Lost Magic
Ivy took a swig from the bottle of water under the table then smiled at some of the people passing.

"Hey, there! Take a flyer!" she said and waved the paper at them. One couple stopped and walked over to look at the papers spread on the table.

"How ya doing?" Ivy asked.

The couple both nodded as they slowly made their way through the various pamphlets and flyers on the table.

"If you guys could see your way to signing our petition, it'd be a great thing," Ivy said, handing them a clipboard. "The state's talking about allowing dumping of heavy metals into the river by some auto parts plants upstream from here."

"Heavy metal," the guy said with glee in his voice.

"No shit," Ivy said. "And you know, we drink that water. I mean, it'd be a shame if your testicles shrank up or something."

The guy glared at her and hustled his girlfriend away toward the stadium.

Ivy sat down in the lawn chair and took another drink from her bottle, wiping the perspiration from her forehead. It was a hot day to be standing on pavement. She watched the people in the booth next to hers set up. The first-aid tent. They'd be getting a lot of traffic later in the afternoon.

"Hey there! Take a flyer?" she said as another crowd walked by.



Later that afternoon, Ivy was in the back of the booth, straightening up boxes and getting ready to pack up and leave. The concert had started and the only people passing by were casualties of the mosh pit on their way to the first-aid tent. Suddenly, a guy walked up and nearly collapsed on her table, scattering papers everywhere. A girl came running up and tried to help him to his feet.

"What the hell?" Ivy yelled.

"John, get up! Oh, please help me!" The girl cried in distress.

"Man, and they were flying!" the guy croaked.

"What's going on?" Ivy said, trying to help the guy to his feet.

"Oh, it's the heat and he's been drinking," the girl said. "I was trying to get him to the first-aid booth. He's been pretty delirious, but he keeps slipping away from me."

"They had beautiful silver wings!" The guy again.

Ivy could see classic signs of dehydration in his dry lips and mouth. Between the two of them, they righted him and began to guide him toward the tent next door.

"I saw the dragons, you know?" John said, looking Ivy in the eyes.

"That's great," she mumbled back.

"No, really. They were flying and breathing fire and shit. Most beautiful thing I ever seen, under the moonlight and all."

Ivy looked at the man. "Where'd you see this?"

"Europe!" He declared loudly then dropped his voice to a stage whisper. "I was a revolutionary."

"Just calm yourself, John," the girlfriend pleaded.

"I fanned the flames of freedom! I led the dissidents!" John roared. "That is one messed up place. But they do have themselves some beautiful dragons."

Now they were in the tent and a nurse approached them to take over. Ivy let go of the man. Before she could go, he whirled around and grabbed her by the arms, pulling her close.

"And there were some crazy bastards on broomsticks!" he intoned.

~ ~ ~

Ivy sat outside the tent and watched as the last rays of sun streamed up from the horizon. She'd cleared up her booth then sat down here on the curb to wait. Eventually, the girlfriend left the tent and Ivy stood to meet her.

"How's he doing?" she asked.

The woman looked surprised.

"Oh, thanks for waiting. He's going to be okay. They're giving him fluids now, but they'll probably take him to the hospital for more."

"Was he really...well, you know, a revolutionary?" Ivy asked.

The girl threw her a weird look. "I don't know. I haven't known him that long. I mean, he's pretty out of his head right now. I better go back in."

"Do you think I could talk to him later, before they take him into the hospital?"

"Well, what for?" the girl asked.

"It's pretty important," Ivy said.

"Well, no, I don't think that'd be a good idea," the girl said. "I mean, who are you? I don't know you."

"I'd just like to talk to him about...."

"No, no, I don't think so. Goodbye."

And she disappeared into the tent.

In a few minutes, Ivy saw the guy being loaded into an ambulance. The girl crawled in next to him and they pulled away. Ivy went into the tent.

"Hey, how you doing?" She asked, waving her passes at the nurse. "Quite a day, huh?"

"Oh, man," said the nurse. "This heat, then all the crazy concert shit. We've been pretty busy, but then I guess you've seen that."

"Oh, yeah. Say, where do you send these people? What hospital?"

"Well, it depends on their insurance plans, but generally to Community."

"They'll be busy tonight," Ivy said, scanning the table in front of the nurse.

"Yea, but at least they're working in an air-conditioned building."

John Temple.

"Yea, they got that going for them," said Ivy. "Well, hang in there."

~ ~ ~

Ivy drove straight to the hospital. She stopped at the front desk.

"Has John Temple been admitted yet? I just got a call. I'm his sister."

The receptionist looked through her records.

"He's in 408, but visiting hours are over," she said.

"Oh, but they just called me. I just found out," Ivy pleaded. "I told mom I'd come up and make sure he's okay."

"Well, you can probably go up for a few minutes, but don't tell them I said it, okay?"

Ivy took the elevator to four and walked quietly past the nurses station. The nurse on duty looked up and Ivy gave her a small smile and wave. The nurse looked back down at her clipboard.

Ivy peeked into 408. The room was dark except for a small light just over the bed. A figure reclined on the bed, hooked into IVs and a monitor. Ivy went into the room and pulled a chair up next to the bed.

"Hey, John, how you doing?" she asked softly.

John's eyes flew open. He looked at her strangely.

"You a nurse?" he asked.

"Oh, no. I was at the concert tonight. I helped get you to the first-aid tent. Are you feeling okay?"

"I've been better. What are you doing here?"

"Well, it's going to sound a little crazy, but back there, you were talking about...."

She stopped herself. It sounded more than a little crazy. What was she thinking?

"You were talking about...."

"Dragons?" he asked.

"Heh. Yeah."

"Man, I am so full of shit," John cackled.

Ivy's heart sank. She wasn't even sure why she had followed this wackaloon to the hospital, why his crazy story mattered to her, but now she knew it was just that: a crazy story.

"I talk too much," John said. "People think I'm a nutjob. Nobody's ever believed me before."

Ivy gave him a pained smile as if to assure him he wasn't a nutjob.

"So, what do you want to know about dragons?"

"What?" Ivy asked.

"What do you want to know about them dragons? Now, granted, I didn't see them close up, but I saw enough of them."

Ivy stared at him.

"Let me get this straight," she said. "You're saying you've actually seen dragons?"

"Yep."

"And what about the broomstick remark?"

"Yep, saw that, too."

"What? What did you see?"

"Saw some guys riding around on broomsticks. They were chasing the little dragons, catching them. Maybe they were tagging them."

Ivy was stunned but excited. She stood and paced a small circle around at the side of the bed.

"Where was this?" she asked.

"Romania. Like I said, I was heavily involved in the revolution there. Real spy stuff. I could tell you but I'd have to kill you." He stopped and chuckled to himself. "Anyway, me and another fellow were on this mission, see, out in the countryside. Did you know that's where Dracula came from? Well, we decided to hike up into the hills to see his castle only I guess we got some wrong directions because we never found that castle. We got lost and ended up sleeping the night on the mountain. When we woke up, we saw dragons flying around over our heads."

"Oh, wow," Ivy sat down again.