Seer

Magic Trick

It was the end of my aunt's stay at our house, which I was quite sad about, because she was a very gentle and kind person. To say goodbye, we were having a big roast dinner.

Food reigned for a few minutes, so only the gentle clanking of plates and scraping of forks could be heard. I liked this mealtime. It was quiet, the food was scrumptious, and the company was friendly.

Everyone was enjoying their dinner. It really was delicious - cold chicken, carrots, stuffing, Yorkshire puddings, peas, gravy, roast potatoes and cranberry sauce. I especially liked the stuffing.

"Patricia, did I ever tell you about Cadenza's new magic trick?" my mother asked my aunt, deciding the silence had gone on long enough. "It really is very clever."

"You didn't tell me, Grace. It sounds fascinating." Aunt Patricia replied politely. As if by some unwritten rule, my aunt and my mother were more reserved around each other, like it was forbidden for sisters in law to be as laid back in a relationship as my aunt and father were.

"You must see it before you go." my mother insisted, to which Aunt Patricia nodded, and the whole family turned to look at me expectantly.

"Oh...I've never done it in front of anyone before." I said, flustered. That was true. My mother had found out by accident, when I was practising and didn't notice her come in. Although I strongly suspected my mother had told my father and sister about it, I don't think anyone else had seen it.

"She's only eleven." my aunt said kindly, turning back to her chicken. "It's understandable to be nervous."

I smiled gratefully at her, having no wish to perform anything to anyone, being quite shy in my personality. However, my mother had different ideas.

"Cadenza, I'm sure you can manage. Come on, now. Do it like you did it in your room." my mother ordered. All eyes were back on me, including Aunt Patricia, who was looking at me more intently;  something that did not help my nerves.

I concentrated for a few moments, and shakily, my fork levitated a few inches off my plate. My mother looked very proud, my father looked very impressed, my little sister looked awed. Aunt Patricia had gone white.

"Aunt Patricia? Are you alright?" I asked her, being the only one to have noticed her rapid change of colour. Having lost my concentration, my fork clattered to my plate, waking the rest of my family from their stunned trance.

"Yes, thank you, Cadenza. That was very impressive." she replied, not quite looking at me.

"Thank you." I smiled, and the moment was lost.

"Again! Do it again!" chanted my nine year old sister.

"Melody, leave her alone!" laughed my mother. I smiled again.

"So, Cadenza, how does that trick work?" asked my father seriously. "It's very impressive, and I'd love to be able to show it off to my colleagues at work, if you'll teach me."

Everyone was staring at me again.

"Um...I'm not really sure." I said, blushing.
To my surprise, my father laughed.

"You can't tell me, I get it. What if I gave you some extra pocket money?" he bribed.

My aunt was frowning.

"Connelly, everyone knows that if you tell someone how a trick works, the magic is lost." she told him.

"Not even for a fiver? Go on, Caddy. I have a burning curiosity now you've shown it to me properly." my father whined jokingly.

"Stop complaining, Connelly. It's her secret." my mother scolded him, smiling. "Let's go through to the living room, shall we?"