I Believe in Magic - Phan [#Wattys2017]

Chapter 26 - Trouvaille

In full attire, Phil bowed as his audience cheered for The Illusionist. Another successful performance.

The show was over for the night, and the crew, including Phil, was all busy packing up and cleaning after the show. However, as Phil removed his top hat, he heard a knock at his dressing room door. Expecting it to be Dan or a crew member, he happily announced for them to step in.

Instead, there was a young girl, no older than twelve or thirteen, with a rare backstage pass around her neck. Shyly, she stood at the door, not stepping forward. "Um," she asked, twirling her brown ponytail in her fingers, "i-is this Mr. Lester? The Illusionist?"

A slow smile lined Phil's face. A fan? Of his? He nodded. "Yes! I'm The Illusionist."

She grinned, her eyebrows still indicating her nerves about seeing him. "Wow," she sighed to herself. "It's really you!"

Phil laughed. "Yeah, it's me. What's your name?"

"Sarah," she stated. "I-I love your magic! It's like nothing I've ever seen!"

"I get that a lot. Why don't you have a seat, Sarah?" He offered her a dressing room chair.

"Thank you, sir. I come to your shows all the time! I used to spend a lot of time in the dancer's theater but then I saw you and I was... hooked, I guess!"

Phil was almost unsure of what to say. He'd met plenty of fans before in his years with the show, but no one seemed so nervous, or so intrigued to see him. "Well I'm so happy you like it!"

"Could I get your autograph?" she asked, taking out and holding up a small notebook and pen.

"Of course!" Phil would – if he were on stage – make the ink of the pen spell out his signature via magic, but off stage and up close with people, he didn't mess with it. He took the pen and drew out his name and a happy-face for her.

She looked at it, smiling almost painfully. Another knock came from the door.

"Sarah?" a woman poked her head in. She stepped in fully and held her hand out to Phil. "Hello, sir! I'm Christine, Sarah's mother."

He shook her hand. "Nice to meet you. You've got a lovely daughter."

She looked to her girl, still admiring the autograph. "Are you about ready to go?"

"Can I please stay longer, Mum?"

"Don't you want to see the acrobats too? They're beginning to leave. If you stay here any longer, they'll all be home by the time we get to their stage."

She sighed because her mother was right. "Alright." Standing, the girl stuck her hand out to Phil. "Such a pleasure meeting you! I'll always be watching your shows! Promise!"

He shook her hand. "I'll be watching for you!"

With a fangirling grin, she reluctantly left The Illusionist's dressing room to go and meet the acrobats. As Sarah and her mother transferred to the other stage, they met a man who was protectively making sure his crew was safe and ready to go home. More or less, he found them. He noticed the backstage passes, and shook hands.

"How do you like WFM?" he asked the girl.

"It's amazing! Everyone is so perfect! And The Illusionist... he's my favourite!"

"Really? Mine too. My name is Dan Howell. I'm the owner of World's Finest Magic."

Young Sarah seemed awestruck to be in the presence of the one who owned the most thrilling place on earth for her. He told her that, at World's Finest, they take pride in their magicians, so he was happy to see her enjoying them.

"Sir?" she said, her tone changing from upbeat and excited down to serious and skeptical. "May I ask you something?"

"Of course."

Even her mother seemed a bit shocked by the sudden change of mood.

"None of my friends believe in magic. They call me childish for believing in such things. But they've never seen The Illusionist or any of the magicians here. Particularly The Illusionist, of course. Something about his tricks is just so... incredible. No one I know has ever seen anything like it. But I don't know... I want to believe, but how can I? Mr. Howell, is magic real? Do you believe in magic?"

Dan's face looked saddened by her story, but instantly reverted to a joyous look. "Do I believe in magic? Sweetie, I've seen some amazing things. Some things that cannot be explained by a scientist or logic. Some things scared me. Some things excited me. Some things I don't understand."

Her face turned perplexedly.

"Of course I do. How else would a magic show run without magic? How could The Illusionist do any tricks without it? Of course I believe in magic."

She smiled brightly. "Thank you, sir," she hummed. "It was nice talking with you." She turned to her mother. "Lets go see the acrobats now, quick!"

Her mother glanced at Dan and shot him an inaudible "thank you" as her daughter dragged her away.

When people ask Dan if he believed in magic, he would always say yes. Not for humour, not for children's imaginations, not for any silly cause. Dan was one of the few people in the world that could really say that he did, and he truly always would, believe in magic.

If magic wasn't real, I never would have found him, he thought.

He no longer felt any fear with him. He was completely safe, and nothing about his paranormal powers made him uncomfortable in the slightest. He just loved him.

He made his way through the halls of WFM until reaching The Illusionist's dressing room door, where he would ask if he was ready to go, and leave with him, hand in hand. He would feel warmth in his fingers as usual – the same blushing sensation of having been amazed by him the first time, years ago.

Even before Phil, Dan believed in magic. If he didn't, he would not have dreamt of it. He would not have craved it. Magic is real – in one form or another.

Dan knocked at his magician's door.

"Come in," he heard Phil call.

He stepped in. "Great show tonight."

"Thanks." He was already out of his performance attire and now in his street clothes.

"I'm having Laurie lock up tonight. Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

Dan took Phil's hand and locked fingers with him, the both of them walking home to their flat together, breathing in the crisp night air as the wind swayed.