The first time I saw him was at the hospital, waiting for the doctor to come give me the results of the latest round of tests. I'd been sitting there staring down the hallway, not looking at much of anything, when movement captured my attention. Blinking a few times as I tried to understand what I was seeing, my eyes suddenly widened at what I beheld. A clown was handing a small bouquet of fake flowers to a laughing child just outside of the doors to the children's wing.

The child quickly scurried back through the doors as the clown waved, shoulders slumping slightly once the doors had shut. Turning, he froze in place as he saw me watching him and I gave a small smile. I lifted my hand up to wave at him, mimicking his own movements from just moments ago. His lips twisted as a burst of laughter escaped him, his hands quickly reaching up to cover his mouth as my eyes widened at the sound.

"Oh... I'd almost forgotten what laughter sounds like," I said, unsure if he was able to hear me or not and honestly not caring.

I brought my own fingers up to feel my lips stretch into a smile, small flurries of laughter escaping me as I felt a warmth swell within my chest. Looking up, I saw him slowly lowering his hands, the laughter fading back into the silence that often surrounded me.

Taking slow steps he made his way closer, his eyes wide as he watched me smile up at him. Laughter was still slipping past my lips as I took in the way his face was painted and the green clown wig sitting upon the top of his head.

"Why are you crying?" His soft whisper came as he knelt down in front of me.

"Because I'm so happy that I can hear the laughter. I thought I'd lost it already."

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The weeks passed slowly, the clown called Carnival frequently visiting the hospital to bring smiles to the children. If I was lucky, I would get to see him at some point during my visits, enjoying the laughter he brought with him. I loved getting to hear it, but I noticed how it was getting fainter at times and I was determined to hear it as often as I could.

"Carnival, is the hospital the only place you bring your laughter? Is there someplace else I could go to hear you?" I asked, staring at the man as I focused on his response.

"Umm, well, it changes a lot depending on what jobs are available where I work. Sometimes I'm just a sign spinner, sometimes I do stuff like this with kids, it depends on what my boss tells me to do. Oh, but sometimes I do standup comedy," he said as he sat beside me, resting his feet after a long day of bringing laughter.

"Standup comedy? Oh! Do you mean like that guy on the tv? Umm, what was his name? Frankie? No, umm... Murphy?" I was never good with names, having taken weeks to even learn the clown's name of Carnival.

"Do you mean Murray Franklin?" He said with a chuckle, his eyes glimmering as he leaned forward, head turned to look at me.

"Yeah! That's the one! Do you tell jokes like him?" I scooted forward, barely resting on the edge of the seat as I smiled, seeing the way Carnival seemed to come alive at the man's name.

Giving a small shake of his head, he sighed and leaned back again, his spine arching as he slumped down in the chair.

"Someday, maybe, but I'm still working on it. It's my dream to be on his show someday, you know. Bringing laughter is my purpose in life," he said before shoving himself up and out of the chair. "Speaking of, I should head out. I need to see what work is going to look like next week."

Standing up, I reached out a hand to brush against his arm before pulling it back to my side.

"Thank you, Carnival, for bringing laughter to this place. I'll see you next time, okay?" I smiled at him just as I saw my doctor turn a corner to come down the hallway. "Stay safe out there."