Curiosity Industry
Part Nine

Back amongst the mayhem, whose call a few minutes ago promised freedom and adventure but now sounded mocking, Henry sobbed as quietly as he could so as to not embarrass his brother. Herman took a handkerchief from his back pocket and offered it to his brother. He had seen Henry get upset many times. Knowing how to stop it, was one of the ways he counted himself as a good brother.

"Let's get some candy Henry," Herman suggested, surprised to see that the expression on his brother’s face hadn’t changed.

They made their way through the crowd to the vendors who had set up carts filled with junk food of every conceivable variety. Cotton candy wound like pink clouds on thin wooden sticks, the steam from roasted nuts curled up in a colorful mist beneath multicolored bulbs. Fried food, ice cream and candy of every conceivable variety stretched itself out in aroma trails luring the brothers.

Henry tugged at his brother's shirt, nearly tearing its stitching out of the sleeve. He wanted to find mom and dad. Herman said that they shouldn’t. He told his brother that ma and pa didn’t want to be bothered. He wanted to calm his brother down first. Herman mentioned that they could get some cotton candy, eat it, and then go find their parents.

Henry turned white as a ghost at the suggestion. He watched the candy form itself on a stick out of nothing suggesting a cruel magic at work. A man with a giant squash head, a woman with a beard and her daughter waving her crab claw hands floated above him on a pink cloud. He dropped from his brother's side and collapsed, falling to paroxysms of bewilderment.