“I felt some movement. Am I in two pieces?”

“Yes.” I did not get to say more, because the telephone in the office rang. “I'd better go and answer that.” I said as I stepped through the space between Hannah's two halves.

“What about me?”

“You'll be alright. I'll only be a couple of minutes. In the meantime you can enjoy being in two boxes at once and the boxes not being inside each other.”

When I got to the phone, it was somebody wanting to make a booking. I took their number and arranged a good time to return their call under the excuse that I was in the middle of rehearsing someone and needed to get back to them. This took about three minutes.

“Sorry that took so long, but I have another booking, and have arranged to call them back to arrange the details, so I could get back to release you. ...”. At that point I noticed that we were not alone, it was Milly, my new assistant.

To her I said, “Oh, Hi, Milly. I wasn't expecting you quite so early. If you could visit with the animals for about five minutes, I can get Hannah back together and on her way, so we can rehearse your special bit in the show, weekend after next.”

It seemed for a moment that she would leave to allow me to get Hannah back together, dressed and away, but then she took a couple of steps towards me, to the point where she could see Hannah's head sticking out of the upper half of the thin model sawing box. “Mum?!?!” she asked.

“Milly! What are you doing here?” Hannah asked.

I was shocked and surprised that they knew each other, as they were from different parts of my magician's life.

Milly gave an explanation that she was here to rehearse for the show we had booked Saturday after next, and then returned the question to her mother.

Hannah's explanation sounded plausible and accurate if you left out the sex. “You know how I've been under a lot of stress lately?” Milly nodded that she knew. “Well, Tom has been helping me cope with it.”

“So, he's your new boyfriend or lover?” I was not surprised by this being the conclusion she jumped to. “I didn't know you were into magic; I thought that getting inside boxes and cupboards and other stuff was your weird thing, but I guess it kind of makes sense.” I was unsure if the shock on Hannah's face was that Milly had noticed her kink or added two and two and assumed we were having some sort of affair.

Hannah decided not to confirm our liaison. “I didn't know I was in to magic until I tried it. Angela recommended it to me.”

“I know that she's into magic (and a bit, Tom), because he was doing magic with her at that sleepover I came back early from a month or so back.” At least they were talking about the same Angela I knew. I hoped news that something had happened between Angela and me would not be a source of friction between Hannah and me or them.

Milly's curious non-belief about magic took over and she asked, “How many times have you been sawn in half?”

A little embarrassed, Hannah said, “Well, actually, you caught me in the middle of my first time.”

“I've come to rehearse being sawn in half for the first time.” We exchanged glances. Hannah seemed suspicious that her daughter might be using the word 'rehearse' to mean a sex and magic date, the same as she does. I hope my open expression assured her that the more normal meaning was being used.

Reminded why I had been trying to get Hannah to depart before Milly arrived, I suggested. “Maybe I should get Hannah back together, while you go to the changing area and try on your new costume.”

“No need to hurry on my account,” Hannah said; I guess being in two non-nested boxes was something she liked and the reason for me wanting her gone was now moot.

Did I want Hannah to go, so I could concentrate on getting Milly through her first sawing in half? Or did I want her to stay and possibly provide some critique on her performance for her daughter?

I went for having Milly's mother there to support Milly through her first sawing from a position of present experience might be useful.

“I do have another box that we could use to rehearse Milly in,” I announced adding the caveats, “It'll work; I just haven't finished repainting it. That way you get to enjoy being in a pair of boxes for a while longer and to see what I plan to do to your daughter Saturday after next.” I appealed to her desire to be in boxes and her need to see that I was not involved with her daughter in the same way I was with her.

To Milly I suggested that she try on the costume I had got for her to wear as a magician's assistant, but not to hurry back, because I had to rearrange her mum and drag out the substitute box from the densest area of clutter in the workshop storage. Then a thought struck me; I did not have set of warmed blades. Would using cold blades on Milly be a deal-breaker?

“I'm sorry, but, unless you take more than half an hour, I won't have time to warm the blades for your first time, because your mum got the set I had warmed. I just thought a bit of warning ahead of time might be appropriate.” Hannah sent a short smile of approval in my direction; I think for being up-front about the shortcomings of the equipment I planned to use. It seemed to go straight over Milly's head, because despite her experiences of magic, she still does not believe that it is real.

I began to move Hannah over to beside the props table, where she would get a good view of what was to come. “Now you see why I was trying to get you to leave; just think of how much more embarrassing it would have been if Milly had been someone else's daughter.” Having parked her upper half and locked the casters, I asked, “Where do you want your legs?”

“Somewhere where I can see them.”

“So, over here by the door will be ok?” This got a good attempt at a nod, given the restricted movement she had available.

“If I'm not going to get to touch myself, my legs might as well be as far away as can be.”

“Would you like me to open the side panel of your box?” I offered.

“I don't think so, that would make it a bit too obvious that I'm naked in here; I don't want her getting too many ideas (well too many more ideas) about us.”

“Fine. I'll go and dig out my other thin model.”

“You couldn't move my clothes to somewhere less obvious, please.”

I detoured to the table and moved the pile of folded clothes from there to inside the cage I used to produce Mr Snuffles in place of the three doves I produce at the beginning of my regular act. The next five minutes were spent moving various cabinets to find and release the other sawing box, for its short journey to the centre of the rehearsal area. Part way through, Hannah called out that I should also remove the condom from the sword handle.

Once the tidying was done, I busied myself by checking that the prop was ready. It may not have been the most elegant magic box I owned, but it had a satisfying functionality to it. I pulled out the stocks, which required that I open the lids. The stocks and the blades, which I had stored within the box, I stowed underneath and moved on to checking the catches that held the two halves of the table together; little point in cutting some in half if you cannot separate them, with the possible except of the buzzsaw where much of the drama is seeing the saw pass through the victim.

After the checks were done, I re-closed the lids and turned to a little bit of tidying, which did not last long as Milly returned before I had moved much.

I heard the curtain to the changing area swish and was ready with an encouraging comment, in case she did not like the outfit I had provided. She stepped through the door with an air of confidence, but as if she did not feel that it was exactly right. The dark blue leotard with mid-thigh-length skirt had some subtle padding at the bust and light boning at the waist, enhanced her figure without exaggerating it. The white tights and blue ballet style slippers had a similar effect on her legs as the leotard had on her torso. I did wonder if adding a pair of long gloves would improve things further, but decided that was a problem for another day.

“You look as good as I had hoped. It might be lost on the kids, but the parents will appreciate it.”

Hannah craned her neck to see what costume I had supplied for her daughter, possibly with a mind to insisting that I go for something a bit more decent. Seeing that her daughter was as decent as she indecent, she said, “You look gorgeous, love.” Milly's chin seemed raised a little by the comment.

“Let's see if we can spread that beauty further,” I offered, as I opened to the box's lids. “In you get and we'll take this new box for a spin.”

Milly went over to the box and looked inside; there was not much to see, because it was painted the matt black that it had been when it had arrived; the colour illusionists use to cover the presence or absence of things that might give the game away. It was evident that she saw something, because she moved over to the props bench (now mercifully devoid of Hannah's clothes) and picked up a duster. She was soon expelling a small accumulation of dust and using it as an excuse to see if she could detect with her finger tips, what was not obvious to her eyes; with the same lack of success, because there was nothing to find. She dropped the dusting cloth on the edge of the origami illusion.

After a brief inspection, to determine for herself how and which orientation she should enter the box, she asked, “Which end is which?” I also suspect that she was still fishing for clues about where the non-existent fake-feet might be hidden.

I told that she could choose which way she lay in the box, because the stocks would be fitted to the assistant, her, and slotted into the ends of box. She looked a bit smug as if I had given her a clue about how the illusion was done. After a moment of further thought she turned and sat into the end she was at. She was about to shuffle back into the box, but I stopped her, holding up the ankle stocks. I opened up the stocks and fitted them around the bottoms of her shins. She looked suspicious that I was fitting them where she could not see them and, once they were clipped closed, she pointed her toes, presumably in an attempt check that they were not going to slip off.

Manoeuvring her back was a little clumsy, but I supported some of the weight of the stock until it lined up with the slots for it in the ends of the side walls. I slipped the catches that would hold the stock in place, before Milly had chance to try raising the stock with her ankles; no point in risking extra wear-and-tear, when all I had done with the illusion was check that it was sound and evict a few spiders. Milly leaned forward to inspect the ankle restraint. I moved to closed the lid over her legs; spotting this she leaned back, which allowed me to shut the lid without bumping her or asking her to get out of the way. Her expression gave me the impression that she thought this was done to prevent her getting a proper look at the stocks, but it was really so we could get on with illusion.

I brought out the stock for her neck and wrists and once she was in position, closed it and flipped the catch to lock it. I guided her from sitting to lying down in the box, so that the ends of the stock fitted into the slots for the stock. She looked discontented at having her hands trapped outside the box; I think she wanted the freedom to explore what I was doing. The catches were closed and then the lid on the top half of the box.

I lifted up the blades and clashed them near her head. She flinched as one naturally would and her hair moved in the air expelled from between the blades. I placed one blade on the lower lid of the box and then raised the other ready to be inserted it into the box.

“Hey, wait a moment,” Milly objected, “Aren't you supposed to be SAWING me in half?”

I told her that I would only be sawing her in half if the parents specifically requested it, otherwise it would be cutting her in half with the blade, which would be less likely to give the kids, that would our main audience, nightmares. I warned her again that the blades would be cold, then I thrust the first blade through the gap between the box sections and through Milly. I saw her start from surprise and briefly shiver from the cold of the blade. Before she could object I picked the next blade and it followed next to the first one.

“Did you just put in the blades that quickly?” Milly asked. “You didn't give me a chance to move out of the way, so they must be tricked or something.” I nodded that I had put the blades in quickly, but I could see from her expression that she was taking my nod as confirmation of something tricky going on with the blades. “What happened to the pull on the head thing?” she added.

“We'll be doing that, because the kids love that kind of stuff, but we'll practice that on Saturday morning along with putting some more polish on the act. This evening is about getting the basics of the performance sorted out, before we add any flourishes. Are you ready to be divided?”

“I don't think so; I can still feel my feet and the padding of the foot stocks around my shins. But you were right those blades were cold, not that I really believe that they went through me.”

Hannah told her that she was confident that the blades were through her daughter.

I leaned over the box and began releasing the catches that held the two halves of the table together. “Ok, Milly, if the blades aren't through you and dividing you in two, then how can I do this?” I undid the catch on my side, then placed my hands on the box lids and spread my arms, pushing the disconnected halves in opposite directions. When the gap between grew wide enough to step into I did.

Milly had some difficulty moving her hand out of the way to get a view of the mirror.

“How does that feel?” I asked.

She mentioned the cold in her belly and the feeling of movement from when the halves were moved; with an implied complaint that the moving had not lasted long enough that she could work out what was moving where. Then asked, “What am I supposed to feel?”

I admitted that the previous times the sawees had rushed off and did not want to talk to me about it afterwards. “Your mum seems to enjoy it; I think that having the warmed blades helped. If it wasn't for the cold blades, would you be ok with staying like this for a while, while I get some of the kids up to have a closer look at you in two parts?”

She seemed uncertain, but did not dismiss the possibility, but expressed a preference for not being tickled on the feet, on the grounds that she might make a sudden movement that would damage something. This mention of moving seemed to inspire her to try moving her feet to see if the feet at the other end of the other half of the box were hers; from her reaction, it seemed that she was surprised that the movement of her feet coincided with her moving her feet, but she still was not convinced that the feet she saw were hers.

As an alternative I suggested that I could run a finger up the sole of her shoe and she could react to that. I moved to by her feet and pressed my thumb against the heel of her slipper and moved it up the sole. The twitching of her foot to avoid this contact was ideal for demonstrating that she could feel her feet despite the three foot gap in her body between her feet and her head. The expression on her face told me that this came perilously close to tickling. “That's perfect. If you can stand that and maybe let out a giggle at the same time, that'll let the kids know that you're not having a bad time.”

She was doubtful about her ability to fake a giggle, but I dismissed that as a thing to work on at the rehearsal on Saturday.

“So, what shall we do now?” I asked after a pause.

“I assumed you had a plan for this evening,” said Milly. “Why don't we just carry on with that plan?”

“I had a plan, but that only involved you, Milly. But, now, I have two lovely ladies sawn in two, perhaps that might change what I have the chance to do.” I left the question of what I might be thinking of doing unasked, but hanging in the air as if I had asked it. I wanted to see which of my assistants reached the obvious magical conclusion first and what both their reactions were to the implied mischief on offer.

It took Hannah about twenty seconds to put two and two together. “No, you're not doing that!” she said, almost aggressively, then her tone softened, “Well, maybe sometime, perhaps, but definitely not now.”

Milly had not reached the scenario that Hannah was refusing. “What're you talking about?”

“He's thinking of swapping our legs and hips.”

With an 'Oh' of realisation, Milly replied, “The double sawing in half! Isn't that just a costume trick?”

“You were there when I mixed up Andrea and Heather at the sleep over, weren't you? In fact you helped. And when Angela and I swapped heads? I suppose that's strictly swapped bodies, but when the bodies stay put and the heads exchanged it can get confusing.”

“Ok, I don't know how you did that, and it was very convincing, but, as far as I can tell, this costume doesn't have the ability to switch to the bottom half of whatever mum's wearing.”

So, Milly was still sceptical that magic was real and her mother did not want to swap legs just now. I guess Hannah was not wanting to reveal to her daughter that she was naked inside her two boxes. “Well, that was another reason that I was not in a hurry to spruce up the box that Milly is in. Because it's not compatible with the one Hannah is in; the table heights differ by a couple of inches and the makeshiftness that would be need to get them to match up would not be safe.”

Hannah looked daggers at me as if I had put her through some mental torture. Milly's response was a satisfied nod that suggested to me that she thought this was an excuse not to reveal the secret.

I shifted Hannah's leg box close to the rest of her and went to reconnect Milly and release her from her box. I told her to go change back into her normal clothes while I fixed her mother; which she seemed take as more evidence of secret keeping.

With Milly out of the way for a while I put Hannah back together and let her out of the box. “Would you really have swapped our legs, if I hadn't objected?” she asked.

I moved the two tables together to show that there was a height difference. “If you had both consented, I think I would have found a way. But with you being a 'not now' and Milly being in denial of the reality of magic, it would not have been right, right?”

“Ok, maybe I'll get the chance to try it with Angela, sometime; I think she might be up for it.”

“If you can get her to come to one of our sessions, I think that can be managed. I will need notice to get a pair of boxes that fit together.”

“Kinky,” she purred; a marked change of mood since she had arrived. Then she looked down. “Where are my clothes? I need to be at least dressed when Milly gets back.”

Instead of pointing out the box where I had stowed her clothes, I laid a hoop with a curtain attached on the floor and invited her to step into it. With a swift up and down, she was back in the suit that she had arrived in.

Her surprise at being clothed in so little time, changed to frustration as she remembered something.

“Oh, crap! In my hurry to get here, I left my laptop at the office. I'm going to have to collect it. And if I'm going back to the office, I might as well do whatever work I'm going to get done this evening there, because I'll have easier access to the information I need. Let Milly know that I'll probably be late home tonight.” And with that she stormed off.

Shortly after, Milly peeked around the door to the rehearsal room. “Is mum gone?”

“Yes, it's safe to come out. She remembered that she had left her laptop at work and said to let you know that she would probably be late home. I guess you'll have to get your own tea; Unless you'd like to have a longer practice and we can take a break in the middle for a take-away.” In response to her nod, I asked, “Which would you prefer? Chinese or pizza?”

Once she had decided on pizza and I had ordered it, I moved on to teaching her how to do the pom-pom sticks. She became quickly proficient at getting the string lengths to vary in the various possible ways, but was mildly disappointed there was not a way to get all the strings to go short at the same time.

While she puzzled over the small illusion I put the blades from the sawing in half box into the blade warmer, so that we could try it out again before she went home. We had a break when the pizza arrived, then put some polish on some of the other stuff we had be working on. We finished the evening by cutting her in half again, which she said was less uncomfortable with the warmed blades, which was evident to me from the lack of shiver when I pushed them through her for the second time that evening.

Just before she went home I her gave a spare set of pom-pom sticks to practice with and challenged her to come up with a routine of her own, bearing in mind that the audience would be six- to eight-year-olds.