Free The Bridge by Zoran Zivkovic

back of her leaflet.
    She squeezed in between two clowns. The one on her left gave her a smile stretched literally ear to ear by makeup. The one on her right honked as he blew on a red paper snake that unwound towards her, forcing her to back away. But there was no more time for joking around because the show had just started.
    The figure in purple raised its right hand. The crypt fell silent the same moment. The hand plunged among the balls in the aquarium, hunted around a bit, pulled one out, then raised it in the air. It had a sparkling number thirty-six.
    The clowns burst into applause and one on the end of the top right-hand row jumped up and ran down the aisle. He handed his leaflet to the girl who gestured towards the wheel.
    With her help he climbed up onto two small footrests, leaning his back against the wood, and spread out his arms. When he had taken position, arms and legs spread, the girl tied the wide straps firmly around his ankles and wrists.
    Then she went up to Madam Vera and touched her on the shoulder. Madam Vera thrust her hand into her coat pocket. First came the sound of rustling paper, and then she pulled out the copper bracelet. The girl took it to the throne and laid it in the purple lap.
    Then she went behind the wheel and it started to turn. It started off slowly, but picked up speed after the first cycle. Not long after, the clown’s costume produced a series of dizzying concentric circles on the wood approximating a multicolored target.
    When she realized what was about to happen, Madam Olga put her hands over her mouth to suppress a cry. Was Madam Vera really going to do that? she wondered in disbelief. She had always complained of being clumsy, always dropping, breaking or spilling something. And now this, with her eyes blindfolded to boot. Pure insanity. When they die people seem to forget what they used to be like…
    Bending over slightly, Madam Vera felt for the box on the table, then took out one of the four daggers. She tested its weight in her hand and took hold of the tip of the blade. When she let it fly, the room fell silent once again.
    The dagger flashed and plunged in, but where was not immediately clear. Following the clowns’ lead, Madam Olga leaned forward a little as the turning wheel quickly slowed down. When it stopped, the entire audience jumped to their feet with a new round of applause. She was the only one who stayed in her seat, staring speechlessly at the forehead of the crucified clown, where only the handle of the dagger was visible.
    The girl came out from behind the wheel and started to remove the straps. But the clown didn’t crumple to the ground after she finished untying him. Just as though there were no dagger thrust into his forehead, he made a great arching leap off the footrests. First he bowed to the figure in purple, then to the other clowns who gave him another round of applause. Then, like a two-legged unicorn, he bounded back to his seat.
    The silence that held sway was disturbed by new rustling. The girl went up to Madam Vera again and held out her hand. Now she was holding the amber-colored necklace. When it had joined the bracelet in the lap, the purple glove plunged into the aquarium once again. The new ball had a sparkling number thirteen.
    Accompanied by applause, a clown from the end of the third row, behind Madam Olga, rushed towards the wheel. She watched in irritation as the girl tightened the straps. She was meant to assume, of course, that this was all just a circus number. What else could it be with so many clowns? While they were all having a great time, she was the only one to be genuinely perturbed.
    She wouldn’t let them deceive her anymore. She watched impassively as the wheel turned faster and faster, and then the second dagger hit home somewhere. She just waved her hand dismissively when she saw the handle poking out just above the heart. She did not join in the applause that ensued after the second clown jumped off the wheel