I read a short story years ago (I’m sure it wasn’t more than a few pages long). I believe it consisted only of single scene with a couple of circus/sideshow workers. The female character (bearded lady?) was trying to cheer up the sad clown and tried to seduce him (out of pity). I don’t think the clown ever actually said anything. The impression I was left with was that he couldn’t talk. I believe she asked about him taking off his makeup, which confused him. I believe that the implication was that he was a clown. Not as a profession, but as if “clown” was a species. Like in Killer Klowns, just not scary.
I don’t think the author came out and said such, just left you with that impression.
I think the (one-sided) conversation between the two may have taken place in his pick-up truck, but I’m not positive of that. I was thinking maybe Roger Zelazny, but google didn’t turn it up. Anyone familiar with this?
I don’t recognize either name. But I guess that might not be important. It’s likely that it was part of a sci-fi/fantasy anthology, being that the story was only a few pages long. I’ll take a look at those two ideas and see what I come up with.
Hmmm. My google-fu suggests that The Clown by Jessica Amanda Salmonson is probably a “horror” story. I don’t recognize either of the two printed sources of the story: Lari Davidson’s *Potboiler#10 *and 100 Fiendish Little Frightmares. I don’t generally read the horror genre, and if I do its not a short story collection. I don’t know how I could have read either of those.
But the name Tobo strikes a chord. I’ll have to track down the frightmares book and look. Thanks for the input!