The qualm before the show.

The qualm before the show


Fuzzy energy pumped out of the ground. There was a real buzz in Montreal. You could feel the invisible vibrations a mile off. Excitement and fever bristled on the skin and lips of the town’s people.
A large crowd gathered round a shiny poster stuck to the wall of the city hall.
Cheerfully voices rang out for the latecomers
“Have you seen this poster?”
“It’s The Great Dellbragio”
“He’s coming to town, our town”

Sure enough the bold curly script on the yellow papered poster read – One day only the world famous Great Dellbragio – June 7th tickets 5 cents.
That’s all the posters ever needed to say.

The people of Montreal waited in anticipation, June the 7th was a week away, and they could barely contain there excitement. The air felt tribal. Just like a storm ready to spew forth a flowing golden silver rain.

As more and more minds dallied away from work, Mayor Jean Louis Beaudy decided to declare a week’s national holiday.
For all the townsfolk could concentrate on was scratching their heads and wondering over, what Dellbragios show was going to be?


On the 6th Montreal’s excitement reached fever pitch as a wooden plat formed stage blossomed magically overnight to appear in the square. The stage had been constructed in secret by Dellbragios cloaked assistants.

The next day a dragon flew through the sky. It was Dellbragio in his helicopter.

The townsfolk shrieked as the dragon burst into multicoloured flames. Then Dellbragio landed upon his feet into the square to the sound of rapturous applause.
He proceeded to show the townsfolk many things. Of the usual sort. Underwater singing, how to paint colours on clouds.

Penultimately, Dellbragio plucked out the townsfolk’s dreams from their ears then made them disappear softly, like raindrops sinking beneath the earth.