magic tricks

Magic. He asked me if I entertained people by doing magic tricks. No I said, by telling stories. Oh, you are a writer. I hesitantly said yes. Magic, magical tricks, the questions we are asked at bars waiting to get our beers.

I have always remembered, believing I had extraordinary powers. That I had the ability to will something to happen. I would sit and concentrate and try to see if I could move something. Nothing ever shifted but my eyes, my eyes around the room. I would try and put my two index fingers together to stop time. Magic. Magical gifts. It never worked. It turned out I wasn’t a character in a sitcom, I wasn’t Evie.

Magic, believing in magic is freeing even if you can’t actually do it. Not on a stage, not supernaturally, but maybe there is magic of a moment, a connection, a run to the bus stop just in time. The moment I think of someone and they call. The fact that someone can look at me and stop time. For that moment can be magic. I think so.

I love discussing magical powers with the kids. The magic of Y’s dreams of being an author and a veterinarian and maybe a lawyer and teacher too. I tell K to put out his power hand while he is running or when he gets out of the bath he becomes invisible naked boy. He runs around the house performing tricks and saving lives and afterwards his smile beaming from ear to ear. Maybe we shouldn’t tell Mom and Dad and Y about this. About these magical powers. He has a squint of happiness in his eyes, powerful, powers he thinks he has.

I wish I could bottle up the belief in magic and sell it. We all need more of it. Magic. I might be a fool for believing in everyday magic but I don’t really care. Because if you open your eyes really open your eyes you will see magic around you so you might not be able to levitate or voodoo your x-boyfriend or his new girlfriend and they actually feel it. But does that matter really? Magic the belief in it means more the ability to perform tricks. So if that man at the bar was to ask me again if I perform magic tricks today, today if he asked, I would say yes, yes of course. Everyday and promptly walk away.