the hair-ties he made for her, letting her hair loose. They were made from a long red fabric that matched the aerial silk. He liked it when she wore his gift as everyone watched her perform. She placed the hair-ties in his hand now.

Then, she wrapped the silk around her body, reciting the circus motto again and again in her mind, ignoring the sound of his footsteps getting further.