The Magician

The Magician

____Between a meadow and a peaceful valley lies the town of Shepherd. Rockwellian to a fault and a single shared highway exit to its name, it’s the kind of town where doors are left unlocked and porch lights burn at dusk. Elm trees dot the community park and occasional yard, providing an ample supply of shade in the summer and dead leaf piles for jumping in come fall. That’s the kind of town Shepherd is.

____As the sun settles in on a balmy July evening, the community has gathered in the town theater. They’re waiting for Benjamin Locke to appear on stage and for what the posters through town hail as his “Astounding Show of Magick and Mind Trickery” to start. Engaging in polite conversation and eager speculation, the townsfolk recall the productive day and the neat treat in store for them. Mayor Worsley himself booked the act, a fact he boastfully repeats to Henry Gale and his shy daughter Alexandra.

____“I’m tellin’ ya Henry, the things this Locke guy can do are astoundin’, just like the poster says. Astoundin’!”
____“Well that certainly does sound a treat, Mayor Worsley. I know Alex here’s been ‘specially lookin’ forward to it.” Henry gave his daughter a gentle tug closer, and smiled down at her waiting for a response. “Well? Aren’t you Alex?”
____“Of course I am Dad, you know that.” Her cheeks grew pink, and she made a grasping motion to her collar though it wasn’t at all snug. The lure of a magic show was motivation enough for her attendance, but not quite enough for socializing. Mayor Worsley took little notice, and excused himself.
____“Oops, people are getting restless and that’d be my cue Henry. Have a seat and enjoy the show.”

____Henry and Alex took their seats and watched as he bounded down the aisle and up the back steps to the stage. The house lights went down as the stage lights came up, and Worsley greeted the crowd with his usual gusto and vigor.

____“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m excited to see you all here tonight. I know you’ve all seen the posters I had posted ‘round town, and I also know it’s been a hot topic in daily discussions, my popularity ratings notwithstanding.” The crowd gave a warm chuckle, keenly aware his ratings were high. “I can promise you those posters read correct, and that tonight’s show will be astoundin’ as all that. Just you sit, take it in and give it up for Benjamin Locke!” The crowd responded in kind with as thunderous an applause as a small town like Shepherd can muster. Worsley was right, and the show will be astounding as promised, but it will not end well.

____Locke came onto the stage dressed as any magician should be, a snappy black tuxedo and silk top hat, and he drank the audience’s applause like sparkling water. His gorgeous blonde assistant trailing behind in her surprisingly modest costume tossed him an over-large magic wand which he caught deftly, but stared at in disbelief.

____“So sorry folks, but it seems Miss Eloise gave me the wrong wand.” Eloise coyly put her hand to her lips, delightfully feigning surprise at her mistake. “Trivial matter though, and I can fix it.” With a tap, a smack and a final whack, the trick wand burst into a colorful bouquet of flowers, from which he pulled his real wand. Trivial as it may have been, it was a joy to behold for the town of Shepherd, and Alex especially. Locke knew he was off to a roaring start, and he kept the momentum high throughout his act.

____Many staples of stage magic made an appearance in the show; doves born from empty metal lids and fire, the disappearance and reappearance of a rabbit, destruction and restoration of personal effects, lovely assistant teleportation and even the defiance of gravity! Spellbound, the crowd “Ooh’d” and “Ahh’d” at all the right times with a clockwork precision. Captive in Locke’s enchanted hands and mesmerized by Eloise’s beauty and grace, Alex felt the people surrounding her fade away leaving only herself and the magic on stage. Surging applause brought her senses back, as well as the people, as Locke thanked them and announced his last trick of the evening.