Chapter 3: The Stadium of Masks

Chapter 3: The Stadium of Masks

The lights hit like lightning.

Amara stood frozen at the edge of the field, her breath stolen as the stadium erupted in a marao da koloroj (sea of colors). Cosplayers swirled across the rented baseball diamond—capes whipping, masks gleaming, swords clashing in playful chaos. Music thundered from the speakers, and the crowd pulsed like a living thing.

And then—silence.

Every spotlight converged on a single figure stepping out from the tunnel.

The Harlequin.

His mask painted as a suĉera kranio (sugar skull), his suit glittering with black-and-white diamonds, he moved like a predator disguised as a jester. No microphone. No words. Only the white flash of his gloved hands cutting through the air.

“Amuzo!” (Fun!) he signed, arms thrown wide. The crowd roared.

“Festeni!” (Party!) His hands flickered toward the audience, commanding them like an orchestra.

Amara felt the air vibrate around her. She had seen hundreds of cosplayers in her life—but this was different. He wasn’t pretending to be a character. He was the character. The Harlequin of Bitcoin.

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The TikTok Celebrity in Flesh

She had heard the rumors—half-whispered, half-disbelieved. That he was a TikTok giant, his silent clips sparking millions of views. That he predicted the bitcoin merkato (Bitcoin market) with uncanny precision. That behind the mask was a man who lived in two worlds: finance and art, danger and play.

Now he stood in front of her. Real. Alive. Larger than legend.

He scanned the crowd with sharp eyes, then froze. On her.

Amara’s heart slammed against her ribs.

He lifted a hand, slowly, deliberately, and pointed directly at her. The crowd gasped as he shaped the word with his fingers: kostumo (costume). A compliment. A recognition.

She didn’t move. Couldn’t. For the first time since her father’s death, she felt truly seen—not as a player on the edge of a stage, but as the center of it.

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Electricity in Silence

The performance blurred into frenzy. He spun, flipped, signed rapid-fire jokes and phrases the audience barely kept up with. Photos snapped. TikTok livestreams exploded. Fans screamed his name.

But Amara didn’t hear them. She heard only him.

Between his movements, he slowed just for her:

“Kial vi ridetas?” (Why are you smiling?)

She laughed before she could stop herself. A nervous, reckless laugh that felt like breaking through a cage.

The Harlequin’s painted smile widened.

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A Dangerous Bond

In that moment, Amara realized two truths:

1. This was no ordinary entertainer.

2. Whatever game he was playing, she had just been drafted into it.

It was more than a party. More than cosplay. This was kurzo de ŝanĝoj—an exchange rate of hearts, volatile as the Bitcoin charts he commanded.

And Amara, for the first time in years, was ready to gamble.

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✨ Esperanto Glossary (Chapter 3)

Marao da koloroj = Sea of colors

Suĉera kranio = Sugar skull

Amuzo = Fun

Festeni = To party

Bitcoin merkato = Bitcoin market

Kostumo = Costume

Kial vi ridetas? = Why are you smiling?

Kurzo de ŝanĝoj = Exchange rate