© Ayr/Gray
The promise of spectacle is what draws them. The posters, facebook marketing banners, and online local newspaper ads say it is a trained unicorn. The price per ticket is outrageously expensive, but who can resist? When Youtube provides every form of titillation to be voyeuristically ingested through eyes held captive in the dull gleam of monitors, one has to get creative to pull them away from their screens.
In a hay-covered corral of a defunct rodeo training facility, the sparse crowd convenes to see the unicorn do tricks. An indignant hum of hive mind comments vibrates the air:
“Where’s his horn? That’s no unicorn!”
“It looks like a tired old gelding ready for the glue factory!”
“Let’s go. I want a refund.”
“I knew this was a scam. Unicorns are only myths.”
The loudspeaker crackles to life with Julius Fucik’s Entry of the Gladiators.
The tired old gelding’s head springs up and he shakes his mane. The silky mane’s flowing back and forth hushes the audience. He paws the ground and begins prancing the perimeter of the corral, moving slowly enough for each person to touch his gleaming body. As each hand makes contact with the star their eyes are able to see the unicorn in his magnificence.
The man in the ring with him is no longer a man, but a celestial being nobody can see beyond a blinding light – that puts each person to sleep where they stand.
They awake and remember, but nobody ever believes them.
[250 words]
Jenne Gray and C.E. Ayr are the hosts of The Unicorn Challenge.
The rules are
Maximum of 250 words.
Based on photo prompt.
That’s it.
Tao Talk 
Magical, Lisa!
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Thanks much, Dale!
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Pleasure is mine!
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Beautiful, Lisa. Enchanting.
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:) Thank you!
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Enchanting tale, Lisa! Lovely to read!
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A little more upbeat than last week’s :) Thank you.
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I guess certain human beings will pay any price to satisfy their curiosity!
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I think so, Christian. You just have to word the hook right.
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Glad there are still dreams in the ‘lock it up and look at it’ world.
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Me too, Doug. Thanks for reading and your comment.
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A magical story Li. Beautiful
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Sadje, thank you. Glad you enjoyed the story.
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You’re most welcome
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Unicorns are magic.
But we all knew that even before your enchanting tale reminded us, Li!
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CE yep :) Glad you liked my story, thanks!
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Very imaginative and creative. I like it very much.
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Robbie, thank you!
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Cool story Lisa…I like the celestial being in the ring…
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Thank you :)
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Beautiful fantastical piece, Jade.
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Thanks again!
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I liked your adding the gladiators. :)
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:)
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