Mike, an old college friend called me a few weeks ago and asked if I would help him out.
Mike's a stage magician who's been moderately successful - his performances always contain innovative illusions, but he finds it hard to get the whole of the show together.
His most recent show fell apart after his assistant fell ill and he couldn't perform.
"Well Mike, I can see how you're in trouble, but how can I help?", I asked.
"I need someone to look over the show and suggest how I can give it some sparkle. Actually, I was hoping Jana could make some suggestions too!". Jana was a friend at college who Mike had dated briefly before leaving to pursue his magic career. We'd been pretty close.
"I'm sure she'd like to help. Can you come over here?"
"Dave, I'm 400 kilometers away!", Mike said with a laugh. "I'll fly you both over here for a few weeks."
I thought for a few seconds, then "Sure. We've got nothing much doing, and we both have leave we have to take before we lose it. I'll book some flights."
---
Three weeks later...
The taxi pulled up outside a large warehouse in an industrial area of town.
"Are you sure this is it?" I asked the driver.
"This is the address you gave me.".
We got out of the taxi with our bags and watched as it sped off into the afternoon sun. In the distance I could hear sea gulls.
"Maybe we can get some time in on the beach?" Jana asked, looking at the grimy surroundings.
We carried our bags to the open doors of the warehouse. On the door was a simple sign "Illusion Enterprises".
"Well, that's the right name". The door was ajar, so we went in. Beyond was a couple of small offices and two doors. We dropped our bags in the first office, then went through the only unlocked door.
"Oh my God!", Jana gasped. The room beyond was huge - at least 40 meters deep and wide, and it was full of props. "There must be every illusion ever in here!".
"Guys! Great to see you." Mike came out from behind some boxes. "Yep, there's pretty much everything you've ever seen on stage and a whole lot you haven't in here."
Jana gave him a peck on the cheek. "You're looking tired Mike.".
"Do you want a tour?"
"We sure do. I've been wanting to see your stuff for years", Jana said. Mike blushed...
---
I followed them around for a bit, then left them alone - they obviously had some catching up to do, and I was really just along for moral support.
Later that evening, I met them again.
"So, Mike, any ideas?"
"Jana has some - but they're a big change."
"Just what's needed," interjected Jana, "your show is too much like everyone else's."
"OK, you tell him what you suggested."
"No, let's show him instead. Just the first illusion."
They led me back to the warehouse, talking in low voices.
Once inside, Jana disappeared off into the shadows. Mike moved a couple of covered boxes into a cleared area. "When we perform we'll have a real stage and some other assistants, but you'll get the idea. Take a seat."
I sat on one of the folding seats that were around the area. The rest of the warehouse was in darkness, creating the illusion of an enclosed area.
The two boxes were about 6' tall and about man (or woman, I suspected) sized. "What am I going to see? Mismade? Zig-Zag?"
"Nothing you've ever seen before - it's something Jana and I came up with this afternoon. Just sit back and relax. Oh, and think about how we could improve this."
Jana emerged from the darkness, wearing a white silk gown. She turned slowly, grinning. "Do I look like a real assistant?"
The gown clung to her breasts and torso, leaving little to the imagination. It was low-cut behind, with just a few straps holding it on her back. The skirt was modest, but clung to her legs.
I just nodded.
Mike took her hand and led her over the the left-hand box. "My lovely assistant Jana will now help me with a card trick.". Jana pulled the cloth from the box revealing a roughly humanoid shaped box, with a torso and separate arm, leg and head boxes.
The box was metallic blue, and on the front were sections of a lighter blue.
Smiling, Jana slid the different coloured section, which I now realised was a sort of card, out of its holder and turned it around. On the front was a line drawing of a woman's face. She held it up next to her own smiling face, then put it back in the holder with the drawing facing out.
Moving more quickly, she turned over the other cards, revealing hands, arms, feet, lower and upper legs, bikini pants, belly and finally separate left and right breasts covered by a triangle bikini top.
"Let's do the other version Mike.". Mike looked startled.
"I'll change them once you're in, if you're sure?"
Jana nodded.
"Now, my lovely assistant will climb inside the box." Mike quickly flipped open the front of the torso, legs and head boxes, which allowed Jana to climb in and place her arms into the arm boxes.
Mike closed the boxes, except for the head, hand and feet and spun the whole cabinet around on its casters. Jana smiled and waved her hands and feet.
"Now, we begin." Mike closed all the doors and spun the box once more.
"Jana was wearing a gown when she went in, but on the front here she's wearing a bikini. What colour should that be Dave?"
I grinned. "How about rainbow coloured crossed with cold metallic threads." No sense in making it easy.
Mike laughed. "Trying to catch us out?". He opened the belly door and revealed Jana's naked belly.
I clapped briefly.
He continued, opening the leg doors and arm doors, revealing that the gown was no longer to be seen. "And now...", he opened the breast doors together, revealing Jana's breasts, covered in a brief rainbow and gold thread triangle bikini top.
"And finally", he revealed matching bikini pants. He spun the box around.
"It's getting drafty in here", complained Jana, somewhat muffled.
She made quite a sight, her head hidden behind the door, and the rest of her almost naked body on show. Mike opened the head box, and quickly closed the other boxes.
"Now,", said Jana with a slight tremble in her voice, "Dave, would you care to come up and pick a card?"
I stood and walked up to the box, looking at the different cards.
"Oh, go on, take one of my tits if you must - I know that's what you want!", Jana said grinning, "Men!".
I reached out and lifted out the left breast card. When I did, I realised that there were two cards in the holder, the one with the bikini top on, and one without. Mike took the naked breast card and put it back in.
"Pick some other bits now," he said, closing the head box. I took her left foot, right calf, left arm and right hand.
"Thanks, now sit back down."
Once I was sitting, Mike spun the box around, then opened the left foot box to reveal nothing! He continued on the other boxes I'd removed cards from with similar results until he got to the left breast. When he opened that, as I expected, he revealed a naked breast.
"Wow, now it's really drafty," came from inside the box. He quickly opened the other boxes to reveal all was as before - her right breast sill covered and the rest of her body still intact.
Mike moved off to one side, and started a piece of music on the CD player. Moving to its' beat, he shut all the doors with Jana behind them and removed the left calf, right arm, left hand, and right bikini, then opened the doors again, revealing a rather strange sight: Jana now consisted of a single (right foot), two thighs and a torso naked apart from her bikini pants, with no arms.
Jana smiled as he shut the few remaining inhabited boxes, and removed her remaining pieces except the head. He opened the boxes, revealing just Jana's head remained.
Leaving Jana, Mike uncovered the second box set, which was the same as the first, except in deep red. Talking as he placed the cards from the first cabinet into the second, he said "I call this illusion "The World's slowest teleporter".
Jana snorted. "I call it tits and arse!"
"Just for that...", Mike dropped the two bikini top pieces, leaving just naked breasts.
"Oooh, go on, do your worst", Jana laughed.
Mike opened the fronts of the boxes, revealing Jana's body, minus head, wearing just bikini pants. Her head looked on from across the lit area.
Mike closed the door over her head and removed the card. He moved over to her body and put the card into the red cabinet's door, and opened it, revealing her smiling face. The doors sprung open, and the nearly-naked Jana strutted out, took Mikes hand and bowed toward me.
I clapped like I never have before.
Jana ran off into the darkness, and came back seconds later wearing a white robe. "So, what did you think?"
"Unbelievable".
"It's just the beginning", she said, "but I think it gives you some idea."
---
"It's not bad, but it's too slow." We were sitting around the office table, Jana still in her robe, discussing the illusion.
"We could make just one leg part?" Jana suggested. Mike nodded. "And I could either keep my top on or start off topless."
"Starting topless would spoil it.", I said. "It's a sort of strip-tease - the audience doesn't know what's going to happen or how far you'll go.".
Jana nodded. "It was my idea to go topless - I think it adds something to the illusion!"
I wasn't surprised; Jana often sunbathed topless. I wondered how she'd feel in front of an audience.
"Well, it's late now, and we've got work to do in the morning", said Mike. I looked at my watch with a start and realised it was 12:30am. "There are beds in the rooms over the hall.".
We retired to our beds in the previously locked section, where Mike was living. I wondered what the morning would bring...
To be continued.