Magic Gardens
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The first thing that happened was the smell. It hit me when I walked onto the stage at the Magic Gardens, and for a few seconds, I thought it might be something magical happening inside my nose instead of in the room. My eyes watered, but there wasn’t any pain or itching.
It took me a second to realize what had happened: Aromas filled with notes of citrus, spices, and vanilla—the same smells that were on every table around me—had suddenly become too strong for me to tolerate. The only difference between this and an allergy attack was that nothing bad was happening.
I looked around for whoever had done it and saw a girl in her early twenties with short brown hair sitting near the front by the door. She wore loose black jeans, a white t-shirt, and a pair of old Doc Martens, and she held an open paperback book with one hand and a glass of wine in the other.
She looked up from her reading once, then went back to it. Her eyes met mine as I stood beside her seat, but she didn’t smile or wave me over, so I took the empty chair.
It wasn’t until after the show began that someone finally introduced themselves. I’d been wondering why no one talked before or during shows anymore. I mean, if you couldn’t hear anything through your earbuds anyway, how was a person supposed to know who they’re watching?
But now, as soon as the lights dimmed, the crowd started yelling out questions to the actors on stage. Some people called them by name while others shouted their titles, and all the noise made me miss everything except the most obvious things like what each character was wearing. So even though I knew who I was seeing, I never actually heard anyone’s voice until later.
“Hey,” the guy said, coming up behind me when he realized I hadn’t spoken yet. “Sorry, I guess we don’t have the kind of audience that likes to sit quietly.”
He had a friendly face. His features were clean-cut enough that you could picture him looking young for years to come; his hair was sandy blonde and cut short. He wore jeans tucked into a pair of black boots, and a black sweater that looked soft to the touch.
“My name is Jake,” he said. “You’re our first guest tonight, so please forgive us for the lack of attention. You’ll notice we don’t have much going on stage. Most of this is improvised, so just tell yourself it’s part of the show.”
There was laughter in his voice, but I wasn’t sure about the rest of him. There wasn’t any malice to his tone, just something more playful than serious. Like he was trying hard not to offend me with his words. Or maybe that was exactly what he was doing.
He seemed to notice my frown because he added, “We want everyone to feel comfortable here, and we’re used to playing in places where the atmosphere isn’t conducive to being quiet, but if it gets too loud, I’ll ask people to turn down the volume.”
“Thank you,” I said. And then because I felt like I should say something else, “It’s nice to meet you.”
His face lit up a little at that and he smiled. “You bet,” he said. “If you need anything, let us know. If it’s food or drink, just flag one of our waitresses over and they’ll take care of you.” Then he turned around and left.
And just like that, the show began.
“This is a story about three friends,” Jake told us as the curtain rose. He stood at the center of the stage, facing us. “But none of these characters are real. These stories aren’t based on truth, but rather the truth behind what lies beyond the truth.”
A momentary pause. Then a few more words to introduce his next character:
“These characters are based on the true lives of five people who became lost in time and space. They’ve lived many lives, and traveled from place to place, but never quite found a home. They found love along the way, but never found happiness because their paths were always cut off somewhere before they ever reached their destination.”
Jake continued with his introduction, telling us how these men and women were bound together by magic—not some sort of supernatural force, but instead the simple power of friendship. As he spoke, he brought in his cast members: four women standing against the wall behind him and a couple of guys who stepped forward and joined him onstage.
They weren’t all there, however. The first woman was a ghost. Not a spectral figure floating above her head with her eyes shut tight, but a living body in the world, albeit a pale, transparent version of herself. She wore a bright red dress and her blond hair hung loosely around her shoulders and waist.
When she opened her eyes, I saw the blue color underneath her pupils. Her smile lit up her face, making her look young again.
Then came the second woman.
She had brown hair and was dressed as if she were in the nineteenth century. She wore a plain gray dress and held a white parasol in her hand as she walked onto the stage. The sun shone brightly through her hair, and for a moment, I thought she might be an angel.
The third woman’s face was unfamiliar to me, which was strange because she was supposed to be dead. But when she opened her mouth and took a deep breath, all doubt was gone. It was like her death gave way to life. All the lines in her face smoothed out and her cheeks flushed; the wrinkles disappeared from her forehead.
I tried hard not to stare because I knew she’d notice, but she didn’t seem aware of me at all. I think it was only her physical presence that drew me in so completely; it was nothing more than a trick of my mind that made me believe we shared more than just flesh.
We were connected somehow, and when I closed my eyes, I could see the light within her eyes shining even brighter than the sun overhead.
And finally, after bringing in two more men to round out his cast, there was Jake himself. In jeans and a black hoodie, he looked more like an average Joe than anyone else in the room. A regular guy, but a good-looking one nonetheless.
No special powers or extraordinary talents to speak of, and no sign of any magical abilities whatsoever. His appearance, coupled with his normal demeanor, made me realize that whatever happened here tonight was probably something I shouldn’t expect to happen again.
But then Jake turned toward the audience and raised his hands, and his whole act changed. He became a man on fire. Fire danced across his skin, making me wonder if he really was burning alive. Flames crawled up his arms and dripped off the tips of his fingers as he wove them through the air, creating a pattern that was both beautiful and sinister.
And all at once, the flame faded away and vanished from his fingertips.
There was no fire anymore.
He lowered his arms. There wasn’t so much as a hint of smoke anywhere on his skin. And yet there was still a glow emanating from him, and when I met his gaze, I saw that he knew exactly what I was seeing too.
“Do you feel it?” he asked quietly. “That connection between us? Do you see it in your heart and in your soul?”
I nodded slowly because I felt it deep inside. But I couldn’t say a word. For the briefest moment, I wished that I could talk with someone who’d seen things like this before. Someone who understood my confusion, and perhaps even agreed with me that this was wrong.
Jake continued to hold my gaze and I waited for a response.
But he only gazed back, saying nothing about what had happened, or whether or not we were actually sharing some sort of energy. I wanted to believe that he did understand, but at the same time, I didn’t want to give in to my wishful thinking, because if the truth of what was happening was real, then there would be no need to explain it to me.
“It won’t last forever,” Jake said eventually, breaking our eye contact and looking away from me. “We’ll have to end the show soon enough.”
The others stood silent, as well, waiting for something more from Jake.
When he spoke next, I was surprised by the gentleness and sadness in his tone.
“I’m going to take my friends away from here now. They’ll all go their separate ways tomorrow, and they’re all free to do as they please without worrying about being watched over or followed.” He paused and looked down briefly as if remembering something. “I hope that means you don’t have any hard feelings about the way you’ve been treated lately.”
He turned to look at me, and his expression was so kind that I believed him right away. “You know, it’s strange how sometimes, people are given gifts—gifts that can make a difference in the lives of others”—he paused and shrugged—”but the price is having someone constantly watching them, keeping them from being themselves.
Or even worse, destroying them in order to find what’s best for everyone around them.” He sighed heavily. “No matter how wonderful the gift is, or what it brings into the world, there will always come a day when those gifts turn against the ones who’ve used them the most, especially if that person has done something unforgivable in another life.
Sometimes a little blood is necessary to cleanse the spirit.”
Jake stared at me with sad eyes. Then he glanced behind him at his fellow magicians, and I could tell he was speaking with more than just his voice. He was trying to communicate something important to me, something deeper and darker than I might ever understand. And I wondered if he had a reason for choosing me, or if he’d simply fallen prey to an impulse and made a mistake.
“You don’t have to worry about them anymore,” he repeated, “but you do have to worry about yourself. I’m afraid that your days of innocence are coming to an end. The darkness is coming, and it wants something precious from you. You should pray that you never find out what it is.”
As he said these final words, Jake turned toward his friends and led the applause.
Then he walked over to me, took my hand, and held it tight. I didn’t try to pull away; I just watched as he led me outside the building.
“What happens now?” I whispered as we got closer to my car. “Do you think they’ll follow you home?”
“If they try,” he replied softly, “then I’ll have a friend there waiting for them. If I remember correctly, that friend doesn’t like to share her territory easily.”
I nodded, but when we reached the parking lot, Jake pulled me close and wrapped his arms tightly around me.
He buried his face in the side of my neck, and for a moment, I thought that he was kissing me, but then he kissed me instead on the mouth. It was gentle and sweet, and I closed my eyes and let myself become lost in his embrace. His breath was warm, and the sensation of his lips was so soft that it made me sigh softly.
I could have gone on like that forever.
But then there were footsteps on the gravel nearby. And suddenly, a familiar voice called out.
“Jake! Wait!”
I knew who was calling him, and I also knew that she wouldn’t leave him alone until she was certain he was safe.
But Jake didn’t stop. Instead, he broke free from me, grabbed my wrist, and tugged hard. When I realized that I couldn’t go anywhere without him, I tried to pull away again, but he held onto my arm fiercely.
“Don’t leave me,” Jake whispered, staring at me with a mixture of longing and anger. “Please.”
For a long while, we simply stood together on the dark road, not speaking, not moving. But then Jake turned and went back inside the building.
And that was the last I saw of him.
The End