Magic Short 2: Headless

Valerie did not know why she had agreed to go to the magic show with her friends; actually she did, but that reason was no longer valid, so why had she not cried off and got on with writing her novel, which had been blocked at the time she had accepted the invitation. As the lights dimmed and the curtain rose, she wondered if anyone would mind if she sneaked out and went home.

Onto the open stage strode the magician, Valerie was surprised that the magician was a she; she had not been aware that the Carnival of Wonders magic show was led by a woman.

The woman stood for a moment bathed in applauds before welcoming the audience to the show and introduced herself as Marion. She silently produce an array of different and unexpected items which could not have been up her sleeves or in her formal dress, because the dress was sleeveless and hugged her slender figure to great effect. Each item she produced, she then dropped and two assistants rushed around picking them up objects that seemed to surprise them too. The climax of this routine, that included umbrellas, showers of cards and bowling balls, was the production of an aquarium, which she held just long enough for her assistants to drop the few things they had not already ferried into the wings and take an end each. Their exit carrying the tank of fish was awkward and threatened to deluge the stage in spilt water.

"Now that I have completed the first section of my show, is there anyone who would rather not be here?" asked Marion.

On a whim, but acknowledging to herself the truth behind it, Valerie stood up and shouted, "Me!"

Marion seemed taken aback, while her assistants returned to collect the remaining items from the stage. "Would you mind coming up on stage and telling me why you want to be elsewhere?" She asked. Valerie nodded, the magician despatched one of the assistants, Amy, to fetch Valerie from the audience and bring her to the stage, while the other assistant, Avril, was told that the magician wanted the chair and the cloth, that usually sat in the corner unused, but there just in case.

Avril left with an armful of assorted items with a curious expression on her face; it was evident that she knew the exact items the magician had requested, but this had never happened before and she was at least as interested in what was about to happen as the audience.

Marion greeted Valerie as she arrived on the stage and soon discovered her name and that she was here with friends. Swiftly the topic turned to why Valerie did not want to be here. Valerie explained that she was a novelist and had had a bit of writer's block when she had accepted the invitation from her friends to attend this magic show, with the expectation that she would still be at that impasse and perhaps going to see a show would help move the block and failing that provide a pleasant evening out with friends, but now that inspiration had struck she really wanted to be in her study writing.

Marion seemed to take this as mildly complementary, rather than being insulted that Valerie did not really want to be there.

"Why don't I make you an offer?" asked Marion. "You don't have to watch the show and I'll provide you with some peace and quiet while it lasts and you can think about your inspiration and see where it leads you. Of course, it will take a few minutes organise, but I feel sure you will find that a bit of time to consider your unblocking thought will benefit you no end."

"Let me guess, you are going to put me into a cabinet from which I'll vanish and be shown to a quiet room and then at the end of the show I'll reappear and be returned to my friends, and they will ask me how it happened and you will rely on me not telling them, right?"

"A lot of other magicians might try that kind of thing, but I plan to keep you where the audience can see you; in fact in this chair." Avril had returned with a high backed chair with an upholstered seat. Over the back of the seat was draped a large white square of fabric, probably silk. "You won't hear or see a thing until the end of the show and will get the chance to think through you inspiration. And as a sweetener, I'll make a bet with you, in the next few minutes I shall put this diamond studded choker on you." She indicated the black band round her throat that was highlighted with a few row of sparkly stones. "And if you are still wearing it at the end of the show, you can keep it."

"How about adding, if my introspection is interrupted by anything to do with the show, except its end, I keep the choker in that case too," Valerie counter-challenged.

"You drive a hard bargain, but I accept, so long as I get a little leeway in setting things up."

Valerie nodded her assent.

"Please be seated and think thoughts of your novel and what you plan to write for it next."

Valerie sat in the chair and got herself comfortable with her hands relaxed in her lap.

"I shall start by draping the cloth over your head and then place the choker round your neck to hold it in place, after that the audience will see things get a little weird, but you will feel relaxed, thinking novel unblocking thoughts and ignoring what is happening around you, until I return you to the mundane world at the end of the show."

Suiting her actions to her words, Marion placed the white silk over Valerie's head and adjusted it until it hung evenly to Valerie's shoulders. The magician then reached behind her neck and unclasped the sparkling neckpiece and gently positioned it round Valerie's neck and did up the catch.

"Are you ok under there, Valerie?" Marion asked.

"I'm fine, the necklace isn't too tight and I can breathe through the cloth, but I can still hear you."

"I shall be sorting that bit out in the next couple of minutes, if you can be patient and relax a bit."

Valerie nodded her head and the audience could see that she seemed less tense already.

Marion stood behind Valerie and took the loose corners of the cloth and gentle pulled on one side then the other. Valerie felt the cloth moving side to side on her head and for a moment worried that her hair would be dishevelled, but found she felt it was relaxing; so she dived into the world of her novel.

The audience watched, as did the two assistants, who were just hanging about watching, in defiance of the usual run of the show, in which case they would be preparing for the next big illusion while Marion floated a small table about the stage to the wonder of the audience and the mystification of the audience member invited to hang on to the other corners of the small cloth that the magician had draped over the table.

What they saw was not easy to detect at first be soon it was clear that there was less head under the cloth than there had been before. By gentle degrees Valerie's head seemed to shrink under the cloth until there was only a small cloth-covered hump rising through the choker. Marion put her head to approximately where Valerie's right ear would have been and whispered, "Give me a thumbs up if you are ok and then I'll see you at the end of the show."

Valerie gave a cheery thumbs up, then Marion pulled the cloth out from under the choker, leaving the choker precariously balanced on a bare expanse between Valerie's shoulders. The empty cloth the magician laid in Valerie's lap over her hands.

Marion called on a pair of stage hands to move the seated Valerie to the corner of the stage, before she returned to the planned order of the evening. During the interval, Amy was stationed near Valerie to prevent curious spectators from interfering with Valerie. Valerie remained seated at the corner of the stage, until the show reached its usual conclusion.

The stage hands were asked to return the headless body, which had been still, but not lifeless, during the show, to its original position on the stage. Marion took the thin cloth from the seated figures lap and told the audience that it was time to restore Valerie so that she could go home too. "Valerie's mind has been ranging far and wide in the world of her novel. It is time to bring her back to the here and now."

Marion spent a little time rushing about the stage and at one point commented that perhaps Valerie's imagination was a little over active. Suddenly, she made a downward wave with the cloth and it seemed to land on something. For a short while the presence under the cloth seemed be trying to escape, but soon appeared to be under Marion's control. The magician guided whatever was under the cloth to the space where Valerie's head should have been and with a sharp tug removed the cloth showing Valerie was back to her former shape; head and all.

The crowd erupted and Valerie jumped up and hugged the magician. "Thank you; that was exactly what I needed. I had the peace to think through the ramifications of the decision I thought I was about to make; fortunately, I spotted a huge consequence of the inspiration I had, that would otherwise have taken me months of wasted work to spot and unpick. And I found an alternative idea that seems much safer. Thank you, so much."

"You're welcome," said Marion, "I like to help when I can. And I don't mind if you keep the choker; they're not real diamonds, and I've decided it looks good on you."