Image by Дарья Яковлева from Pixabay By Sara Casalino
I sat in the auditorium, watching the performance as the magician made a bunny disappear. “For my next trick,” the magician said. “I’m going to make someone disappear by having them eat a magic pastry.” I thought to myself, “This isn’t a usual trick. I’ve never heard of this.” I was curious to see what would happen. “Calista,” he called. “Would you mind coming up and helping me with this trick?” Startled, my eyes widened at the mention of my name. Surely he was calling someone else? But Calista wasn’t a very common name. The magician was staring straight at me. He knew who I was! But how? The auditorium was completely filled with people! Then a spotlight came over me. Everyone turned to look my way. I shut my eyes and tried to disappear. “No, you have to eat the pastry first if you want to disappear,” the magician said. I lowered myself in my seat, trying to hide, still keeping my eyes shut. I slowly opened them and watched as the magician left the stage and walked up the steps, heading towards me. I was sitting near the back, a few seats away from the aisle. The magician reached the aisle and approached until he was a few feet away from me. “Please come with me,” the magician extended his hand. I saw the sparkle in his eyes as he gazed at me, believing I would come. I shakily stood up and accepted his hand. I was trembling all over as everyone’s eyes followed us as we descended the steps in the dim auditorium. I worried I would trip and at one point I did almost trip and fall, but the magician took my arm and steadied me. “I’ve got you. You’re safe,” he said. The magician was very charming, probably about my age, mid-twenties. I admit I felt spellbound by how attractive and charming he was. He wore a dark blue cape and a black hat. At last we reached the stage and I squinted as things got brighter under the spotlight. “I baked these pastries fresh today,” the magician said. “And I saved them for a special person.” He took out a tray with tiny pastries all arranged neatly and looking scrumptious. As if a chef had made them. I wondered if he had gotten them from a bakery. “Which do you prefer?” he asked, holding a tiny pastry on a tiny plate. I said, “It doesn’t matter which one. They’re all going to taste the same.” “Are you sure?” he asked. And so I looked over and saw that each pastry was completely different. They were all unique. He had placed each one on a tiny separate dish. I thought about how having each pastry in its own dish would create more dirty dishes for the magician to wash. “I made this one especially for you,” he said, holding out the chocolate pastry which was on the tiny dish. I reached out and gently took the pastry. “Once you eat it, you will disappear,” the magician grinned. I wanted to do just that. I brought the pastry to my lips and took a bite, then another, finishing the pastry in two bites. I chewed while the magician watched me. The pastry was totally delicious and I savored it. It was so good that I was able to focus on the pastry and forget the audience watching me. The magician then took a black sheet and threw it over me, pulling the sheet away just as quickly. The audience gasped. Then I heard cheers and clapping. “Thank you!” the magician bowed and the curtains closed. “Thank you for helping me with the trick,” the magician said. “How did you know my name?” I asked. “Magic,” he grinned. “You didn’t really turn me invisible,” I told him. “Why did the audience clap?” He smiled again and didn’t answer. “I want you to meet someone,” he said. “Who?” I asked. He walked to the other end of the stage but I stayed where I was. I wanted to know who he wanted me to meet. Especially since I like to be prepared before meeting strangers. A few minutes later, the magician returned with a tiny, white dog in his arms. Of course being the animal lover that I was, this broke the ice for me. I hurried over, my face filled with excitement. “Can I pet your dog?” I asked. “Sure,” the magician said. “She loves people. Her name is Magica.” The dog looked at me in a happy way and I patted her on the head. “Would you like to hold her?” the magician asked. I nodded, completely in my element now. He passed the small dog to me and I hugged her close, talking to her and smiling. Several minutes later we sat at a small table, the dog eating out of a bowl on the backstage floor. “Would you like some more pastries?” the magician asked me, pulling out the box which held about six of them. “Yes, thank you,” I said, choosing one with a strawberry on it. “Did you really bake these or did you get them from a bakery?” I asked him. “I really did bake them,” he said. “If you don’t believe me I can teach you. Baking desserts is one of my hobbies.” “What’s your name?” I asked. “I’m Alexander,” he said. “You can call me Xander.” “Calista,” he said. “I wanted to ask you something. There’s a reason why I sought you out.” He had my full attention now. I wondered in suspense what he was going to ask. He took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to me. I opened it and found two movie tickets inside. “Oh, what’s this?” I asked. “These are movie tickets,” he smiled. “Is this like a date?” I asked. Alexander blushed and said, “Yeah.” “Okay, I’ll let you know,” I said. Then I realized what had just happened. Someone had asked me out on a date. This never ever happened, and so I was in shock. “I mean, of course,” I quickly amended my response, “I’d be happy to go.” “Is it okay if I bring a third wheel along?” he joked, pointing to Magica. “By all means,” I smiled.
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