Chapter 56 Intersection I: Hats off

London, October 31-November 1, 1901 On the eve of Halloween, the circus always has a strong festive atmosphere.Circular paper lanterns hang from the atrium, shadows dancing across the white surfaces like quietly roaring faces.Baskets were placed beside the gates and throughout the circus containing white, black, and silver leather masks with ribbon ties, which customers could use if they wanted to wear them.It is sometimes difficult to distinguish performers from customers. Walking through a circus anonymously is a completely different experience.It can be integrated with the environment and become part of the overall atmosphere.

Some customers thoroughly enjoyed the experience, while others felt insecure and would rather show their true colors. In the hours after midnight, the crowds have dwindled considerably, and the clock is ticking into Halloween. The masked customers who still linger here wander around like ghosts. At this time, there are very few people queuing up to find a fortuneteller, and most of the guests have come early in the evening to ask for divination.Late nights are good for pursuing less mindful activities.Earlier, there had been an almost constant influx of seekers, but as October drifted into November, there was no one waiting on the porch, behind the beaded curtain, to hear the secrets the cards were about to tell.

Then the bead curtain parted, though she didn't hear anyone approaching. What Marco came to tell her should not have caused shock.The cards had been telling her the same thing for years, but she herself refused to listen, choosing only to look at other possibilities, other alternative paths. It was another thing entirely to hear the words come out of his lips.As soon as his words were spoken, a certain forgotten memory found its way back to the front of her mind.Two figures in green clothes are in the center of the brightly colored ballroom, falling in undeniable love, and the whole room is filled with heat.

She asked him to draw a single card.He actually readily agreed, which surprised her. The card he drew La Papessa (French: Priestess) was what she expected. When he left, Isobe put away the notice, saying that it was over for tonight. She sometimes takes the notices away early.Divination makes her tired, and when she needs to rest, she will put down the notice and close for a while.At times like this, she often spends time with Yuezi, but she didn't go to the cartilage stuntman this night, but sat alone at the table and couldn't help shuffling the tarot cards. She flipped one face up, then another, and another.

Only the swords stand sharply in a row.Five, nine, ten, net is the sharp main card. She pushed them into a pile. She put the cards aside and turned to other things. She kept the hatbox under the table all the time.That was the safest place she could think of, and the most convenient place to get it.She often forgot that the hatbox was hidden beneath the draping velvet cloth, a constant that hung between her and the querent, hidden from ears. Now she reached under the table and pulled the hat-box out of the velvet shadow into the flickering candlelight.The modest hatbox was round and covered in black silk.There are no latches or hinges, and the lid is held in place by a black and white ribbon carefully tied in a knot.

Isobe put the box on the table and brushed off the thick dust that had accumulated on the top of the box, but most of the dust was still stuck on the knotted ribbon.She hesitated, thinking for a moment that it would be better to leave it alone, to put it back in storage.However, it doesn't seem to matter any more. Slowly she undid the ribbon, breaking the tangle with her fingernails.When the ribbon was loose enough to remove the lid, she pulled it away timidly, as if afraid of what she might find inside. There is a hat in the box. Everything was just as she had arranged it.An old bowler hat with a slightly frayed brim.More black and white ribbons were wrapped around the hat, tied like presents in bows of various shades, and a tarot card lay beneath the ribbon knots.Between the hat and the cards was a folded white handkerchief of lace, embroidered with loops of black vines around the edge.

They are such simple things, knots and ideas. When she was studying in class, she was not very serious because she still preferred her own cards.Cards, despite their multiple meanings, seem far more straightforward by comparison. This is just a precautionary measure.With such vagaries, it is wise to take precautions.Nothing weirder than walking with an umbrella when you know it's going to rain, even though the sun is shining brightly. She wasn't sure, though, if the thing was doing more than accumulating dust, she wasn't really sure.She has no way of confirming it, because there is no measuring device to measure such an illusory thing, and there is no thermometer to detect the state of chaos.At this moment, she felt as if she was pushing against some empty void.

Isobe carefully took the hat out of the box, the long ends of the ribbons cascading down around it.There was something eerie, almost festive, about old hats, handkerchiefs and playing cards wrapped in frayed ribbons. The tiniest spell can be the most powerful.Isobe said he was dismayed to hear his voice choke because he was about to cry. Hat didn't answer. I think you should be completely useless.Isobe said. The hat still didn't answer. She originally just wanted to keep the circus in balance, so that the opposing sides would not cause harm to each other or the surroundings.In order to avoid the balance breaking.

She kept seeing the two of them together in the ballroom over and over again in her mind. She remembered fragments of an argument she had overheard.Marco said he was doing everything for her, but she didn't understand it at the time, so she soon put it out of her mind. But now it is clear. All the emotions she read in the cards when she tried to divine him turned out to be Celia. Even the circus itself was for her.For every beautiful tent he built, she built one in return. And Isobe himself helped to keep the balance of the circus, to help him, to help them both. She looked down at the hat in her hand.

The white lace is clinging to the black wool, and the ribbons are entwined, making it inseparable. Suddenly, Isobe burst into fury, tearing the ribbon with his fingers and yanking the bow. The handkerchief floats down like a ghost, and among the embroidered vines one can discern C. N． B (Annotation: That is Celia's full name abbreviation.) Initials. The tarot card fell to the ground, face up when it landed.The image of an angel is printed on the face of the card, and the letters below spell out the word Temperance (French: temperance). Isobe stopped and held his breath.She had expected that her actions would have repercussions, some kind of consequences, but everything was silent, the candles were flickering around, and the beaded curtains were still.She suddenly felt stupid and stupid, alone in the tent with a tangled bundle of ribbons and old hats.She felt what a fool she was to believe she could have any influence over such a thing, to believe she had any weight.

She reached down to pick up the fallen cards, but when she heard the sound, her hand froze over the cards.For a moment, it sounded like the squeal of train brakes. It took Isobe a moment to realize that the noise coming from outside the shed was actually Poppy.Murray screamed.