A line of patrons waited patiently or impatiently for some, in a single line to encounter the baristas behind the counter. The air filled with aromas of fresh brewed coffee, out of the oven scones and various teas from all over the world. As each patron waited, an unusually loud chime rang as the door opened to allow more patrons in the already crowded coffee shop. At first glance, the crowd of customers seemed enormous for the intimate dwellings Kathy's Coffee shop, but every new customer found their respected place in line, and evenly spaced out amongst the crowd. Some of the earlier customers sat reading a book in comfy chairs around a table, while others sat upon couches immersed in their electronic devises. The crowd grew as the morning continued, and soon the patrons came and left to continue their daily activity. The earlier ones, whom snagged a chair, got up and left, only to be replaced by another patron a few seconds after. The coffee shop didn't slowdown in sales, and remind busy into the early afternoon.
The occupied baristas didn't check around the room, as they usually would, to see if any of the patrons needed refills; no, they were far too busy today. In fact, no one took noticed of the young lady settle into a comfy chair matched with a small brown wooden table at arm's reach. Her face remained unknown as it remained glued to the pages of her book. The young lady's long brown hair cascaded down just past her shoulders while her dark blue jacket peeked out.
Still immersed in her book, the young lady reached across the table to retrieve her mug and take a sip; however, her mug, once filled with hot chocolate, laid empty pressed to her soft lips. She did not call a barista over to refill the mug, nor get up and ask for a refill from the counter. In fact, she didn't waver from the pages of her book, and simply turned them as if nothing was afoot. Just as soon as she turned the page a single steam floated above her mug. The mug filled with fresh hot chocolate was once again brought to her lips, this time she smiled satisfied with fulfillment of her desire.
No one noticed, but the young gentlemen who sounded the door chime just moments before this miraculous event occurred. He didn't make a big scene nor draw attention to the young lady. The young gentleman took off his coat, hung it upon the coat rack beside the door, and sat down across from the young lady. In a short minute an identical mug appeared across from hers.
"I thought the number one rule for magic was not to get caught," the young gentleman whispered to her across the round brown table. After his last word, the clamor of the coffee shop faded to a mute, as if secluded in an oasis.
A sigh escaped the young woman before she replied "It's the same rule for thieves, but what would an illusionist know of magic." She placed her book down on the table, and pointed slowly to a poster on the right wall. The poster advertised a new show called the Great Illusionist, in town for two weeks. The young gentleman in the poster wore a black top hat and a black suit. His arms spread diagonal, in his left a cane, and in his right a black and white wand. The vibrant orange background made the poster desirable. The young gentlemen smirked at the comments below, and quickly scanned them in his mind. The poster praised the illusionist; it read, "best show ever," "tested the boundaries of fantasy and reality," "Seeing Is Believing."
"Maybe you should see the show, before you judge it." The young lady noticed the voice came, not from across her, but from behind her on the couch.
"Oh, brother," the young gentleman, sitting across from the young lady, exclaimed. "I was looking everywhere for you."
The young gentleman on the couch chuckled at the lie.
The young lady's eyes widen as she was fooled by this trickery, but she did not want to show any signs of surprised. She picked up the book, and placed it into her bag. She took a long hard stare at the gentleman in front of her. She noticed his soft features, like his grey-green eyes and his short light brown hair. She also noticed the muscular features hidden under a grey turtle neck, it seemed like the shirt was barley containing them as his arms crossed across his chest. She contemplated on a thought then said, "So you have a twin or someone designed to look as such."
"Call me Marco," the young gentlemen from behind the couch said, "and he is Nathan"
"I shall never tell the difference," she commented.
"You just need practice," Nathan said as he waved his hand over the wooden table. A second later, black letters formed on the brown coffee table. A second more and the brown background of the table faded to form a small white rectangle which rose a centimeter off the table. The white paper resembled the ticket posted on the illusionist's poster.
The young lady did not glance down. She opened her hand, palm up, and the ticket disappeared and reappeared in her palm. Then she packed her belongings, got up from the comfy chair, and walked out the door. The chime signaled her exit and the clamor of the coffee shop rang once again. "Do you think she will show up," Nathan asked Marco.
"We shall wait and see," Marco replied as he looked up from his book.
Outside of the coffee shop, the young lady turned left at the next corner, and after a few blocks stopped at plain black door. The door did not have any distinctive features, and matched the others on the street but she knew it was the right one for on the left side of the door a showed big glass window, and on the right another building. She rifled through her bag and found a set of keys and proceeded to stick one in the key hole; however, after a click, the door opened. She walked in the door, not surprised by the door opening on its own, hung her jacket on the coat rack, and turned left into the living room. The room remained painfully bare after she moved in, only a couch, a glass top coffee table, and a book shelf filled with books changed. An older man perused the book shelf and selected one at random. She waited in the door way for him to put down the book, when he asked, "Did you make contact?"
"Yes," she replied.
"Good," he said, and vanished soon after she spoke, leaving the book to make a loud thud on the wooden floors.
She waved her hand and the book leaped back into the right place upon the shelf. She turned toward the only room on the top of the stairs, and walked slowly as if to admire the craftsmanship of each stair.
The door to the only room opened on its own, and the young lady lay down on the queen size bed. The dark blue blanket did not unfold but stayed perfectly still as she settled down upon them. The young lady decided to take a nap, for how long, she didn't know.
"Do you think she will appear today," Nathan asked Marco.
"I am not sure," Marco replied. Marco turned his back to Nathan and opened another box marked decorations. When he opened it appeared empty, but soon silver stars formed.
"Here," Marco said to a passing crew member. The crew member nodded and disappeared in the mist of the backstage.
"We have one hour," Marco mentioned to Nathan. "IF she shows up, she does, if not she doesn't."
"You should be the one up there tonight," Nathan remarked.
Marco ignored Nathan's remark. "Just make sure the show goes off without any problems, I want it spectacular"
Nathan looked defeated by Marco's words. Soon he too disappeared into the mist of the backstage. An hour later he appeared in a black tux, like the poster advertised waiting behind the velvet curtains. A large crowd gathered in the theater chattering with one another trying to find their seats. Marco decided to look out in the audience one last time before the show begins.
Marco looked to the center seat in the third row, and to his surprise found it filled with a young lady. The seat to her right remained empty like the pervious nights, but that only pleased Marco. The young lady looked directly at Marco smiled, reassuring him of his previous thought. She wore a silver floor length dress and a long sleeve black fur jacket; her hair sported a tight bun. Marco engraved this image in his memory before he raised the curtain to start the show.
The audience's applause died down, and they cleared out of the theater, all except the young lady in the center seat of the third row. Nathan expected this, and jumped down from the stage to sit next to her. They didn't look at each other or acknowledged each other. Their attention remained focused on stage, until the young lady spoke, "I liked it".
"I know," Marco said, "However, I wasn't sure if you like the acting, or the magic."
"Both, perhaps," she replied.
"I took notes," Marco said, and pulled out a small brown note pad. He turned to the third page, and read "smiled after the first trick when the bunny appeared from the hat."
She didn't say a word and listened on.
"After the second trick, with the hoops of fire, she frowned."
"I didn't like the heat the bunnies felt as they jumped through each hoop," she commented.
"The third act, she tilted her head slightly to the right after the rings were tossed in the air, then smiled again when they turned to dust falling over Nathan's head."
"It reminded me of snow," she commented again.
"After the fourth act she made no facial movement to the act with swords. However, the final act, she smiled and clapped as Nathan lifted the assistant in the air."
"It reminded me of my early days of magic, swords pretending to stab the magician." she commented and they grew silent once more. "Do you make notes on all of the audience's members?"
"Only the ones I like," Marco said playfully.
She didn't respond. Marco clapped his hands and the theater lights turned off. "I thought the show was over?" she gently asked.
"I guess you were wrong," Marco replied.
"I am usually not," she commented.
"So, you tell the future," he asked.
"Not the future, that is easy to predict" she replied. Marco realized they spoke in riddles so he decided to show her a different show.
Marco clapped his hands and the stage lit up with silver stars. The young woman smiled in delight.
"My turn," she said. The young woman clapped her hands, in the same manner, and the silver stars broke away from their wires and danced high above the couple. She snapped her hands and the stars slowly turned into dust, sparkly silver dust.
Marco clapped in amazement.
The young lady turned and looked at Marco.
"Perhaps tomorrow night I can show you a spectacular show," Marco said.
"I thought tonight was the last night?" the young lady asked, Marco smiled in response.
She got up from her seat and proceeded to the exit.
"What's your name," Marco shouted, but it proved to be no avail. The door of slammed shut against the metal shell and echoed throughout the theater.
"Are you sure," Nathan asked Marco suddenly. Nathan appeared out of nowhere, but it didn't faze Marco
"We shall see," Marco replied. Marco stared long and hard at the door, as if he was thinking about something serious.
"Follow her," he instructed, and Nathan disappeared into thin air.
The young lady caught a cab from the theater and arrived at the same door as before. The lock undid itself again, and she walked in.
"Did you make contact?" the same gentleman from before asked. This time he sat on the couch with his feet on the brand new wooden coffee table.
"Yes," she replied, and he vanished once more. Only the mud stain of his shoe's sole remained, and with a look of disgust she snapped her finger and it vanished away. She walked upstairs and decided on another nap, for how long she didn't know.
A sign posted outside of the theater, it read "Tonight, an encore for the Great Illusionist." A crowd shortly gathered outside the theater with tickets for the show. They all piled into their red velvet seats in the theater, but none of them noticed Marco peering out into the audience. His attention didn't wavier, as if waiting for someone to sit in the center seat of the third row from the stage. Marco heard Nathan ask for a bag of some sorts, but pays no attention. A crowd of people move toward the center seat of the third row, and when they passed a young lady appeared to have sat down. Marco recognized her immediately and a curious smile appeared across his face. Tonight, she wore a short mid-night blue dress, a silver bangle on each wrist and ankle, and a soft loose dark brown braid cascaded down her left shoulder. Marco frowned at first then smiled.
"She looks beautiful tonight," Nathan said after a quick peek. "Shall I tell you what I found?"
"Not tonight Nathan, let me enjoy tonight," Marco whispered. The lights in the theater dimmed and only a single spot light appeared on stage. Nathan embraced the crowd's cheer, and amazed them with wonder.
The applause died down and the crowd dispersed to the nearest exit. The young lady in the third row remained in her seat. Once again, Marco jumped down off the stage and joined her on the seat to her right.
"Did you like the show?" Marco asked more forthcoming.
"I did," she replied.
"Which part was your favorite?"
"The night sky scene," she commented.
The final act of the evening; the night sky. Nathan dimmed the lights, and the stars above danced to a soft music. Then Nathan showed the audience no wires attached to these stars, and they danced by his manipulation. Next, Nathan created more stars and they flew across the audience. When the music stopped the stars fell towards the audience, but instead of stars they turned into a silver dust sprinkled on the audience. One star, however; remained a star and landed in the lap of the young lady in the center third row from the stage.
The young lady showed the star to Marco. She attempted to give it back, but Marco placed his hand on hers and the star attached itself to a single silver strand; a necklace. The necklace vanished and reappeared on her neck.
"How shall I repay you?"
"How about you tell me your name," Marco suggested.
The young lady hesitated, and decided against it. She stood and proceeded to the door. A female voice giggled, followed by wooden soles stepping on the wooden floor of the stage.
"Riley," Nathan yelled, "We have to go." The young lady noticed the illusionist assistant in the arms of the illusionist.
"Wait, I wanted to get a prop, since it will be our last show," Riley, stopped suddenly noticing Marco and a young lady in the audience.
"Sorry, miss the shows over," Riley said.
"No, it's my fault, I thought there was more," the young lady said, as her eyes narrowed towards Marco.
"Well there is an after party if you like," Riley suggested.
"That would be lovely," the young lady commented. Marco looked pleased, and they all hopped into a cab towards the party.
A few hours into the party Marco searched for the young lady but she could not be found. He checked everywhere: the dining room still cluttered with silverware and morsels of food carried few people, the living room in the next room shared with the band and couples dancing, the foyer carried few people drinking champagne and various other alcoholic beverages; but none of these rooms included the young lady. Finally, Marco decided to check outside in the garden. The cold air usually kept the guest in doors; however, the young lady sat, passed the arch doorway, the various fruit trees, and the wild growing flowers, at the edge of a white fountain. The moon light shined upon her face as she played with the water turning it into ice and water.
"So you can manipulate objects as you please," Marco commented.
The young lady looked up toward Marco and the ball melted away back into the fountain. "Celia."
"A beautiful name," Marco commented. Marco stared at her beauty and wished for the distant to go away. Usually he did not let his emotions get the best of him, but for some reason he could not look away.
"How did you know my name?" Celia wondered
"You can read minds?" Marco asked.
"You can make illusions seem so real," she answered.
"The people are real," Marco answered. "May I have this dance?"
She felt the pull of his desire, but decided against it. "You are more powerful than I imagined."
"You imagined me?" Marco eye's brow raised slightly while waiting for an answer.
"So Nathan is the only one who is not real in this scenario," Celia avoided the question.
"He is very much real, just the features are not his," Marco answered, "The rest are actual workers, hired to participate in the show."
"They do not know you are really the illusionist, and not Nathan."
"Nathan carries a lot of different magical qualities,"
"Are they free to come and go as they please?"
"Yes, very much free."
"I thank you for your… honestly" Celia said with a slight smile. Then she stood up and jumped into the fountain. Her body evaporated in the water, until it disappeared completely.
Celia, once again, faced the solid black door. She hesitated to pull out her key and open the door. Her hand rested on her purse. This time the click of the lock startled her, and the door opened slightly. She walked in, put her purse on the wooden table, and waited for the man to speak.
The smoke from his cigar consumed the air and as it spreads across the room. Celia did not cough, or turn away as the smoke blew into her face. She stood there like a statue waiting.
"Is he doing another show?" the man asked.
"I am not sure," Celia answered.
"I see," the man's voice sounded callous, harsh devilish tone. The man raised his hand, and snapped his fingers. The sound rang through the house in the same callous manner. In the same instance Celia laid on the floor. She let out a shrill cry, which matched the pain she felt. The silver jewelry grew fire red emulating a hot coil on a stove. The cries lasted for a while until the man snapped his fingers and Celia grasped for air.
The tears faded quickly into her skin, and she stood back up like a statue and waited as if nothing happened.
"I thought you are capable of this task; perhaps I was wrong," the man spoke. He stood and laid his cigar on the glass-top table still burning and the smoke rose. Then he vanished.
Celia looked at the cigar with a disgusted look, and snapped her fingers to banish it, but the smoke lingered. Celia looked towards the glass window with great desire. She didn't notice a face staring at her, and turned away up stairs to take a nap. For how long she does not know.
The face disappeared and appeared next to Marco in the same spot in the garden.
"Well," Marco asked.
"I didn't see much, but she was not alone. I think you presumed correct; shall we pack our bags?"
Marco didn't answer; instead he threw down the champagne glass, and stomped back into the house. "Call Henry," he shouted.
Meanwhile, outside of the theater, a sign posted; it read "Closed." A couple passed by the sign and read, but could not find an open date. "hmmm," the man mumbled.
Riley, sometimes called Riley-Ann, looked through the glass door into the office of Marco. She saw him hold a pen in one hand and his head in the other. The frustration radiated from his posture, and she felt afraid for the recent destructive behavior. Riley tapped softly at the door, with a tray of tea in the other hand, hoping that he wanted something to drink.
The door opened and Marco gestured the tray to be left at the edge of the table. Riley didn't know her position as assistant to the Illusionist permitted her to speak about such matters, but after hesitation she drew the courage and said, "Sir, may I ask, what's the matter? Why are we closed?"
Marco gave Riley a long hard stare. She took that as a key to leave the room, and did so.
"Riley," Nathan called. Riley felt relieved by his timing, and quickly followed him into the foyer. Riley did glance back at the office, but only found Marco in the same position.
"Leave him be," Nathan whispered to Riley. Riley nodded and they left Marco's office. A few days later Riley was tasked to deliver a white envelope to a special guest. She appeared at a black door and slipped the white envelop in the mail slot. The white envelope settled on the floor by the door and somehow found its way onto the wooden coffee table. Celia woke up a month from when she fell asleep, walked down stairs, and saw the white envelope upon the wooden table.
Celia opened the envelope and found it to contain an invitation to a show by the Great Illusionist. The Great Illusionist will perform three nights a week (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) for three weeks. Celia looked at the invitation and it suddenly caught on fire. A pile of ash took the place of the white envelope. Celia turned back towards the stairs when something caught her eye. On the wooden coffee table, an identical white envelope appeared.
"Open it," the man's voice bellowed.
Celia tried to resist, but the silver jewelry glowed, thus provided the motivation for Celia to obey. She read the contents and placed the envelope back on the coffee table. The man pleased by this news gave a nefarious grin before he exited. Celia did not go upstairs to take a nap, but remained on the couch as if waiting for her next order. The familiar face outside of her window remained unnoticed. As quickly as it appeared it vanished.
"Quickly every one, quickly get into places," Marco yelled back stage. The opening night of the theater caused a ruckus with the crew members and performers. Every member in the theater raced to their respective position as the enormous red velvet curtain rose to reveal the show. Nathan stood there as the curtain opened and embraced the praise of the crowd.
For a second, Marco, who was backstage, turned his attention someone else; someone who sat in the center third row from the stage, but only for a second as he had to rush to set up for the next act.
The audience applauded when the show finished, and gracefully left their red velvet seat, and exited through the doors. Expect the young lady in the center seat of the third row from the stage.
Marco jumped down from the stage and sat down next to her. They didn't speak, they didn't move, just stared towards the empty stage.
"It reminded me of a circus I saw when I was a child," Natalie observed.
Marco remained silent.
"You utilized engineering to make the set, and made it come alive with magic," she continued, "The clock was a nice touch too". "Thank you." She rose and walked towards the door.
"There is a party at my home tonight if you can attend. I am sure I mentioned it in my invitation miss Brown," Marco yelled after her.
A long sigh escaped Celia as her hand froze at the door handle. Marco appeared behind her and took her hand and they vanished from the theater.
A moment later they both appeared at his house in the garden. A soft melody of Jazz played from the living room. Marco dropped her hand and looked at her. His eyes traced the red outline of her strapless dress, and her shoes. She wore her hair down in soft curls tonight, and Marco fought back his feelings of desire.
"Where is everyone else?" Celia asked.
"I thought it would be just us two, tonight," Marco answered, he clapped and spot lights appeared in the garden to a white clothed table set for two. He moved toward the table and pulled out a seat.
Celia hesitated and snapped her fingers, but nothing happen.
"Magic is very simple," Marco said, still holding the seat open for her, "Indeed it takes a lot of discipline and practice but anyone with the gift is able to perform. Magic takes two things, will and desire; the desire to change something and the will to be able to."
Celia closed her eyes and still nothing happened. She exhaled, with her eyes closed, and waited until he finished.
"I desire your company tonight Miss Brown and my will is stronger than yours to leave."
Marco watched Celia breathe slowly inhaling and exhaling. He didn't know if she was concentrating on something or planning an escape route. Marco walked to her and his fingertips brushed the edge of her cheeks slowly making its way to her lips. He traced her soft lips, resisting yet tempting himself at the same time. Her eyes remained closed and her body tensed.
"It's useless, I charmed the whole house, everything from the floor to the walls, even the chairs. Resist all you want, but you can't escape."
"You know," Celia whispered.
Marco did not reply, and moved his hand to her hers. He held her hand gentle in his and led her to the table. She sat down obediently and waited.
Dinner appeared in abundance and Marco commanded, "Eat."
Celia placed her fork and knife down, and started laughing uncontrollable. Marco bewildered by this act, and noticed tears rolling down her cheeks.
"At least I have a good meal before I die," Celia commented between the laughs.
The room suddenly went silent, no music no laughter. Celia's brown eyes starred intensely into Marco's green grey eyes. Then a butcher knife appeared in Celia's right hand and she placed it upon the table.
"I've always wanted to see if it would hurt if my head got chopped off. Do you want to move, or right here will do?" A wicked smile crossed Celia's face.
"I don't wish to kill you" Marco stated firm and direct
The butcher knife disappeared. Marco grabbed Celia's hand starred straight into her eyes and said, "I want to save you!"