Origami

The Magician took a bow as Laurel wheeled away the empty frame and pieces of the box- the girl inside having vanished completely. "Now you've seen my lovely assistants cut up, crushed, and pureed, peeled, inflated, drunken, and simply vanished. I'm nearly out of time, not to mention assistants, but I think tonight, I can take a request. Ladies and gentlemen, do any of you have a suggestion?"

No sooner had he finished speaking when someone yelled out, "Origami!" The Magician arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean, exactly, sir?"

The man looked around nervously as the spotlight shone on him. "You know, the box you fold up and stick swords through?"

The Magician chuckled. "Ah, you must do some magic yourself. It turns out I don't actually have that particular illusion on hand... but I think I can still make you happy. Hitomi! Could you assist? Bring a pillow, please."

Hitomi stepped out on stage, wearing silk bell bottoms and a long, loose sleeved silk top that bared her midriff, both in a swirled pink, white, and bluish-purple pattern. She bowed slightly to the Magician, handed him a small pillow, then turned to face the audience. The Magician placed the pillow on the stage in front of her. "We'll need this in a bit, I think."

"Since Hitomi is an escape artist, ladies and gentlemen, she's very flexible." The Magician took her right hand, touched her elbow, and gently bent her arm till her hand was touching her shoulder. "And, of course, double-jointed as well." He wrapped her shirt sleeve loosely around her wrist and upper arm. It seemed to stick to itself like velcro, helping her hold the bend.

"Tonight, let's put Hitomi's flexibility to the test, shall we?" The Magician helped her bend her left arm the same way, holding it with her other sleeve. Hitomi wiggled her fingers. "Let me know if it starts to hurt, my dear." She looked at the Magician and smiled.

The Magician helped her sit down on the pillow. She kicked one leg into the air, and he removed her shoe. She repeated with her left leg, and so did he, leaving her barefoot. He held her ankle, gently, and touched under her knee, and she folded her leg, till the sole of her foot touched her left buttock. The Magician wrapped her pant leg around to help hold it in place, then she repeated with her other leg. The Magician secured it loosely, and helped her kneel on the pillow.

"Let's show them how you can move those shoulders, Hitomi." She smiled, and lifted her elbows up, until they touched behind and slightly above her head. The Magician ran his hands over the cloth, and it seemed to join like velcro again. "Are you in any pain? For most people, this would mean dislocated shoulders.

"No sir," she smiled, showing off for the audience. "I can go even further." She leaned forward as far as she could, touching her forehead, then her elbows, to the floor in front of her. The Magician ran his hands along her thighs and sides, and seemed to meld her pant legs to her shirt. He took her elbows and gently rocked her up, till she was sitting on her butt on the pillow, her knees against her shoulders, elbows straight up in the air.

"Let's take things up another notch. Ready, Hitomi?" The Magician touched her elbows, and she nodded slightly. He pulled her elbows backwards behind her, and she looked straight up, her short black hair falling back. She opened her mouth and seemed to strain a little bit as the Magician pressed her elbows to the small of her back. He touched the fabric, and they held in place. He slid the pillow around through 360 degrees to let the audience see her body from all sides, head straight up, with the colorful cloth below her neck, down to her bared midriff, which she flexed theatrically as she breathed, and finally her butt and bare feet below. "I bet you can bend your neck back just a little further..."

The Magician touched her forehead, and gently pressed, helping her fold her neck backwards, until the back of her head touched her hands. He set her down on the pillow on her shins, her right side towards the audience, and pushed her cheeks downwards, until her head held in place.

He stepped around, and placed his hands on her knees. "Excuse me, my dear Hitomi." Slowly, he pulled her knees apart, and her feet turned outwards as her legs spread. He pushed on her head, until it was between her legs, then, with some effort, picked her up off the pillow to show her to the audience. He looked at the man who had made the suggestion. "Are you satisfied with this, now?" The man nodded.

"Well, I'm glad I could please you- but I'm not quite satisfied yet." He looked at the willing assistant in his arms. "Hitomi- sleep." She closed her eyes instantly.

"We are, of course, out of joints to fold, so she'll want to be unconscious for the next part, since it will call for a little more flexibility than she's ready to show by herself." He kneeled on one knee and placed the girl across his thigh, face up. He pressed the flat of one hand against her knees, and the other against her butt, and, gently, folded her in half over his knee, picking her up and pressing the sides together. He turned her serene face towards the audience, and balanced her with the edge of his hand on her chest, and moved his hand quickly upwards to make a crease, folding her legs back together, along with her torso. She seemed quite a lot thinner now, her body folded up inside itself in a way that seemed to defy physics.

The Magician set her down, face up, on the stage, and pushed against her face, flattening her body outwards until it looked like her face was emerging from a second pillow- except this pillow was her body. He held her up. "Hitomi, wake up." The assistant flicked open her eyes. "How are you feeling, Hitomi?"

"A little bent out of shape, but nothing I can't handle." Her voice was soft but not strained.

"Okay, I thought you might want to be awake for this part. Hold your mouth open for me." She did. The Magician reached beneath her, and there was the sound of some fabric being unzipped. Then he placed two fingers in her mouth. She opened her eyes wide, then closed her lips around his fingers, smiling and sucking gently. He slid them deeper, reaching down her throat. she opened her mough a bit, and gasped. "Ungmmmph," she mumbled, then, "Mmmmmmm..." as the Magician's fingertips slipped out from her other side between a fold in the fabric.

"I thought you'd enjoy that. Of course, this next part will be a little less comfortable." The Magician spread her lips with his other hand, and pulled against her lower jaw, opening her mouth wider. He slid the other two fingers on his hand down her throat, then used his free hand to fold down and smooth her body against his chest, until it seemed her face was attached to a cloth tube. He then grasped her lower jaw again, spreading it wide, folding it down, and plunging his whole hand down her throat.

"I won't ask her how she feels, as there's no way she can answer now, but don't worry, Hitomi- it's almost over." He put his free hand to his wrist, thumb and index finger against his forearm, open palm against the girl's face, and started pulling her through his hand, from the inside- slowly at first, then more quickly, she was rolled in upon herself, and pulled inside out. The Magician pulled his hand out, holding fabric, and closed his other hand to pull the rest of her through it, until all that remained of Hitomi was a pink silk handkerchief, with a swirled white and purple-blue pattern. He showed it on both sides, then folded it up quickly and neatly, and placed it in his coat pocket. He turned to the audience, brushing his hands off. "Ladies and gentlemen, my version of Origami."

He smiled and looked at his first volunteer; first her body, then each half of her head on either end of the seats. "Hmm, we better get Meili put back together while I still have an assistant left to help me..."

(To be continued...)