The Big Giant Head

It was a dark and stormy night.

Well, not really. It was actually a clear and pleasant night with the stars shining and temperate weather (but that doesn’t sound nearly as interesting). We had been bugging mom all day to come to the carnival that was setup in our local mall parking lot, and finally she gave in and let us come. We were here, the fun could finally begin!

We entered through the cattle chute opening and took in all the sights, sounds, and smells. Rides were blaring their garish music, the game operators were all shouting about how easy it was to win at their games, and the kids all around were shrieking with excitement.  But there was just one thing I was interested in tonight. It wasn’t the rides, wasn’t the games, wasn’t even the delicious,greasy,carnival,deep-fat fried, flatulence producing, gut busting food available everywhere we looked.

I came for one thing and one thing only.

I’d heard about it on the radio earlier in the week and then read about it on multiple twitter posts this morning. “Head on Over to See the BIG GIANT HEAD!” all the articles beckoned. “It’s Gigantic. It’s Enormous, It’s Gi-normous!”  I don’t know why, but I just had to go see that head!

I figure I’m a pretty smart cookie. In fact I’d say I’m the smartest person I know. But… I had never seen a Big Giant Head, so this was an opportunity I couldn’t miss!  I didn’t want to be the only one at school Monday morning who hadn’t seen the Big Giant Head.

I dragged my sister through the crowds, ignoring her pleas to ride the rides and play the games. We finally reached the small tent where a large sign with lights flashing all around it declared “See the Big Giant Head! Only $2”  After making our way through the seemingly never-ending line waiting to get in, the Carnival Barker standing there reached out a hand to take my money. “Are you ready to see the most amazing thing sonny?” He barked out. “Only $2 to see the Biggest Head ever! Do you think you’re pretty smart son? Do you think you’re the smartest person you know? If so this attraction is perfectly suited to you. We guarantee you’ll never see a bigger head.”

I thrust my $2 into the man’s hand, overwhelmed with excitement about what incredible oddity I was going to see. I ditched my sister outside and strode bravely into the tent while expecting something gruesome.

It was unbelievable!  I was flabbergasted!  How can this be? I had never expected such a preposterous sight!

There, standing all alone in the middle of the tent, was a vanity. The kind with a mirror on top that showed you a perfect image of your head. Only… It was MY head in the mirror. I was looking at my own head!  I had paid $2 to look at my own head in a mirror!  Man! Sometimes for being the smartest guy ever I could still get suckered. I was furious and started planning how I was going to get my money back from that no-good cheating carny, when it hit me.

I got to see EXACTLY what I paid for.

A big giant head.The guy who thought he was smarter than everyone else.

Nobody is going to know about this!

At school the next day the stories about what the Big Giant Head looked like were astounding and all completely different. But not a single person admitted to what they really found in the middle of the tent that night. I guess we all learned a little bit of humility that dark and stormy night. (and how to make up an incredible story Monday morning!)

© Karl Gartman 2015

This was a short story for Rachael Ritchey’s Blog Battle.

If you don’t know the rules, here they are. Be sure to join us next week with your own short story:

Rules:

1. 1000 words max
2. fictional tale (or true if you really want)
3. PG (no more than PG-13) Content – let’s keep this family friendly!
4. Your story must contain the word(s) from the theme and/or be centered around the theme in a way that shows it is clearly related
5. Go for the entertainment value!
6. State the Genre of your story at the top of your post.
7. Post your story on Tuesday, by 11:59 PM PST
8. Use the hashtag #BlogBattle when tweeting your story, put a linkback to your #BlogBattle Short Story in the comments section of this page, and/or include a link to this page in your own blog post (it creates a “ping-back” which will alert me and our friends to your #BlogBattle post)
9. Have fun!