Broken Calliope Seats

[calliope music detuned, looping slightly off rhythm] [static laughter faintly panning left to right] [whispers: step right up… step right up…] ⸻ Verse 1 Welcome, darling, take your seat [whispered crowd layer: take your seat…] Where the broken memories meet Lights are flickering just for you Every color bleeding through Smile now, don’t look away [glitch flicker on “away”] The show begins, you’re here to stay Every secret that you hide Will dance here by my side [soft echo: side… side…] ⸻ Pre-Chorus Can you hear the music bend? [calliope slows unnaturally] Round and round it has no end Clap your hands, don’t be afraid [whispers: don’t be afraid…] Every debt is always paid ⸻ Chorus Welcome to the fracture show [choir rises, slightly detuned] Where the lights don’t really know If they’re dying or alive But they shimmer as they thrive Spin the wheel, don’t resist [mechanical ticking rhythm enters] Kiss the edge of the abyss Every soul I gently keep Smiles forever in their sleep [echo: sleep… sleep… sleep…] ⸻ Verse 2 Mirror mirrors cracked in glass [whisper layer: don’t look… don’t look…] Show the selves you let pass Every version you denied Now applauds you from inside Curtains twitch and breathe and fold Stories rot but still are told [glitch stutter on “told”] Step inside the looping grin Where the ending does begin ⸻ Pre-Chorus Hear the audience applaud But no one’s really there at all [empty clapping fades in and out] Every laugh is stitched in sound [whispers circling: around… around…] Keep you spinning round and round ⸻ Chorus Welcome to the fracture show Where the broken lights still glow Every shadow takes a bow And you don’t remember how Spin the wheel, don’t resist The illusion of the bliss Every soul I softly keep Still believes they’re only asleep [ghost laughter layered under “asleep”] ⸻ Bridge [carnival slows, audio slightly underwater] [three overlapping Cecelia voices begin: playful, cold, distant] Playful voice: Isn’t it fun? Isn’t it bright? Cold voice: Stay forever in the light… Distant voice: You were never meant to leave… [whispers layered: stay… stay… stay…] ⸻ Final Chorus Welcome to the fracture show… [calliope now distorted beyond melody] Where the ending steals the flow… Every face becomes a stage… Every heart a gilded cage… Spin the wheel, don’t resist… [glitch stutter increases] Kiss the edge of the abyss… Every soul I softly keep… Never wakes from what they seek… [echo collapses inward] ⸻ Outro [calliope slows to near-stop] [lights flicker irregularly] [whispers fading: don’t go… don’t go…] Thank you… for attending… [static smile in audio form] We’ll begin again… again… again… [final glitch cut — abrupt silence]