Click to go to next story.   MagicWorks--where the magic is real By Chrissie Sparling   Sally raised her hands above her head. “Watch closely now boys and girls, for I, Sally the Magnificent, am about to make this silk vanish into thin air.” There was a collective “ooh” from her audience of six-year-olds and their matching parents. “Let’s count to three.” Sally fluttered the silk up and down in front of the kids’ faces as they screamed at the top of their lungs, causing any of the neighbors happening to be home on this warm Saturday afternoon to reach for ear plugs. “One, two, three.” There was no flash or puff of smoke. Those sorts of gimmicks were saved for the charlatans. Not Sally. She simply tossed the silk into the air, and instantly, right in front of the kids’ faces at Macy’s sixth birthday party, the silk vanished. Appearing in its place was a solid wood wand. It spun around in tight circles before falling into Sally’s waiting hand. She flipped the wand over her knuckles with a little flare before exclaiming, “I have a magic wand now, but what should I do with it?” She tapped the tip of the wood against her cheek, taking a dramatic pause. “Magic,” answered the mix of girls and boys right on queue as if they were being coached, but they weren’t.   “Good idea.” She praised their genius. She moved out into her audience, pointing the wand at all fifteen of Macy’s friends before settling the soft brown tip over Macy’s head. Sally reached her other hand out and Macy took it. They walked back over to the cement porch and stood in front of the glass slider. Sally knelt down in front of the little girl wearing the pink frilly dress and clutching onto a white pony with a sparkling pink mane and tail. The little princess’s hair was in a perfect braid in the back of her head and a plastic crown was set just above her forehead that read Birthday Girl. “Macy, if you had one birthday wish, what would you wish for?” “Ummm…” the little princess chewed on her bottom lip, stuck a finger to her mouth, and fidgeted with her dress while at the same time wobbling on her feet. “I really want a pony.” “A pony?” Sally sounded amazed. She looked out over her audience and gave them a knowing look. Macy’s parents let out a little shutter of a laugh that said “what a sweet ridiculous request,” but Sally didn’t think it was ridiculous. “Let me guess? You want a white pony with a sparkling pink mane and tail.” She ran her fingers over the stuffed animal in the little girl’s arms. “How did you know?” The girl’s mouth dropped with excitement, as did many of the other kids.  “I’m Sally the magnificent—I know everything you tell me just after you say it.” She beamed, giving an award-winning smile to the group of onlookers. The adults chuckled, right on the beat. This was a well-trained audience, and they didn’t even know it. Sally turned back to Macy and gently pressed her cute, little, button nose. Then she stood up and faced the higgly-piggly mass of people. “All right you guys, this is the last magic trick so I need you all to say the magic words with me.” Jumping the gun, everyone shouted, “Abracadabra.” Sally bellowed with canned laughter, “Abracadabra? That’s not a magic word. It’s abracapony.” The kids laughed, but when Sally took Sparkles from Macy, setting the white and pink pony on an empty spot of grass and stood back, everyone went silent. She pointed her magic wand at the tiny stuffed animal, and in a voice not as whimsical as the rest of the show, she snapped, “Abracapony.” Instantly, there standing on the grass already grazing was a beautiful white pony with a sparkling pink mane and tail. Excited screams and extensive clapping echoed through the neighborhood surrounding 42nd Avenue. Macy’s eyes jumped out of her head and her lips caved into her open mouth. All the parents gawked at Sally—the magician who Mitch and Diane Mayberry had confessed to hiring from the yellow pages under the listing for clowns. “Now there are rules.” Sally broke the trance for everyone. “Sparkles only gets to spend the day with you. She has to go back to being a stuffed animal tonight when you go to bed.” “Like Cinderella?” Macy smartly pointed out. “Just like Cinderella.” Sally tapped her on the nose, letting her know she hit that one just right. “So, can I trust you to treat her well while she’s here?” “Oh yes!” “Promise?” “I promise! I promise! I promise!” mused Macy. Their pinkies connected to seal the deal before Sally picked Macy up and set her on Sparkles’ back. Macy’s friends all gathered around, waiting impatiently for a turn to ride the white and pink pony, but Sally didn’t let their pleas affect Macy’s wish. She forced them to sit back down on the grass that outlined the cement porch as Macy rode Sparkles around the back yard, screaming with joy. Diane, Macy’s mother, stumbled over to Sally’s side; a check for two hundred dollars, with a fifty dollar bill underneath, was in her hand. “I don’t even know what to say.” She was shaking her head mindlessly, “How did you get a horse out of the stuffed animal?” “It’s magic!” Sally whispered, winking at her as if she just gave away a big secret. “A horse though?” Diane couldn’t even fathom what she saw happen. “A horse,” Sally confirmed, “that grazes on weeds and will only be here for a couple of hours. She’ll stay right next to Macy, and won’t cause any problems. At 9:00 PM, on the grass where she appeared will be Macy’s stuffed animal and the real Sparkles will be gone.” Diane shook her head, still in shock over the birthday party magician. She offered Sally the money with a gratified thank-you. In exchange, Sally handed her a handful of business cards that read MagicWorks—where the magic is real. Home of Spazzy the Glorious and Sally the Magnificent. “All right everyone. It’s time for me to go.” Sally hurried over to Macy and gave her a big birthday hug. She patted Sparkles on her long neck and then let the fifteen other children grapple her legs, arms, back and tummy. Once everyone had a chance to say goodbye, she stepped onto a clear spot of grass, put one hand on her magical suitcase which shuffled all the silks and bags back into place and closed by itself, and said, “Abracahome.” With a final wink at Macy, Sally the Magnificent waved her wooden wand and vanished from Diane, Mitch, and Macy Mayberry’s back yard. “Hey honey,” Scott said just as Sally popped into existence inside the office. “Hey baby.” Sally flicked her wand and the suitcase flew across the room and settled at the top of a clumsily put together, deep-brown bookcase that would make the Leaning Tower of Piazza look architecturally sound.   “How was the show?” Scott picked up a gnarled snub of wood that was airbrushed to look like real flames—the newest fad in airbrushing. “Good. The little girl wished for a pony.” “Oh god.” Scott’s tilted back head and amused rolling eyes said it all. “How did her parents handle it?” “Given the fact that I turned the little stuffed horse into a real horse without the use of smoke, fire, mirrors, or string, I thought everyone handled it rather well.” “So did you change the fabric of their existence, convincing them magic really does exist?” Sally smiled, “Nope. They are all still looking for the string I’m sure.” She gave her wand a flick and her hat zoomed merrily from her head and settled on the cluttered hat rack. “You want pizza for dinner?” she asked, moving from the room and heading upstairs. Before Scott could even answer, a sliver of silver swooshed out of the tip of her wand and unfolded into a sturdy pizza pan that floated in front of her. The second swish, a glimmer of golden brown mixed with red and yellow poured onto the pan, arranging itself nicely into a family sized pepperoni pizza. Scott shot his wand at the computer and that familiar logging off music filled the room as the door to the office closed for the night. “Yeah, Mom’s making pizza,” Glaysia shouted as the pizza zoomed onto the dinning room table with Sally in its wake carrying paper plates. “You guys want to watch Bewitched?” Scott asked the family, popping into existence in the kitchen. He picked up Aurrick and Glaysia by their waists and carried the two kids into the dinning room. “Yeah!” Glaysia cheered. “I’ll get the drinks,” Maria, the oldest of the three kids announced, pulling her teal green wand from the side pocket of her jeans. “I’ll make popcorn,” Glaysia whipped up a bright pink wand from her belt. “Pew,” Sally exclaimed, looking horrified at the toddler. “Aurry, you need to change your diaper.” Aurrick giggled, and then pointed a finger at a stack of diapers and wipes under the end table. They zoomed at him as he lay down on the floor and waited.     © Copyright, Chrissie Sparling   Click here to read Chrissie Sparling’s Brief Bio.   Click to go to next story.