Magician

She tiptoes onto the stage, her little feet encased in tar black Mary Janes. The pitter patter of her steps echo softly around the now-empty auditorium. Her curly pigtails shake around her full baby face.

She's looking for the rabbit. He was soft and big-eyed in the magician's hands, and she wants to play with him. She searches the table where the pretty blonde lady with ripe red lips had been sawed in half. she peeks into the crystal chamber where the magician had drowned himself yet lived. She ruffles the thick stage curtains and a cloud of dust puffs into the air. The rabbit is nowhere to be found.

Then she spies the big black top hat. It's sitting on a stool in the wings, quiet and unassuming. She bolts for it. Eyes wide and heart eager, she reaches inside. Nothing! She pulls it down, turns it over, shakes it. It's just an empty hat. Disappointed, she puts it back and walks away. Her parents are waiting. They'd told her there was no such thing as magic.

Just as she's leaving the theater, long white ears peek out over the brim of the hat. The girl happens to pause. She's tempted to look back. She wants to believe. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She makes her decision.

When she rejoins her parents in the lobby, they ask her if her journey has satisfied her curiosity. She nods. They each take one of her hands and lead her out into the cold night. She breathes out, and the air in front of her puffs like the dust from the curtain. She knows it's not magic, but she smiles all the same.