Magic from the Heart (Part 1)
Magic from the Heart
An Original Magician Story by Shirley Ann Burton

Part 1


On a clear summer morning, a bus cruised through the arid desert. The passengers in the bus were all on their way to the metropolitan area known as Electro City.
Some passengers were going there on vacation while others came for business functions. One young woman, however, was about to make Electro City her new home.
Angela Jacobs looked at the lifestyle section of the city newspaper. She kept that section for a long time because it was there she learned of an apartment opening three months earlier. After calling the Housing Authority, she was guaranteed the apartment for sure. Now the young lady was looking forward to moving into her new pad and settle down, since she tried to find just the right place to live.
At 22 years of age, Angela was more than ready to live on her own. She already survived four years in a college dormitory and another year after she graduated. Despite excelling in school, she was constantly on the move during post-graduation because she somehow did not feel right in any town at which she stayed.
She was very shy and quiet and showed little comfort speaking to anyone, constantly making her feel sad and isolated.
However, there was another article in the same lifestyle section, about one of Electro City's most noted celebrities.
She looked at that article, and her green eyes lit up. "When in Electro City," she thought, "remember to see Ace Cooper, the Magician."
Angela was always a fan of magic, but she had only heard about the Magician as she started her senior year of college. She saw him on television on a Friday night, and something inside her clicked. She thought Ace Cooper's style of magic was something special and different, unlike any magic she had ever seen before. She felt some kind of comfort in her heart every time she saw him perform. It was only during his shows she would feel happy and joyful.
She decided when she settled into her new apartment, the first item on her agenda was to see Ace Cooper in person at the first opportunity.
Angela still had her eyes locked on that article when the bus driver made an announcement over the intercom. "We are approaching Electro City, ladies and gentlemen," the driver said, "but we won't get to the bus station for at least 20 minutes due to traffic problems. Just bare with this for a while, and you'll be all right. Oh, and one more thing I need to tell you: Don't miss Ace Cooper's newest show on Friday night at the Ring Theatre."
Angela felt her heart beating slightly faster as her eyes became brighter and wider. "Oh, my goodness!" she exclaimed as she covered her eyes. "I'll get a chance to see him a lot sooner than I expected. Only question is, how will I get a ticket? His shows sell out in a matter of minutes, unless a radio station gives some away."
A businessman sitting next to her said, "You must be very interested in seeing the Magician."
"Yes, I am," Angela said regrettably. "I'm moving into an apartment in Electro City today, and I know the first thing on my mind after unpacking is to see Ace Cooper in person. I love his magic, but I don't see how I'll be able to go without a ticket."
"Wait a minute." He reached into the inner pocket of his suit coat and pulled out a strange card. "I'm returning from a business trip, and I was planning on going to that show. Unfortunately, I have an important business dinner that night, and I can't make it. Now, seeing you want to go very badly, I don't want to waste this ticket, so I'd like you to have it."
Angela gasped in disbelief. "Are you serious?"
"I'm very serious. It's a real ticket, good for Friday night's show."
She calmly took the ticket and looked at it in awe. She then turned to the businessman and asked, "How much do I owe you?"
He smiled and said, "You don't owe me anything for it."
"Are you sure? I mean, I should pay you."
"Don't worry about it. I'm a resident of the city, so consider this my way of saying, 'Welcome to Electro City.'"
Angela shook hands with the businessman and happily said, "If the people of Electro City are as nice as you are, I think I'm going to like it there."
"Just be careful because there's a pretty bad crime problem there, too."
"Who said any place on Earth is completely safe from crime?"
"You do have a point there. My question to you is why Electro City?"
"Ace Cooper is certainly a good reason, but he's not the reason."
"Well, what is it?"
"I've never had a troubled past, but I haven't been able to find a place where I can start life anew because I've had plenty of bad luck in my life."
"Well, maybe Electro City's the best place for you to start having good luck."
Angela held up the ticket and simply said, "I think my luck's getting better already."
She then looked out the window and could see the skyline of Electro City. "So that's it," she thought, "my new home, and hopefully my permanent home."
As the bus went through the downtown area on its way to the station, she admired many of the buildings for the architecture.
Being a well-educated young woman, she could not help be thrilled by learning something new all the time. There was so much for her to absorb outside of school; therefore, she would soak in as much information as possible. She would truly enjoy understanding every nook and cranny of the city.
What she did not know, however, was her life would undergo an unbelievable change . . . and Electro City was just the right place for it to happen . . .

The bus came to a complete stop upon arrival at the bus station. All the passengers unloaded and claimed their baggage.
Angela had two large suitcases and her purse, where she had placed the ticket the businessman had given her.
She then went to the taxi terminal to get a ride to the nearest restaurant, since it was lunch time, and she was very hungry.
After she finished filling her stomach with food, she took another taxi straight to the Housing Authority, where all she would have to do was fill out some papers, confirm her clear background, and pay the security fee. Then, she could finally move into her own apartment.
However, when she sat in front of Kelli Carlson, the head of the office, Angela was about to get the surprise of her life.
"Miss Jacobs," said Ms. Carlson, "I know you've been anxious to move into the apartment, but I'm afraid you don't have one at all."
Angela was completely shocked. "What!? Why not? I cleared the background check, and I have the security fee ready to pay. Why can't I move in?"
"Because someone bought the apartment building about a month-and-a-half ago."
"How did that happen?"
"He had the money to buy it out."
"What about the other people living there?"
"They found other places within the city."
"What about me, though? Is there any other apartment available?"
"At the moment, no, but we'll be glad to let you stay in an extended-stay hotel until an opening comes."
"Gee, thanks," Angela said sarcastically. "That's really gonna help me."
Ms. Carlson tried to comfort her. "Miss Jacobs, I know you waited so long to get that apartment, but there was nothing we could do to stop him from the buyout."
"I feel like my whole life is nothing more than bad luck," Angela said tearfully. "It looks like I may have to go to that extended-stay hotel."
"I can tell you it's better off than being nowhere."
"I'm sorry I got so rough on you, Miss Carlson, but I have had so much bad luck in my life. The only two good things that have ever happened to me: one best friend in school and a nice businessman giving me the chance to see the Magician in person on Friday."
"A businessman gave you a ticket for Ace Cooper's show Friday night?"
"Mm-hmm."
"You're very lucky. Tickets for his shows will sell out in mere minutes, so consider yourself fortunate. Now, I'll give you a list of extended-stay hotels in town, so you can find one that'll work for you."
"Thank you very much," Angela said, taking the list from Ms. Carlson. "I just hope nothing else goes wrong today."
She walked out of the office with both suitcases, purse, and list. She wondered immediately if she would have to move on again, but not before seeing that show Friday night.
She walked around for a couple of hours through the busy streets of Electro City, trying hard to find the right hotel in which she could be comfortable.
After walking down one street, though, Angela felt her hair stand on end. When she turned around, she saw four tough-looking gentlemen surrounding her.
"Say, little lady," the first one said, "whatcha got in those suitcases?"
"My clothes and personal possessions, that's all."
The second looked at her as though she were lying. "Do you really expect us to believe that?"
"I'm telling you the truth," Angela replied. "I don't have a lot of money on me."
The other two looked at each other and both said, "There's money in those suitcases!"
She grew more frightened and said, "Please, just leave me alone."
The first guy said, "We'll leave you alone, when you give us all that money!"
Angela took off running as fast as she could with everything she had. The boys ran after her, they thinking they could become rich by robbery.
At the same time she was running for her life, a young man with blue eyes and red-orange hair walked down another street. He wore a yellow-and-orange jacket, a light-purple-and-orange shirt with a yellow neck,and brown form-fitting pants. On his forehead he had a headband and a pair of goggles.
Listening to his portable radio, he was enjoying the music. "Oh, man," he said, "Nesh Divine's newest tune totally rocks."
He concentrated so much on the music he did not realize someone ran at full speed directly towards him.
The second he started to pass the opening of the alley, the runner ran right into him. Both fell down and hit the ground.
A couple of seconds later, they came around and woke up.
Angela looked at the young man and in heavy breath said, "Oh, brother, I am really sorry. I did not mean to run into you like that. I--" She then saw the four hooligans. "Uh-oh, I need to get out of here."
The young man said, "Wait a minute, are they after you?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"They think these two suitcases are filled with money, but all they have are my clothes and belongings."
"All right," said the young man, standing up and getting into a self-defense stance. "You stay behind me. I'll see if I can hold them off."
As Angela got to her feet, she said, "Be careful. These guys look mean and tough."
"Don't worry, I've grown up being street tough."
The four boys came along and noticed the young man with Angela.
"Oh," said the first one, "so the little girl's got someone to protect her."
"Let me guess," the second boy said, "you must want the money, too."
The helpful young man angrily said, "I don't want any money, loser. I just want you to leave her alone!"
"We'll leave her alone," the third crook said.
The last one stated, "Yeah, when she forks over the dough."
Angela put the two suitcases in front of her and opened them. The left one had only her clothes while the right one contained her most valuable possessions. "Now do you guys believe me? I told you I didn't have money in the suitcases."
"She was telling the truth," said the helpful young man. "Now will you leave her alone?"
All four boys grew very angry after noticing no money in either of the suitcases.
The leading boy yelled, "You'll be sorry now! Let's get 'em!"
The helpful young man looked at Angela and said, "Stay down, pal. I'll stop 'em."
As the four thieves were on the verge of attacking the helpful one, Angela stood on her two feet and said, "No way, friend. You can't fight all four by yourself. Besides, I'm not usually the type of girl known as a 'damsel in distress.'" She then took a self-defense stance of her own and had a determined look on her face.
However, she did have one troubling thought. "I just hope I do this right."
When the first of the bad boys ran towards the helpful young man, the good guy quickly dodged the oncoming right fist and grabbed his left arm. He threw the thug into a pile of trash, and he shook a little pain out of his left arm.
Angela closely eyed the second and fourth criminals as they quickly approached her. The second took a switchblade knife and tried to thrust it at her, but she swerved out of the way and put out her left foot, causing hime to trip and fall on his face.
The fourth one managed to grab her by the throat, but she kicked him in the groin area, raked his eyes, and flung him into the same trash pile.
Finally, the third member tried to sneak up on her from behind, but the helpful young man stopped him by putting a pail over his head and pounding it with his hand.
Angela stood up and joined the friendly helper in tossing the third crook into the trash pile.
The helpful gentleman looked at the group and said, "You dudes better leave now if you each wanna stay in one piece!"
The foursome quickly took off in fear.
Angela looked at the helpful one and said, "Hey, thanks for helping me."
"Are you kiddin'?" he said. "You didn't do so bad yourself, fightin' two of 'em off."
"But then you got that one trying to sneak up on me." She then got to her suitcases to close them. Holding them up, she strainfully said, "I'm just glad that self-defense course in college paid off."
The young man was surprised at what she just said. "College? You mean you're a college graduate?"
"Yes, I am. I have the degree with me if you want to see it."
"Oh, no, don't worry about it. It's just that you're a few inches shorter than I am, and I thought you were in high school."
"It's okay, I understand. A lot of people mistake me for being a high-school student because I stand only 5'4" tall, but I'm 22 and a college graduate."
"Man, and I have trouble with algebra."
"Well," Angela said, "since we know we're both pretty good at self-defense, we may as well introduce each other."
"I agree," the helpful young man said happily. Putting out his right hand, he then said, "I'm Cosmo."
She put her right suitcase down and said, "What an interesting name. I like it. I'm Angela Jacobs."
The two shook hands and quickly established their new friendship.
Cosmo carried one of Angela's suitcases while she explained about coming to Electro City, as well as her life of bad luck, including not being able to get the apartment she was supposed to have.
Cosmo then started getting curious. "You were supposed to have your own apartment today?"
"Yes, on Emerson Drive, but Ms. Carlson told me someone bought the building out. I was trying to find an extended-stay hotel that'll work when I ran into those creeps. Despite everything that's gone wrong so far, one good thing has happened. For the first time since I started seeing him on television two years ago, I will get to see Ace Cooper's magic in person."
Cosmo's eyes grew very wide. "You've heard of Ace Cooper?" He did not want to let her know he was the Magician's apprentice . . . yet.
"Oh, yes. I don't know why, but there's something in his magic that makes me feel comfortable. For most of my life, I've been nothing more than shy and quiet. I've had very few friends in my life because I concentrated so much on schoolwork, and you probably know how we bookworms can get treated."
Cosmo nodded in agreement, since he was normally a teaser, not a victim.
"I kept it all the way up into my senior year of college at Iowa State. As I started to suffer from burnout, I decided one Friday night to take a break from working on a paper. I flipped on the TV and did some channel surfing. Then, I saw Mr. Cooper doing his magic, which made my heart suddenly feel alive. It was like I found therapy for my burnout. Time stopped somehow; for the first time in my entire life, I didn't think about schoolwork."
"I get it. In a way he helped you to lighten up; take some pressure off yourself."
"Exactly, and it also made it a lot easier to graduate last year with a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts."
"If you graduated last year, how come you haven't been able to find a place to stay or just go home?"
Angela put her face down. "I don't feel like going back to Mason City. I have some painful memories living there all my life. In terms of finding a place, I didn't feel like I fit in anywhere. That's why I've moved from town to town."
She then heard her stomach growling. "Oops, I must be getting hungry."
"If that's the case," Cosmo said, "it's gotta be dinner time."
"Do you know of any place serving white rice?"
"Yeah. The DNA Club has a popular Chinese fast-food place."
"The what club?"
"The DNA Club. It's a popular hangout near the Grand Canal."
"That'll work for me, but how do we get there?"
"My motorbike's just a couple of blocks from here. I'll take you there if you like."
"I don't know, Cosmo. I'm afraid I may be asking too much of you."
"Don't be silly, Angela. It'll be a lot easier than carrying the luggage around all night."
She thought for a second and decided her new friend was right. "Let's go!" she said excitedly.
Cosmo helped her place the baggage into the storage compartment of his motorcycle. Seconds later, there were on their way to the DNA Club for some supper.
Along the way, Cosmo thought about how to help his new friend out. "I remember when Ace took me in a few years ago, even though I was a delinquent," he thought. "In Angela's case, though, she's had a lot of bad luck. If only I could do something for her until she can get a place of her own."
In a matter of minutes they arrived at the DNA Club.
Looking on the inside, Angela was overwhelmed. "Unbelievable," she said in awe. "This place looks like an all-in-one area complete with shopping, food, nightclub, and even a casino?"
"Yeah," Cosmo replied. "The shops close at 7, and the food places close at 9. After that, this place becomes a nightclub and casino. On Fridays and Saturdays, the place is open to everyone at night, but you have to be 18 to go into the casino area on the second floor."
"How clever. Now, where's the food? I'm getting hungrier."
Cosmo walked her to the Chinese food place and helped her order the meal to fill her stomach.
While Angela ate her meal, Cosmo went to the telephone to make a very important call.
At the Magic Express, Ace Cooper himself was in the training room, double-checking the casing on the steel box he was to use in Friday night's show. "I've got to make sure all the locks are working properly," he said to himself. "If even one of these locks is faulty--"
He was interrupted by the appearance of a 3-D hologram on his right side. "What is it, Angel?"
The holographic image said, "Cosmo is calling from the DNA Club."
"Patch it through here."
Cosmo appeared on the screen. "Ace?"
"Cosmo, what are you doing at the DNA Club? You're supposed to be here helping me with these locks."
"Sorry, Ace, but I'm treating someone to dinner. Besides, she's had some bad luck today."
"Oh, it's a girl?"
"Yeah, but she's also a college graduate who can defend herself pretty well. Now, to the point. Remember that apartment building on Emerson Drive we tried to stop Black Jack from buying about a month-and-a-half ago?"
"Yes, I do. With some help from Senator Dobbs, Jack succeeded in forcing all the tenants to find other places. Why do you ask?"
"Someone just arrived in town today, and she was supposed to move into an apartment in that very building."
"Oh, no," Ace said sadly. "You mean she doesn't have anywhere to go at all?"
"Nope, and to make matters worse, she nearly got mugged on the way to an extended-stay hotel."
"Why would she want to go there for?"
"She said there's nothing available for her at the moment."
"Those places can get very expensive, especially for someone who just arrived."
"Listen," said Cosmo, "I know this may be asking a bit much, but is there any way we could . . . let her stay with us for a while, until an opening does come along?"
"I don't know. I'd have to do a total background check first, just to make sure she's not a criminal on the run. You give me some vital info, and I'll get on the check immediately."
"No problem, dude. You ready for that info?"
"Go ahead."
Cosmo gave Ace all the vital statistics necessary to run a complete background check on Angela.
After entering all the information into the computer, Ace asked one more question. "Does Angela know about you working with me?"
"No way, man, but she does have a ticket to your show on Friday."
"How funny," Ace laughed. "Okay, call me back in 15 minutes, and I'll give you an answer."
"You got it, dude."
Cosmo then went back to the table where Angela sat and ate her dinner. "How's the meal?"
"This is scrumptious, Cosmo. This white rice'll hold in my system for the rest of the day."
"You mean you won't be hungry again?"
"Nope. White rice keeps me full for quite a long time." Angela then took notice of the nearby video arcade. "Say, does that place have any pinball, martial-arts, or racing simulator games?"
"Yeah. You mean you like playing video games, too?"
"Cosmo, I may be a 22-year-old adult, but I'm entitled to have some fun, aren't I?"
"Of course. Shall we get going?"
Noticing her hands, Angela said, "Let me clean up, first, and I'll meet you in there. Which way is the ladies' room?"
Cosmo pointed it out and agreed to the meeting place.
He then went to the arcade to greet three of his friends, consisting of two more boys and a teenage girl.
Spud, a gentleman with long blond hair and blue eyes, wore a brown sweatsuit and visor-style sunglasses. A well-built young man, he was never one who would miss out on a chance to have fun.
Stick, the other young man, also had blue eyes and blond hair, although his hair was much shorter than Spud and similarly spiked but not as much volume as Cosmo. Wearing a brown vest, off-white shirt, and off-white slacks, he was busy playing the video game Raptor XII.
The young lady, Ulene, had green eyes and red hair in locks. Wearing a tank top and slacks in the same beige color, she had a fondness for Cosmo. After all, the two had a pretty good relationship.
"Hey, guys," Cosmo said happily. "I've just made a new friend."
Stick asked, "Oh, yeah? Who is he?"
"Actually, it's a 'she.'" Cosmo then turned to Ulene and said, "You don't have to worry. She's only interested in finding a place to stay, not breaking hearts."
"Are you sure?" asked a curious Ulene.
"Positive. Besides, there are two things I can tell you about her. She's older than all of us, 22 in fact, and she's already had a really bad day." After explaining what had happened to her, Cosmo added, "She's on the way here, and I want her to meet you guys."
Everyone happily agreed to the idea.
"Just a couple of things to keep in mind," noted Cosmo. "First, she may be a little nervous being around people since she nearly got mugged already. Also, don't tell her I work with Ace Cooper. She has a ticket for his show Friday night, but she doesn't know I'm his apprentice. On top of that, I'm calling Ace in a few minutes to see if she can get a temporary home, if you know what I mean."
Ulene smiled at him and said, "I think it's really nice of you to do that for her, considering all the bad luck's she's obviously had."
"Not to worry, buddy," said Spud. "We'll keep the Magician a secret for ya."
"Thanks, man." He turned around and noticed the approaching Angela. "Here she comes. Now remember, go easy on her, and don't mention the Magician yet."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Angela nervously walked into the arcade. "Cosmo?"
"Over here, Angela."
She walked over to where he was, only to notice his friends. She started stepping back as her nerves were slightly on edge.
Cosmo came up to her and said, "Relax, Angela. They're friends of mine; they won't hurt ya."
She slowly walked up to the little group. "I'm sorry," she said calmly. "I . . . I can't help being a bit cautious, especially after--"
"Cosmo told us what happened," Stick said. "We can understand your nerves."
Cosmo then formally introduced Angela and his friends to each other.
When Angela and Ulene shook hands, Angela said, "You're lucky to have a great friend in Cosmo, Ulene. And you have nothing to worry about if you think I want to cause a break-up. And anyway, who would want to go out with a nobody like me?"
"Angela, you're being too hard on yourself. There'll be someone in your life somehow."
"Maybe, but you don't find me--"
"Of course not."
"Yeah," Spud interjected, "you look like a person who could use some friends about now."
Angela smiled and said, "Thank you." Changing the subject, she asked, "Any racing simulator games around here? I haven't played one in nearly two months."
"Yeah," replied Stick. "Have you ever seen a four-player simulator?"
"Stick, where I'm from, you'd be lucky if you could find a two-player simulator!"
"You wanna play all three of us?" Ulene asked.
Angela quickly answered, "Sure, if you guys don't mind."
"Gotta warn you, though," said Spud, "we won't go easy."
"That's okay by me; I love the competition and the fun even more."
As Angela, Stick, and Ulene took off to play, Cosmo said to Spud, "I'm going to call Ace to see if he's got an answer yet. Keep Angela busy for a while."
"No problem, bud."
Spud joined the others while Cosmo went over to the telephone again.
Back at the Magic Express, Ace was in the main computer room when Angel told him Cosmo was calling.
"Cosmo?"
"Yeah, it's me. Did you do it, yet?"
"Yes, and I'm very impressed with her. She has no criminal record at all. In fact, according to the printout, she was so busy with her studies she didn't have any time to do anything wrong to begin with."
Cosmo laughed and then said, "So basically, it's possible for a dedicated student to stay with two former delinquents, right?"
Ace laughed very hard at that jab. As soon as he composed himself, he said, "Cosmo, that possibility is about to become a reality. Angela is more than welcome to stay here until she can get an apartment."
"That's great, dude!"
"She still doesn't know about you yet, right?"
"Nope, she still has no idea."
"Good. I think this calls for a magical surprise when she gets here."
"Okay, I'll turn on my wrist beeper so you can track me coming in."
"And when you and our guest arrive, everything will be set."

"See ya in 30, dude."
Cosmo returned to the video arcade to find Stick, Spud, and Ulene congratulating Angela. "Whoa, what happened?"
Stick answered, "Your new friend got second place. Not bad for someone who hasn't played in nearly two months."
"Well," Angela started, "you may not believe this, but these games actually help my driving."
After everyone had a heartfelt laugh, Cosmo had something important to tell Angela. "I've been on the phone with another close friend of mine, and I told him about your situation. He said you can stay with us until an apartment's available."
She was completely surprised by this turn of events. "Oh, Cosmo, I can't do that. I'm afraid I might be a burden on both you and your friend."
"Are you kidding? He loves company, and he really doesn't want you to stay in one of those expensive long-stay hotels."
"Cosmo, I don't know how to thank you and your close friend for this."
"Why don't we go now so you can meet him?"
Angela put her head down to think for a second and then replied, "All right, I'll go, but can you tell me a little about your friend?"
Trying not to reveal too much, Cosmo replied, "Let's just say he's a little offbeat, but he's looking very forward to meeting you."
"Okay, I'm going to trust you on this, but I am a little nervous."
"It's going to be fine, I promise."
Cosmo said his good-byes to his friends and next escorted Angela to his motorcycle. "Are you ready?" he asked.
"I guess so."

Both mounted onto the bike and were soon on their way to the home of Cosmo's close friend . . .