Short Stories

The Illusion - Short Story 3

"Finally, after a whole month of waiting! I can't believe it's here!" my younger brother Jeremy squealed as we pulled into a gravel parking lot in our Honda Civic. A white theater sat in front of us.

"Did I really have to come?" I complained; we were here to watch Russel Blink, a supposedly famous magician, and hypnotist.  My brother was his biggest fan, with multiple T-shirts with his name on them, trading cards, and even a bobblehead. 

"Yes, Rose, you do," my mother responded, "I don't want to tell you again. You've been complaining the whole ride up here. 

"You better watch it," my father advised, "or next time, nobody will come to your next soccer game." I sighed.

We got out of the car and made our way up to the theater. After buying snacks and using the bathroom, we found our seats. I'd have to admit, for a guy who only became known about a year ago, he drew a decent sized audience. 

After only a few minutes, the lights dimmed, and a tall man came on stage. He wore a red shirt and black pants. His gray hair was slicked back and his beard appeared freshly combed and trimmed.

"Heeeeellooooo, ladies and gentlemen!" he spoke with a very animated voice, "I am Russel Blink, but if you blink during my show, you're sure to miss something!" The audience chuckled. 

"Anyway, welcome to my show! I am so happy that you all came out, and, if you guys are prepared, I'd say we get started!"

The audience roared. My brother squealed. I rolled my eyes.

"First, I'll begin with a simple trick," he began, and he proceeded to pull out three ropes: one short, one longer, and one even longer. He continued to "magically" make each rope the same length, then bring them back to normal length.

He continued doing tricks for about 45 minutes, and I'd have to admit, they were ok. But nothing really impressed me that much.

"Now, for my next trick, I will need a volunteer," he declared. Almost everyone younger than 20 in the audience raised their hand. Everyone except me.

"Hmmm..." he thought, "who shall I choose? Aha! How about you, young lady, who doesn't seem very happy to be here." 

He pointed a finger into the audience. Directly at me.

"Go, go, go!" Jeremy pushed me forward.

"No way!" I whisper-screamed, but Russel had already come off stage to grab my hand and pull me up.

"What is your name, young lady, and how old are you?" Russel asked, handing me his microphone.

"M-my name is R-Rose," I babbled but gained more confidence as I spoke, "and I'm 14 years old."

"Who did you unwillingly come with today?"

"My parents and my brother Jeremy. He's a huge fan," I answered.

"Well, maybe he would like to personally meet me after the show?"

Someone cried "YES!" in the audience, undoubtedly my brother. Russel laughed.

"So, Rose, how would you like to be hypnotized?" he challenged. I gulped. I wanted to say no, but I didn't want to look like a chicken in front of the audience. 

"O-ok," I stammered.

"Great!" He turned to the viewers, "what should we make her think?"

Several screams began at once, but one was louder than the rest.

"Make her think we're having an earthquake!" 

Soon the audience was changing their minds and chanting about an earthquake. Russel nodded in agreement.

"Rose, I want to you look into this spiral."

Russel pulled out a spinning spiral mechanism and began to twirl it. 

"This isn't going to work," I muttered but did what he said.

"You are getting very sleepy," he spoke slowly. My eyes felt heavy. "You will go to sleep when I snap my fingers." Snap!  My head felt heavy, and I closed my eyes. I was in a weird state, halfway between sleeping and being fully awake.

"When I snap my fingers again, you will wake up, thinking there is an earthquake. When I clap my hands, you will go back to normal." I heard Russel's voice say.

Snap! 

My eyes shot open, then shot open wider. The ground was shaking. I didn't physically see in moving, but for some reason, and don't ask me how, it felt like it was shaking.

"Why-why is the ground shaking?" I panicked and fell to the floor, grabbing onto it.

I looked up at the audience. They weren't panicking. In fact, they were laughing. I screamed.

Clap!

I felt like I had just woken up, after being just half awake. I looked up. The crowd was laughing and applauding. 

Woah. I had just been hypnotized. 

It was weird to think about it now. How foolish I had been. There was never an earthquake. I just believed there was.

Russel helped me up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Rose!" The audience clapped.

I was still a little dazed as I went back to my seat.

Maybe this is not so bad after all.

--

Writer's note:

I hope you liked this one. It was kind of rushed, but I hope you enjoyed anyway!

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