The Night Circus: Part 4: Incendiary Summary & Analysis

Celia is lying in Marco’s arms, wishing this moment would never end. She manages to slow down his heartbeat enough to put him to sleep, and as the day dawns, she lets him sleep and gets dressed quietly. She takes her ring off and puts it on the mantel, and as she puts on her coat, she looks at the books on his desk. She decides that she needs to learn his systems in order to make the circus more independent and take some of the weight off her shoulders, which might give them the opportunity to be alone together without breaking the rules of the competition.

Celia takes Marco’s notebook with her as she leaves Marco’s flat, and as soon as she is out in the hallway, Hector appears, calling her a “deceitful little slut.” He then asks her what she is doing with Marco’s notebook, and reminds her that she cannot interfere with his work. She notes sarcastically that interference is one of the few things that is officially against the rules, and explains that she is just trying to learn his systems so she doesn’t have to control so much of the circus. Hector tells her that she shouldn’t be concerning herself with that, and adds that he has overestimated her ability to handle the competition.

Celia asks Hector if this is the point of the game, to see how each of the players deals with the repercussions of magic in a public venue, in a world that doesn’t believe in magic anyway; that it is a test of stamina and control rather than skill. Hector replies that it is a test of strength, and that she is weak—weaker than he originally thought. If she is so weak, she says, he should just let her lose because she doesn’t want to play any longer. He explains to her that there is no declaration of a winner, that the game doesn’t stop. It is simply played out.

Celia begins to put together the clues in her mind, thinking of all of the vague non-answers Hector has given her in the past, and finally realizes how the competition is supposed to end. She announces that the winner is the one left standing after their opponent can no longer play, and Hector agrees, though he finds it a simplification. Devastated, she turns back to the door of Marco’s flat, and places her hand on the door. Hector ridicules her for believing she loves him, because she is above mundane feelings like love. Celia tells her father that he is willing to sacrifice her life “to prove a point,” and he has let her think it was a simple game of skill.

Celia asks what will happen to the circus after the competition is over, and Hector reminds her that it is simply a venue, and it serves no purpose after the game is finished. She asks why he never told her this before, and he says that he never imagined she might be in a position to lose—to die, Celia corrects him. He then tells her that she should stop imagining that she will play “whore to that nobody Alexander [Mr. A.H.] plucked out of a London gutter” after the competition is over. Celia ignores this comment and asks what happened to the student who won the previous challenge, and he tells her that the winner is Tsukiko, the circus contortionist.

The circus train is en route from London to Munich, traveling silently and puffing clouds of grey smoke. On board the train, Celia changes out of her bloody gown and puts Marco’s notebook away among her own. Wearing a gown that she knows was one of Thiessen’s favorites, she walks over to Tsukiko’s train compartment and knocks. Tsukiko invites her in, and she is sitting in the middle of her compartment with Isobel’s head in her lap. Isobel is sobbing softly, and Celia hesitates in the doorway, saying that she doesn’t want to interrupt. Tsukiko tells her she is not interrupting, and asks her to tell Isobel that she needs rest. Isobel wipes her eyes, nods, and gets up to leave, thanking Tsukiko. When she passes Celia, she stops and tells her she is sorry about Thiessen’s death, and looks like she wants to hug her, but doesn’t.

Once Isobel is gone, Tsukiko offers Celia tea and tells her that the past hours have been difficult for everyone. She has Celia sit down and she pours out the green matcha tea carefully, though without the full tea ritual that she often does for visitors. When Tsukiko sits down, Celia asks her why Tsukiko never told her before. Tsukiko smiles and asks what she’s talking about, which frustrates Celia and makes her want to break the woman’s tea bowl. Tsukiko points to Celia’s scar and asks if she injured herself, and Celia replies that she was bound to a challenge nearly thirty years earlier.

Celia asks to see Tsukiko’s scar, and the contortionist lowers the neckline of her kimono to reveal a faded ring-shaped scar on the nape of her neck, in between various tattoos. She tells Celia that the scars last longer than the competition, and Celia asks if the scar is from one of Hector’s rings. Tsukiko does not answer, asking Celia how her tea is. Celia asks why Tsukiko is at the circus, and she responds that she was hired to be the contortionist. Celia is frustrated, but Tsukiko tells her to ask better questions if she wants better answers. So Celia asks her why Tsukiko never told Celia that she knew about the competition, or that she herself had played. Tsukiko says that she made a promise not to reveal herself unless questioned directly.

Celia then asks why Tsukiko came to the circus in the first place, and she responds that she was curious, and there had not been a challenge since she won hers. She adds that she never intended to stick around, but she liked Chandresh, found the venue unique, and wanted to stay and observe. Celia asks her to talk about the game, and Tsukiko tells her that there is more to it than she thinks, and that it is about more than magic. Everything is a part of the competition, and it’s something that they carry within themselves, regardless of the venue. It is like chess, but without the discreet squares for each to stand on.

Tsukiko asks Celia if she loves Marco, and Celia says that she does. Tsukiko then asks if she believes that Marco loves her, and Celia suddenly begins to doubt it, based on the wording of the question. Tsukiko tells her that “love is fickle and fleeting,” and that Celia should not use it as a basis for decision-making in the competition. Isobel thought Marco loved her too, and she even came to the circus to assist him. Celia insists that Marco loves her, but even as she says it she continues to doubt it. Tsukiko suggests that he may just be very good at manipulation, lying to people to tell them what they want to hear.

Celia is heartbroken and can’t decide which is more upsetting: that one of them will have to die for the competition to be over, or to think that she means nothing to him and is just a piece on a board, waiting to lose. Tsukiko tells her that it is a fine line between partner and opponent, and it can be difficult to know which face is true. Also, Celia has much more to deal with beyond just her opponent. Tsukiko’s own competition was in a more private venue, with fewer people—the space itself is now a tea garden, though she hasn’t been back since the competition ended.

Celia wonders if the circus could continue after the challenge has ended, and Tsukiko notes that it would be a good tribute to Herr Thiessen, but it would be complicated to make it completely independent of Celia and Marco. She notes that Celia has taken on too much responsibility for it all, and if Tsukiko were to stab her, the train would crash. Celia considers it and agrees that it is possible. Tsukiko asks if it would also be problematic if she were to extinguish the bonfire, and Celia nods.

Tsukiko tells Celia that there is much work to do if she wants the circus to survive. Celia asks if she is offering to help, and Tsukiko says no—but if Celia is unable to do it, Tsukiko will step in. She will give Celia some time to work it out, but it has gone on for too long already. Celia asks how much time, and Tsukiko cannot give her a number. They sit in silence for a while, and then Celia asks her what happened to her opponent. Tsukiko responds that her opponent is a pillar of ash in Kyoto, unless she has been blown away by the wind.

Concord and Boston, 1902: Bailey walks into the empty field, not fully believing that the circus left without him. There is not even a blade of grass out of place to indicate that it was ever there. He sits down with his head in his hands, and then remembers that Poppet mentioned a train. Deciding that any train would have to go through Boston to get to another city, he runs as fast as he can to the train station, and when he arrives, he finds no trains. He was hoping it would be there, waiting for him, but then he sees two people on the platform—a man and woman in black coats and red scarves.

The woman asks Bailey if he is okay, because he is panting, and he asks if they are following the circus. They are, and he asks if they know Poppet and Widget, but they do not. He explains that they’re the twins with the kitten show, and they’re his friends. The couple remembers the kitten show and the twins, and they ask how he became friends with them. He says that it is a long story, and they tell him that he can explain on the way to Boston. He tells them that he is trying to follow the circus, and they say that they are doing the same, but won’t find out where it is going to be for another day.

Bailey asks them how they find out, and they tell him that rêveurs have their methods. They introduce themselves as Lorena and Victor, and they are following the circus around North America. Bailey shares his story of how he knows the twins and then another rêveur, Elizabeth, joins the group. Lorena introduces Bailey as a fellow rêveur, though he is not yet comfortable with the term. Elizabeth asks him if he adores the circus more than anything in the world, and he says that he does. She tells him that this makes him a rêveur, even without the customary black-and-white outfit or red scarf.

When they arrive in Boston, they ask Bailey where he is staying, and he tells them he will probably just stay at the station until it is time to travel again. They offer to let him stay with them at the Parker House. Bailey tries to turn them down, but Lorena tells him that Victor is stubborn and will not take no for an answer. When they arrive at the hotel, Bailey is overwhelmed by the opulence of it, and he tells Lorena that he feels like a girl in a fairytale who doesn’t have the right shoes but is attending a ball at the castle. Lorena laughs loudly at this, attracting stares from other guests.

The following day, Victor and Lorena take Bailey out to buy a suit. He is measured and fitted for a grey suit that is nicer than his father’s best suit, along with a pair of shiny shoes and a hat. Bailey has difficulty recognizing himself in the mirror. They return to the hotel just in time for Elizabeth to join them and bring them down for dinner. There are more than a dozen rêveurs at dinner, creating a casual and joyful atmosphere. Lorena notices that Bailey is not wearing any red and plucks a red rose from a nearby vase and places it in his lapel.

Bailey listens to all of their stories of the circus, amazed to be among people who love it as much as he does. He asks if anyone thinks anything is wrong with the circus, and Victor responds that it is not quite the same since Herr Thiessen died. Bailey asks who he is and they explain that he is one of the original rêveurs, and that he made the clock just inside of the circus gates. Bailey is surprised that someone outside the circus made the clock, because he always assumed it was born from the circus. Victor continues that Thiessen was also a writer, which is how they met him: they read one of his columns and began to write to him, well before the term rêveur was even established.

Lorena tells him that Thiessen made her a clock that looks like the Carousel that she absolutely loves. Bailey asks why the circus has not been the same since Thiessen’s death, and wonders if this is related to what he heard from Poppet. They all agree that there is something off about the circus now, though they cannot specify what it is exactly. Bailey asks when he died, and they reply that it was exactly a year earlier. They toast to the memory of Friedrick Thiessen, and continue to tell stories about him through dessert. Victor slips out and comes back with the news that the circus will be in New York next.

Montreal, 1902: After Celia finishes her performance and her audience leaves, there is one man sitting, waiting for her. She sits down across from Marco and tells him that he usually sits in the back. He asks her if she expected him to come so far to see her, and she says that she didn’t expect it at all. He tells her that she can’t hide, and she insists that she hasn’t been hiding. She thanks him for the Pool of Tears, a special place where she feels safe enough to cry when he cannot be with her. Then he mentions that she stole his notebook, for which she apologizes. He is okay with that, as long as it is somewhere safe, but he wishes that she had asked, or even said goodbye when she left his flat.

Celia tells Marco that she is trying to make the circus independent, to untie it from the challenge and from the two of them. She needed to learn his system in order to do that. She does not want to let the circus fade away, because it is too important to too many people. It is wonder and comfort and mystery, and that is something that many people do not get anywhere else, and she wants them to be able to keep it. Marco tells her that he has that when he is with her, and asks to let him help her. She tells him that she doesn’t need his help, but he argues that she cannot do it alone.

Marco realizes that Celia is not looking him in the eye, and asks if she doesn’t trust him. She responds that Isobel trusted him, as did Chandresh, and she has no reason to believe that he is being honest with her, and not with them, especially since he has the most reason to deceive her, as she is his opponent in the competition. Marco insists that he never once told Isobel he loved her—they were together because he was young and lonely, and he should not have let her believe that he loved her, but what he feels for Celia is much more intense than anything he ever felt for Isobel.

Marco asks if Celia thinks he is cruel enough to do such a thing to her, and she ignores him and rises to leave. He tells her that she is breaking his heart: she once said that she would never suffer the way her mother did, but now she is making him suffer in exactly the same way. She keeps leaving him when he wants her to stay, and it is killing him.

Celia tells Marco that the competition has to kill one of them, and when Marco doesn’t understand, she explains to him that the one who survives is the winner, and the loser dies, which is how the game ends. Marco cannot believe it, and she continues to explain that it is a test of endurance rather than skill, and that she is preparing to make the circus self-sufficient, trailing off before she can finish her sentence. Marco finishes for her, realizing that she is planning on taking herself “off the board,” much the way her father did. She says that it is the only way to stop the game, and Marco insists that they should just continue playing, but Celia cannot do that. She cannot hold on any longer, and just wants to let him win.

Marco tells her that he doesn’t want to win, he just wants Celia, even though she doesn’t believe that. Incredulous, he asks her how she can believe that he doesn’t love her, and doesn’t know who she has been talking to, but he insists that he is telling her the truth. They look into each other’s eyes and Marco shows her when he first knew he loved her: they are suddenly standing in a small round room under a chandelier. Then the room changes to the ballroom of Chandresh’s house, and Celia tells him that this is when she knew she loved him. They kiss, and the bonfire burns brighter, and the circus is perfect for just one moment.

Celia pulls away and tells him that she is sorry. Marco holds on to her, begging her not to leave him. She tells him that it is too late. There are too many people involved, and anything they do has an effect on every single person who has ever been to the circus—hundreds, maybe thousands of people. They are all flies in a web, spun back when she was six, and they cannot disentangle themselves. She asks Marco if he will do her a favor, and he says he will do anything. She asks him not to come back, nearly breaking into tears. She disappears before he can respond.

Back in her room, Celia attempts once again to decipher Marco’s notebook. The raven caws, and Celia addresses her father, who has shown up, hovering over her. Hector calls the notebook “a god-awful mess,” but Celia explains that it is just because he doesn’t understand it. Hector calls it messy work, overly complicated like all of Mr. A.H.’s magic. Celia responds that anyone can do it, if they study enough, which contradicts Hector’s lectures about how Celia is unique and special.

Hector replies that Celia is special, and well beyond the kind of magic that  Marco is doing. There is so much more that she could be doing, he notes. Celia quotes from Shakespeare, that there “are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,” which annoys Hector. She tells him that she is haunted by the ghost of her father, so she considers Hamlet an appropriate context for her. She reminds him that he once called himself Prospero, as well. Hector tells her that she is too intelligent for this behavior, and she sarcastically apologizes for not living up to his expectations, asking him if he can bother someone else.

He mentions Chandresh, and Celia realizes that it was Hector who told him that Mr. A.H. would be at the circus the night Thiessen died. He sent Chandresh there. Hector defends himself by noting that he simply made a suggestion to a drunk. Celia tells him that he must have known that Chandresh could do nothing to hurt Mr. A.H., and does not understand his reasoning; she asks about his rule of no interference, and Hector replies that it only applies to the opponents, and he can interfere with anyone else at any time. Angry, Celia tells him that his interference got Thiessen killed, and he coldly responds that “there are other clockmakers in the world.”

Celia throws a volume of Shakespeare at Hector, and it goes right through him and hits the wall of the tent. She demands that he go away, and he tells her that she cannot keep pushing him away. When she turns back to her work, he tells her that she is not really making personal connections with the people of the circus, that they are all going to die eventually, and she should not let her emotions take away her power. She replies that he and Mr. A.H. are both cowards, fighting by proxy because they fear challenging each other directly, afraid to fail. He disagrees, but Celia finishes the conversation by telling him she hates him, and he vanishes.

Marco uses ink to inscribe an A on the window of his flat, and waits for Mr. A.H. When he arrives, he stands in the hallway expectantly. Marco tells him that Celia thinks one of the competitors has to die for the game to be over, and Mr. A.H. confirms this. Marco tells him that winning would be worse than losing, and his teacher responds that he has already warned Marco that his feelings for Celia will make the challenge difficult. Marco asks why he would do such a thing to him, and Mr. A.H. replies that he thought it was better than the life he would have had otherwise. Marco says nothing and shuts the door in his face. Mr. A.H. thinks to knock again, but decides against it and leaves.

The circus train is on its way from Boston to New York City, and the passengers have mostly fallen asleep or are simply reading or having quiet time in their compartments. Widget and Poppet find Celia’s compartment and knock softly on the door to tell her that there is a problem: Bailey was supposed to come along with them. Poppet says that they waited for him and he didn’t come, though that may be because they left early. Celia asks Poppet if she had another vision, and Poppet responds that she did, sort of, but that it’s not clear and it is in bits and pieces. She hasn’t been able to see clearly and nothing has made sense for a year, though Celia calls that an exaggeration.

As Poppet gets more anxious, Celia tells her that she is also very upset by what happened the year prior, but that no one could have done anything to prevent it. Poppet responds that she understands, but wonders about the value of seeing the future if she can’t do anything to stop it. Celia tells her that she cannot stop the future, she can only be prepared for it. Poppet responds that Celia could stop things from happening, and Celia replies that Poppet cannot even comprehend the scope of what is going on and would not like it if she did know.

Celia demands that Poppet tell her what she saw in her vision. Poppet closes her eyes to see it again, and tells her that she saw something bright, that everything was on fire, and that Bailey was there. Celia asks for more, but Poppet says that she can’t see any more than that, and Celia replies that it is probably because she doesn’t want to see anything. She advises Poppet to give her more information if she wants Celia to do something to prevent it. She then takes off her necklace and holds the pocket watch in front of Poppet’s eyes, telling her to focus her attention on it.

Poppet’s eyes follow the pocket watch Celia holds in front of her, and Poppet starts to sway and then falls backwards. Widget catches her, and he and Celia move her to one of the benches. She then asks what Poppet saw this time, even if it doesn’t make any sense to her. Poppet describes a fire, starting with the bonfire but bigger and uncontained, like the courtyard is on fire. There is also a loud noise and heat, and Celia is there, with someone else, and it’s raining, and then she is both there and not, though Poppet cannot explain what she means by that. And then Bailey is there, after the fire.

Celia asks Poppet what the man looks like, and she explains it is a tall man in a suit with a bowler hat, but it was hard to tell. Celia tells her that if it is who she thinks it is, he is in London, so Poppet’s vision is not as immediate as she thinks. Poppet disagrees, believing it is imminent, and Celia responds that it could be weeks or months or years. Poppet slams her teacup on the table and demands that they do something, that they prepare for it somehow. Celia tells her that she will do whatever possible to prevent the circus from going up in flames, fireproofing it as much as she can. She asks if that is enough for the moment, and Poppet nods.

Suddenly Widget, who has been sitting on the bench silently, asks if what is going on in the circus, the thing that the twins don’t understand the scope of, is a game of some sort. Celia smiles and tells him she is disappointed that it took him so long to figure that out. Poppet asks what kind of game, and Widget says it’s like chess, though Celia says it is not as straightforward as that. Poppet asks if they’re all playing the game, and Widget answers that it is only Celia and someone else, and that they are all extra pieces. Celia corrects him, and then stares into his eyes for a moment until he blinks, with a look of surprise on his face.

Celia apologizes for not being completely honest with them, and asks them to trust her when she says she is trying to make things better. She then ushers them out of her compartment, though Widget lingers for a moment, tells her he is sorry, and kisses her on the cheek. Once they are out, Poppet asks what that was all about, and Widget tells her that Celia let him read her mind, without concealing anything. Meanwhile, in her compartment, Celia is tearing a handkerchief into strips and dropping them into her teacup, lighting it on fire. She practices until the cloth burns without charring.

Bailey takes the first train to New York, and while he sits and watches the scenery, Victor comes and hands him a scrapbook of the circus, with newspaper clippings and letters that go back over a decade. Lorena tells Victor that he has never taken such an interest in a new rêveur, and he replies that Bailey reminds him of Thiessen. Elizabeth comes and sits next to Bailey when they are close to New York, and tells him she has never met anyone so young who feels as strongly about the circus as the older rêveurs do, and then she takes off the scarf she has been knitting and gives it to him. He tells her he cannot accept it, but she insists, saying it was clearly meant for him.

They arrive in New York, and Bailey is struck by how strange everything looks to him and how far from home he is. They meet up with another rêveur named August, who tells them that he has good and bad news: the good news is that the circus is right where he predicted. The bad news is that there was a storm the previous night and the circus is closed for inclement weather. In addition, there was some sort of crashing noise around midnight, so loud it nearly shook the house, followed by smoke and a bright flash of light. Upon hearing this, Bailey runs out of the house, through the trees, and in the direction of the tents.

In London, Isobel stands on the street in front of Marco’s flat, waiting for hours for him to return. When he sees her, he asks what she is doing in London, because she is supposed to be in the United States. She tells him that she left the circus, and that Celia gave her permission. She asks if she can come up to his flat, and he says no, asking her to simply say what she has come to say. She tells him she is sorry for not telling him she was tempering the circus, and feels that what happened the previous year was partly her fault. He tells her she should apologize to Celia, and she tells him she already has.

Isobel knew Celia was in love with someone, but she thought it was Thiessen, and didn’t realize until that night that it was Marco. Celia loved Thiessen, as well, though, and lost him because of Isobel. Isobel felt like she had a home where she belonged. After a while, she didn’t feel she needed to protect Marco from Celia, but instead she needed to protect everyone from the two of them and them from each other. It was only ever the two of them, and Isobel was only a diversion. Marco tells her she wasn’t a diversion, but that he didn’t ever love her. She says she thought he did, even though he never said it to her, but it was wishful thinking. She thought it would be temporary—that if Celia were gone, Marco would come back to her. But Isobel was the one who was temporary.

Isobel and Marco stand in the street in silence for a long time, and then Marco starts up the stairs to his flat, saying goodbye to her. She tells him that the most difficult thing to read is time. She says it was a matter of timing: Isobel’s train was late the day they met, and if it had been on time, it would not have happened. She wonders if they were never actually meant to meet. Marco apologizes for not telling her sooner about his feelings for Celia. But he doesn’t know what else to tell her.

Isobel tells Marco about a boy she read for recently, and everything was in his cards. It was like reading for Celia—his future was the future of the circus. She thought maybe he could save Marco, that everything would end differently, but she was wrong. Marco grows pale and asks what Isobel is trying to say. She says that he had a chance to be with Celia, but the timing isn’t right. She then takes her hand from her pocket, and opens her hand to reveal a pile of black crystals, fine as ash. When Marco asks what it is, she blows the ash into Marco’s face. When the ash clears, Marco is gone, and Isobel picks up his briefcase and walks away.

In New York, Bailey arrives at the circus, which looks exactly as it did back in Massachusetts, except that the circus is closed due to inclement weather. He can smell something from inside, something burned and wet that makes him nauseous. Once he gets into the circus, he wanders around looking for Poppet, but the grounds are empty. He turns a corner to see the cauldron where the bonfire is supposed to be, but the fire is not burning anymore, and there is someone there waiting for him. But it is not Poppet—she is short, with dark hair and a cigarette holder against her lips as she turns to look at him.

It is the contortionist, and she asks him if he is Bailey. He says yes and wonders how everyone knows his name. She tells him that he is late, and when he asks what he is late for, she says she doesn’t know if the woman can hold on for much longer. He asks where  Poppet is, and the contortionist tells him that she is unavailable, but Bailey cannot believe that Poppet doesn’t already know he is there. He asks her name, and she tells him he may call her Tsukiko. He looks past her and tells her that he thought the bonfire never went out, to which she responds that it never has before.

Bailey asks what happened, and Tsukiko tells him it is a long and complicated story that she is not planning on telling him. She points to his red scarf and notes that he is a rêveur now, and then changes the subject again, telling him that it was a kind of explosion. He asks if the bonfire exploded and how, and she reminds him it is difficult to explain. He wonders why the tents did not burn, and she notes that Miss Bowen must have fireproofed them. He asks who Miss Bowen is, and she tells him that he asks a lot of questions. He responds that she doesn’t answer many.

Tsukiko tells Bailey she is only the messenger, and she must bring him to meet with someone. Despite noting that she is the only living person who knows what happened and why he is here, she says he should save his questions for someone else. She leads him to a tent with a sign that says “Fearsome Beasts and Strange Creatures, Wonders in Paper and Mist.” He asks if she is coming in with him, and she reminds him she is only the messenger and will be waiting back in the courtyard. Bailey enters the tent alone.

Marco falls to the ground in a cloud of black ash, coughing from the impact. He gets up and realizes that he is standing in the rain next to the clock at the center of the circus. It is nearly midnight, and the circus is closed for inclement weather, though the rain is hardly more than a heavy mist. Marco sees Tsukiko standing near the ticket booth, and she comes to greet him. He asks how Isobel managed to transport him to the circus from London, and Tsukiko tells him she taught Isobel that trick, asking him if he feels unsteady. He tells her he is fine, and she ushers him out of the wind.

Marco asks where everyone is, and Tsukiko tells him they are at an inclement-weather party. He asks why he is there, and she does not answer him, asking instead what Isobel told him. He doesn’t remember much of their conversation, which doesn’t bother Tsukiko. Tsukiko then tells him that they have something in common, that they both had the same teacher, which confuses him. She notes her surprise that Mr. A.H. used such an open venue for this competition, that he always preferred seclusion, and that he is probably disappointed with how the challenge has progressed thus far. Marco realizes that Tsukiko won the last competition, and asks when. She tells him it was “eighty-three years, six months, and twenty one days” earlier, on a cherry-blossom day.

Tsukiko tells Marco that their teachers do not understand how it feels to be so intimately tied to another person; “They think it simple to pit two any people against each other,” but the competitors begin to define themselves through each other, and they become necessary to each other to go on. She then asks if Marco loves Celia, and he tells her that he loves her more than anything in the world. She responds that she loved her opponent more than anything in the world, as well. Her name was Hinata, and she set herself on fire, stepping into a pillar of flame like it was water.

Marco tells her he is sorry, and Tsukiko informs him that Celia was planning to do something similar for him to let him win. She does not wish that pain on anyone, however. She then asks if he knows the story of Merlin, the wizard in the tree. She tells him that there are many trees that would suffice, but the bonfire would be more appropriate. He looks at the bonfire and realizes that the story of Merlin involves him being imprisoned in a tree or a cave or a rock, as a punishment for foolish love. He tells Tsukiko that he understands, and she tells him that she knew he would.

At that moment, Celia arrives and asks Tsukiko what she is doing. She tells Celia to return to the party, because she will not want to be present for what is about to happen. Celia asks what is about to happen, and Tsukiko tells her that she has been surrounded by the love letters she and Marco have built for each other, in the form of tents, and it reminds her of what it was like to be with Hinata. She will not give it up, but the two of them are letting it fade. Celia tells Tsukiko that she thought “love was fickle and fleeting,” and Tsukiko admits that she lied, because it would be easier if Celia harbored doubts about Marco’s love.

Tsukiko gave Celia a year to find a way for the circus to continue without her, but she plans to step in now. She says that Celia is the greater loss to the circus, because she carries it within herself, while Marco uses the fire as a tool. Celia just asks for more time, but Tsukiko refuses. Marco tells her that he would rather burn by Celia’s side than live without her, and Celia screams, but he focuses his attention on Tsukiko and what she is about to do to him. He asks if it will end the game, even if he is trapped in the fire and not dead. Tsukiko tells him that he will be unable to continue, and that is all that matters.

Marco tells Tsukiko to go ahead with her plan, and she bows to him and flicks her lit cigarette at the fire. They do not see Celia run towards Marco and leap into his arms. He pulls her close, and as the pain starts, she whispers for him to trust her. They dissolve into the air in the moment before the bonfire explodes, turning into nothing more than light and shadow. They are gone and the circus is in flames, and Tsukiko is alone in the courtyard. Suddenly, the flames die down and go out, and the only sound is the rain hitting the metal of the cauldron.

Celia chooses a location that is familiar to her, and brings herself back to her tent at the circus, feeling slightly dizzy. She notices that she is whole, but that everyone around her is transparent, and that Marco is nowhere to be seen. Marco loses Celia in the moment of the explosion. She can feel him somewhere, but cannot find him as she wanders through the Labyrinth. Marco finally finds himself in the middle of the Ice Garden, and when he attempts to touch a nearby rose, his fingers pass through it. Then, suddenly, he hears a gasp behind him and turns around to see Celia, who immediately tells him is that she loves him. They come together, and he touches her face and pulls her into his arms and tells her he loves her too.

They hold each other as Celia tells Marco that she couldn’t let him go without her, and he asks her how she did it. She used the circus as a touchstone, and she didn’t know if it would work, but she had to try. He is happy to be with her, and he doesn’t feel trapped in the circus, but when he looks around he realizes that the Ice Garden is melting. He tells Celia that the bonfire went out, and that she is the only thing holding it together. She nods, and notices how difficult it is to manage without the bonfire. But if she lets go, she knows that it will collapse, so she has suspended it, and it needs a new caretaker.

Bailey enters the tent, which only days before had seemed endless; now, without the mist, he can see everything, though the animals are all suspended and motionless. Standing next to a stag with tall antlers is a man in a dark suit who looks like a ghost, transparent and shadowy, and Bailey wonders if it is a figment of his imagination. The man introduces himself as Marco. Bailey asks if he is dead, and Marco replies, “not precisely.” Bailey asks him what happened, and Marco tells him it is a long story, which is exactly what Tsukiko had told him.

Marco then explains that Tsukiko tried to imprison him in the bonfire, and there was a change of plans that led to the current situation. Marco is in a less concentrated state, he says, and holds out his hand for Bailey to touch. Bailey’s fingers move right through Marco’s hand, with only the softest resistance to show that something is there. Marco then tells Bailey to follow him and turns to leave the tent.

As they are about to leave the tent, Bailey asks where they are going, and Marco tells him that someone else wants to speak with him, and she is at the Wishing Tree. Bailey has never been there, and Marco explains how it works: the wisher takes a candle from the box at the entrance of the tent and lights it from another candle that is already burning on the tree.

Marco leads Bailey into the acrobat tent, but instead of the wide-open space he is used to, he is met with a room full of people, all frozen in place. The inclement-weather party was frozen in time, just like the rest of the circus. Bailey walks carefully through the crowd, stopping to look at Widget and Poppet—he is frozen mid-story, while she has turned her head, as if her attention was caught by something outside the tent. He then enters the Wishing Tree tent, which is about the size of his oak tree back at home, with white candles on the bare branches. Bailey sees Marco with his arms around a woman whom he recognizes as the illusionist. She appears as transparent as Marco.

Celia welcomes Bailey, calling him by name and introducing herself. He asks how she knew he was coming, and she tells him that Poppet mentioned him as part of the events of the evening. She then tells him she needs his help with something—he must take over the circus, because it needs a new caretaker to survive. Bailey is surprised, asking if he is the new caretaker, and she tells him that they would like that. They would all be able to help him, but he would ultimately be responsible for it. He tells her that he isn’t special, and she tells him that he is simply the right person at the right time, but sometimes that is all it takes.

Bailey is about to accept this new responsibility when Celia stops him, because she wants to make sure that he is making a free choice without any pressure or obligation. He asks what happens if he says no and walks away, and Celia tells him that the circus will not survive. As they wait for Bailey to answer, the candles flicker, and Celia starts to sway. Marco has to steady her. Bailey asks what he needs to do, and Celia tells him he needs to finish something she started, and to re-light the bonfire. When he re-lights the fire, that will power half the circus, and he will need to carry the other half within him. He can leave the circus, but not for extended periods of time. He will be bound to it, and she is not sure if he will ever be able to pass it along to someone else.

Bailey realizes that this is a bigger commitment than Harvard, or even the farm, but he knows his answer anyway. He agrees, and Marco asks if they can make it official, because he is not willing to settle for a verbal agreement. Marco takes off his silver ring, passes a candle along it until it is white hot, and places it in his palm. Bailey wonders whose wish he might have used to heat up the ring, and Marco tells him that three years ago, he made a wish on the tree. Bailey asks what he wished for, but Marco doesn’t answer. Instead, he reaches out his hand and burns the ring into Bailey’s palm. Bailey looks down at the bright red scar on his skin, closes his hand and asks what he needs to do.

Bailey finds Celia’s room in the circus and searches through the books to find Marco’s notebook. He pulls out the pages with Poppet and Widget’s names on them and adds his own name to them. He collects yarn, two cards—a simple playing card and a tarot card—and a pocket watch on a silver chain. He crosses back through the circus, and when he passes Tsukiko, he tells her that he needs to use her lighter. She agrees, though she also tells him to be careful with it, because it is old. She then asks if he is going to try to light the bonfire again, and he tells her he is, and asks if she would like to help. She shrugs, telling him she is not concerned about the outcome, which he does not believe. But he knows he must do it himself.

Bailey mumbles some of Celia’s instructions, wraps the items up in the yarn, and throws it in the cauldron. He sees Marco’s bowler hat next to the cauldron and adds that, and impulsively pulls everything out of his pockets, including his silver ticket, the rose from his lapel, and Poppet’s white glove, and throws it all in the cauldron as well. Finally, he pulls out the glass bottle with the memory of his oak tree, and that goes in, too. He lights a candle and throws it in, wishing harder than ever before. He feels a pair of hands resting on his shoulders, and the flames catch. He is blown back on to the ground by the force of the bonfire, and all around him the circus springs back to life again. From inside the Wishing Tree, Celia and Marco watch the circus come back to life, and they kiss.