If It's Magic

Someone In The Dark.

It was around 10 o'clock on a cool Saturday night in November, and I had lifted the needle off of my Stevie Wonder record, and put it back on the shelf. My favorite song off of his album was called "If It's Magic" because it reminded me so much of my old friend Michael. Every time I was with him, I always felt an intense vibration of magic. I couldn't describe it to you with words, but if I could compare it to something earthly, it would be similar to the first swim of the summer, laughing until your ribs hurt, running barefoot in the cool grass, or the feeling of being loved back. These were all the feelings I can remember having with Michael.

I walked over to the open window of my bedroom, and inhaled the crisp night air. I looked over across the street at the old abandoned house that was once a home to Michael and his family. It has just become a place that fans visit on occasion now, not the warm inviting haven that I used to know, where I could smell Mama Kate's peach cobbler every Sunday, or listen to Tito play Joseph's guitar while he was at work in the Steel Mills, or see Marlon practice his dance steps on the sidewalk. I remember all of those things like they were yesterday.

"If it's magic, then why can't it be everlasting? Like the sun that always shines? Like the poets in this rhyme? Like the galaxies in time?" I sung to myself.
I sighed, and shut the window.

I've been thinking about Michael a lot lately, and I've been missing him more than usual. I often wonder if he ever thinks about me, or even remembers my who I am. It's not hard to forget him, all I have to do is turn on Soul Train, or go into any music store in the world to see his face.

I made my way over to my bed, switched off my night lamp, and tried to get some sleep. I cuddled into the fluffy teddy bear that Michael won for me at a local fair back in 1968. I closed my eyes, and a series of flashbacks played over in my mind.

Michael running up to my porch one evening in the summer of 1965.

"Hey! I bought you your favorite candy! Cracker Jacks and Charleston chew!" he said to me as he ran short of breath.

I innocently kissed him on the cheek and told him how grateful I was.

Michael and I racing each other down the road so we could make it home before the street lights cut out.

"Josephs gonna kill me!" He yelled.

"Lies! I'd like to see him catch you, Speedy Gonzales!" I giggled.

His mother and father loading their Volkswagen with the family belongings as Michael and I said our final goodbyes before he departed to California.

"I'll come back to see you." Michael said as he wiped the tears from my face. "I promise."

Our pinkies locked tight for the last time.

I recalled this particular flashback so vividly, because it was the most emotional moment in my life. Not a word slipped out of my mouth. I couldn't even breathe. All I could do was bury my face into his chest and hold onto him for as long as I could before his brothers dragged him away from me. Michael was my first and only love, and even after all of these years, I waited every day for him to come back. I rejected dates, refused to go to my prom, and I kept everything Michael ever gave me, but he never came back.

I was instantly stirred out of my reflection, when I heard a knock at my door. I was hesitant to leave my bed. My parents left town for the weekend and I was all alone in this dangerous neighborhood. Who could be here at this hour in the night? Maybe one of my neighbours had an emergacy. I decided to go see who it was just in case.

I cautiously opened the front door, and was greeted by a tall, slender sillhouette of a man standing against the moonlight. I was scared to look him in the face, but when the two of us met eyes, I knew exactly who it was, and I was no longer frightened. In fact, I felt more safe than I ever had in a long, long time.