Reunion

I don't know how much time has passed, but I was hungry and tired. All my limbs were sore, as well as my back. Running away was a stupid idea. Why did I even do that? Only while being in the circus I can get any information about grandpa's state or wherebouts. I am a patient girl. I could wait a little longer, even if I was dying to see him again.

Coming back would mean having to deal with Kai, and probably apologise to him. I saw him snapping like that a few times before, but he never did that at me. But the bitter truth was that probably only Kai knew anything about grandpa, so I needed to suck it up and come back to talk to him. I stood up, and started slowly walking into the tent's direction.
When I arrived, it all looked rather deserted. Usually, we had guests coming over again and again, with lots of cars parked on our parking lot, and our stable full of horses and camels. But it all seemed empty now. I couldn't even see anybody from my troupe, which was very weird.
When I was walking around and peeking inside multiple rooms, I realised how hungry I was. Searching for something to eat was a real challenge. Despite being a family, we always ate separately, everybody was buying their own food, and then preparing it. Pawpaw shared his meals with me, obviously. But he wasn't here now, and there was nobody who I could have asked for help. I started wondering what should I do. Should I steal... no, it's a bad idea.
Even though stealing from one of the family members could have an awful end, there was another way of finding free food. I walked to the popcorn machine, which was standing next to the tent's entrance. Usually it was being cleaned right after every show, but yesterday's show ended early, so probably nobody remembered to take care of it. There was lots of leftover popcorn inside the machine, so I just opened it's back and started to munch. It was soft and lost it's crunchy texture. It tasted exactly like I imagined one-day-old popcorn to taste like. After consuming all of it, I no longer felt hungry.
I didn't even know what to do. I was all alone, and the whole place was awfully silent. I missed my grandpa so much. But there was nothing I could do, except for waiting.
As hours passed, I started to wonder if my family has abandoned me. They all just disappeared without a trace, it has never happened before. I started to blame myself for running away. They must have thought that I don't want to live with them anymore, so they left me. But, was it really the case? I didn't want to be alone. I would hate to be alone.
I was sitting on the grass, next to the entrance. My head was resting on the popcorn machine, and my eyes were following all movement. It was silent. Even the animals were silent. There was nobody here. Just me, and my thoughts.
It was already nightime, when they finally came back. At first, I thought that I was hallucinating. I had to rub my eyes a few times, to check whether it was real or not.
Mister Ghaard was driving the truck, which we used for advertising and big shoppings. It's lights were cutting through the darkness, and it's engine was roaring in a friendly manner. I stood up quickly, to welcome the newcomers.
"You are back! I was waiting for you the whole time!" I smiled at them brightly, as I watched all of them get out of the truck. Their expressions weren't joyous at all. Nobody even responded to my welcome, so I thought that they are still angry at me for running away. "I'm sorry for running earlier. I will never do that again, promise."
Kai looked at me with tired eyes. He showed me his usual wide grin, as he said "It's alright, Focus. Nobody is angry with you."
My eyes landed at Valentina, who seemed to be even more tired than the day before. She clapped my shoulder in an encouraging gesture "Your grandpa is here. We brought him back. Why don't you say hello?"
My eyes widened, as I glanced at the truck. Was grandpa really here? He didn't come out yet. But I'm sure that he will want to talk to me. So I patiently waited for him to walk out and greet me, even though my heart was trembling to run up to him.
Antonio, whom I treated like my uncle, has opened the back door of the truck. He whispered a few words, and then he walked out, holding something before him.
It was a... I'm not sure what it was. It looked like a funny chair with huge wheels on both it's sides. I assumed that it was another circus prop, since it looked so weird. And it made sense to put it on the back of the truck, since that's where we kept the equipment while moving it.
And then something unexpected happened. Antonio put grandpa on this funny chair. He started to push the chair with both hands, as I watched with confused eyes.
Pawpaw was looking so tired, his face was pale, and his hair seemed to have fallen out. He looked as if he aged twenty years in two days time. But it still was my grandpa, I was sure of that. The whole situation was weird to me. Why was he sitting on a chair, if he wasn't sleeping? Maybe he twisted his ankle? Valentina did mention that he was having a doctor's appointment, after all.
It didn't matter. All that mattered is that he is back. He came back to me, and it was enough for now.
"Pawpaw!" I ran to him with open arms, and hugged him tight "I'm so happy that you are finally back! I missed you!"
He looked at me with his tired, but wise eyes, and smiled. It was a small smile, but it was the most beautiful one I have ever seen. He hugged me back with one arm, and then he kissed my head.
"I missed you too, Focus. Thank you for waiting for me."