Gone Once More

Gone Once More

Edward Magique studied his apprentice carefully.

“It’s happening again. How fascinating!”

“What are you talking about, maestro?” Calvin Vann asked in a trembling voice.

“Have you been sick lately, my boy?” Edward asked solicitously.

Calvin shook his head.

Have you eaten anything strange or untoward that hasn’t agreed with you?”

Another head shake.

“Did you look in my magic trunk?”

No reply of any kind.

“What did I tell you after the last time?” Edward reminded him.

“Not to...” this time Calvin’s mouth vanished.

“It took all my tricks to bring you back the last time!” the magician told him.

Grabbing his wand, he began to do spells and other magic motions. If anything, Calvin began to vanish faster, piece by piece. At last, he was down to just his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Cal. It seems I cannot save you this time. My trunk is unpredictable in unfamiliar hands. I did tell you that, didn’t I?”

Edward sighed gustily, as the eyes vanished with an eerie pop.

“I lose more apprentices and show assistants that way. They all have an uncontrollable desire to see and touch my magic paraphernalia! A sad thing really, because those are the best people for the job.”

Edward began to set up for his show. It was both exhausting and exhilarating. He hadn’t done it for some time. He missed Calvin a lot.

Unbelievably, things began to levitate into place without his assistant.

“Calvin? Is that you?” he asked the air.

His vanishing box thumped twice.

“So, you have vanished, but are not actually gone?”

The same box thumped twice more.

“This is amazing! This is fantastic! This is just what I need!” Edward crowed with excitement.

“Not sure how I will pay you, but I’ll think of something!” he said happily.