It all began with an advert in the personals column of the local newspaper. It read, “Magician’s assistant’s wanted. No experience necessary. Must be out-going. Auditions 8pm Wednesday, warehouse 12b Lincoln Road.” I decided to go for several reasons; some of them being; a possible job, and glamorous at that, had to be better than turning up at the unemployment office each fortnight and it might get me out of this dreary town. ...
Lisa and Arthur’s Box of Doom. It was after the interval and Lisa was anticipating being called to volunteer on the stage. The magician had approached her in the lobby and asked if she would be willing to participate in an illusion. She had said, “Yes, so long as there is no hypnosis involved.” She had heard about Quinn’s experience from Quinn herself and did not fancy ending up naked on stage. She was assured that someone else was already lined up for that. ...
It must have been about seven thirty in the morning when she walked out the door wearing her wetsuit, it clung to her lean body like a second skin keeping her warm in the September sun. She walked across the parking lot of her apartment complex, past her car, past the trees and the walkway. She then stopped and opened a door on the Dumpster, and tried to push her bag of trash into it. It was near full and reluctant to take it, but she persisted. ...