Magic
"Again, Daddy! Do it again!"
Grinning, Hawk rolls his shoulders, flexes forwards. On his back, the hawk flutters, noble even in faded ink.
"It's flying! It's flying!"
"It sure is, buddy." He picks the child up, spins him in the air. "And now you're flying too!"
He goes by Eli these days, his tempestuous persona hidden beneath natty suits and plain shoes.
"How do you do it, Daddy?" His little boy asks.
"Magic," he answers, laughing.
One day, soon – he'll tell his son everything.
The child's eyes are bright with adoration.
But just for tonight, he'll let the illusion linger.