Unit 4: Powerful Openings: "The Night Circus," by Erin Morgenstern

No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers.

The towering tents are striped in white and black, no golds and crimsons to be seen.

The towering tents are striped in white and black, no golds and crimsons to be seen.

Black-and-white stripes on grey sky; countless tents of varying shapes and sizes, with an elaborate wrought-iron fence encasing them in a colorless world.

People marvel at the staggering height of the tallest tents.

People marvel at the staggering height of the tallest tents.

“What kind of circus is only open at night?” people ask No one has a proper answer, yet as dusk approaches there is a substantial crowd of spectators gathering outside the gates.

But you think perhaps you can smell caramel wafting through the evening breeze, beneath the crisp scent of the autumn leaves.

A subtle sweetness at the edges of the cold.

The sun disappears completely beyond the horizon, and the remaining luminosity shifts from dusk to twilight.

The sun disappears completely beyond the horizon, and the remaining luminosity shifts from dusk to twilight.

The people around you are growing restless from waiting, a sea of shuffling feet, murmuring about abandoning the endeavor in search of someplace warmer to pass the evening.

It is barely audible over the wind and conversation.

All over the tents, small lights begin to flicker, as though the entirety of the circus is covered in particularly bright fireflies.

The waiting crowd quiets as it watches this display of illumination.

A small child claps his hands with glee at the sight.

But as more of them ignite, it becomes clear that they are aligned in scripted letters.

But as more of them ignite, it becomes clear that they are aligned in scripted letters.

First a C is distinguishable, followed by more letters.

When the final bulb pops alight, and the smoke and sparks dissipate, it is finally legible, this elaborate incandescent sign.

When the final bulb pops alight, and the smoke and sparks dissipate, it is finally legible, this elaborate incandescent sign.

When the final bulb pops alight, and the smoke and sparks dissipate, it is finally legible, this elaborate incandescent sign.

Then the iron gates shudder and unlock, seemingly by their own volition.

Then the iron gates shudder and unlock, seemingly by their own volition.