Drawing by Ashton Riley
Carnival
A scream shrieked from the heavens. Bischero blinked his eyes and the piazza instantly changed before him. He found himself surrounded by loud voices, and people were in strange clothes wearing masks. The day was gone, and the moon was full. He was running so fast that he was out of control in the crowded square. Before his eyes and ears could adjust to all the changes, he collided with someone in the sea of bodies before him. They both fell to the ground with a thud!
Bruised and confused, Bischero looked up at the man he had knocked to the ground. “Excuse me,” he mumbled.
The man rubbed his head where a knot had formed from striking the stone floor. “You came out of nowhere little one. What were you running from? You should be home at this time of night. Let’s get out of this crowded piazza so we can hear one another speak.” He took Bischero by the hand and turned down a quiet side street next to the nearby café. Then he began again, “Now that we can hear each other, let me introduce myself. I am Nando, servant to the House of Polo. Who are you, and where do you come from?”
Bischero’s head started swimming. He knew the House of Polo was no more. Marco Polo had died in 1324. Bischero knew something was not quite right. Out of fear, Bischero was cautious and chose his words carefully. “My name is Bischero. I am eight-and-a-half-years old. I came by boat from Florence, and now I am lost.”
