Magicians are crafty, swaying the crowd to believe their seeing one thing, but using slight of hand, misleads the people in believing true magic exists. Illusions are simply paintings on a wall. You can look on it straight on and see black and white. When you move around and the light hits it just right, the color appears and leaves you in awe and wonder of how it was done. But a good magician never reveals their secrets.
I stood, leaning over the balcony on my back porch as I watched my son, Corbin, having fun running around with his friends. We invited them all over for his birthday party we were throwing for him in our backyard. They were playing around on the jungle gym we had set up for him a while back. A few kids were jumping on the small trampoline we had out there.
There was a rustling in the bushes that surrounded our backyard. The kids started looking toward it and started gathering around. I too was a little curious but I think I knew exactly what it was. All of a sudden there was a cloud of smoke billowing out from the bush leaves that expanded. The kids started to back away. The parents of the kids stayed silent as to not give away the surprise.
As the smoke started to fade, there was a man in a black suit and a cape that was black on the outside but red on the inside. He waved the cape before his face, a magic wand in the other.
"Who's party is this?" the man asked in a mysterious voice. All the kids pointed to my son, saying his name aloud in a jumble of voices. It was kind of cute. "Happy Birthday, Corbin!" the man said, flicking the wrist with the wand in it. Out from the top came a white handkerchief. He took it out and handed it to my son. He unfolded it and showed it to his friends, a grid spread ear to ear. It had a basic handkerchief design but in the center was a black top hat.
The man began showing off some magic tricks that left the kids mesmerized. As he did his routine, some of the moms approached me.
"How's he been holding up?" one of the moms asked.
"It's been rough," I replied. "He misses his mom."
"Divorces are hard, especially on kids." she said.
I nodded and turned back to my son. The magician handed him something, probably a card, and he put it straight into his pocket. More magic, I assumed.
It had been a few days since Corbin's birthday party. He seemed to be a lot more cheerful than he had the last few weeks. I guess the party was really what he needed to cheer him up. It was nice seeing a smile back on his face.
During dinner, he and I talked for the first time in a while. He told me how much he loved the party, especially the magician. He said the guy even taught him a few tricks. He said he'd show me one of these day.
He then told me about having an imaginary friend. Internally, I was screaming. Outside, I was nodding my head and appearing as interested as possible. I was a little freaked out because I knew all the scary stories about kids having imaginary friends. How they turned out to be ghosts and doing horrible things to the parents. I knew one thing for sure, the lesson taken from the stories, 'Don't do anything to upset the spirit'.
After dinner, we watched TV for a little while before making our way to bed. All the while, I was paranoid, looking around to find anything that moved or an unexplained noise that wasn't caused by either of us.
A few sounds could be heard that made my blood run cold and forced me to freeze in place. I had to remind myself that the walls in this house aren't exactly sound-proof and the house does settle. It's an old house after all.
I swear that, as my eyes darted around the room, there was a shadow looming just in the corner of my eye. I could never quite catch it but I knew it was there. Was this imaginary friend thing driving me mad?
My imaginary friend, Chuck, and I laughed as I told him to keep messing with my dad. It was too funny pulling pranks on him. I loved that we were able to get away with it.
I pulled out the pendant from my pocket that the magician had given me. He told me there was a soul of a kid my age attached to it. A soul that longed to have a friend. I knew for a fact that he and I would make the greatest of friends.
I stood, leaning over the balcony on my back porch as I watched my son, Corbin, having fun running around with his friends. We invited them all over for his birthday party we were throwing for him in our backyard. They were playing around on the jungle gym we had set up for him a while back. A few kids were jumping on the small trampoline we had out there.
There was a rustling in the bushes that surrounded our backyard. The kids started looking toward it and started gathering around. I too was a little curious but I think I knew exactly what it was. All of a sudden there was a cloud of smoke billowing out from the bush leaves that expanded. The kids started to back away. The parents of the kids stayed silent as to not give away the surprise.
As the smoke started to fade, there was a man in a black suit and a cape that was black on the outside but red on the inside. He waved the cape before his face, a magic wand in the other.
"Who's party is this?" the man asked in a mysterious voice. All the kids pointed to my son, saying his name aloud in a jumble of voices. It was kind of cute. "Happy Birthday, Corbin!" the man said, flicking the wrist with the wand in it. Out from the top came a white handkerchief. He took it out and handed it to my son. He unfolded it and showed it to his friends, a grid spread ear to ear. It had a basic handkerchief design but in the center was a black top hat.
The man began showing off some magic tricks that left the kids mesmerized. As he did his routine, some of the moms approached me.
"How's he been holding up?" one of the moms asked.
"It's been rough," I replied. "He misses his mom."
"Divorces are hard, especially on kids." she said.
I nodded and turned back to my son. The magician handed him something, probably a card, and he put it straight into his pocket. More magic, I assumed.
It had been a few days since Corbin's birthday party. He seemed to be a lot more cheerful than he had the last few weeks. I guess the party was really what he needed to cheer him up. It was nice seeing a smile back on his face.
During dinner, he and I talked for the first time in a while. He told me how much he loved the party, especially the magician. He said the guy even taught him a few tricks. He said he'd show me one of these day.
He then told me about having an imaginary friend. Internally, I was screaming. Outside, I was nodding my head and appearing as interested as possible. I was a little freaked out because I knew all the scary stories about kids having imaginary friends. How they turned out to be ghosts and doing horrible things to the parents. I knew one thing for sure, the lesson taken from the stories, 'Don't do anything to upset the spirit'.
After dinner, we watched TV for a little while before making our way to bed. All the while, I was paranoid, looking around to find anything that moved or an unexplained noise that wasn't caused by either of us.
A few sounds could be heard that made my blood run cold and forced me to freeze in place. I had to remind myself that the walls in this house aren't exactly sound-proof and the house does settle. It's an old house after all.
I swear that, as my eyes darted around the room, there was a shadow looming just in the corner of my eye. I could never quite catch it but I knew it was there. Was this imaginary friend thing driving me mad?
My imaginary friend, Chuck, and I laughed as I told him to keep messing with my dad. It was too funny pulling pranks on him. I loved that we were able to get away with it.
I pulled out the pendant from my pocket that the magician had given me. He told me there was a soul of a kid my age attached to it. A soul that longed to have a friend. I knew for a fact that he and I would make the greatest of friends.
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