Shamanka
Authors: Jeanne Willis
For
Sylvie Jane Wilcock
,
because sheâ
s magical
.
With thanks to
Cher Adeyinka
,
who knows a trick or two
.
HE
M
AGICIAN'S
O
ATH
As a magician, I promise never to reveal the secret of any illusion to a non-magician without first swearing them to the Magician's Oath. I promise never to perform any illusion for any non-magician without first practising the effect until I can perform it well enough to maintain the illusion of magic.
Signed________________________________
Y
ou might think you are alone, but I can see you. You can't see me because I'm in disguise, but one day you
will
see me. You might even see straight through me. After all, you have spectacular hidden powers.
You do realize you have hidden powers, don't you? We all have them, but most people are too lazy or too stupid to use them. Not you though; you have great potential.
Shortly, you will no longer be where you are now. There's no need to get up. You don't have to move a muscle. I will simply wave my wand and shift the scenery around ⦠like so!
You are sitting in the front row of a grand old theatre. I've given you the best seat so you won't miss a trick. There will be many tricks because this is a magic show, and I have volunteered you for the main act. While this may come as a shock, please remain calm. Do not attempt to leave during the interval. If you do, you will miss out on a whole lot more than the ice cream lady.
There are people around you rustling and fidgeting, waiting for the show to begin. They want to be surprised and fooled by magic. They're weary of this world and its harsh rules. They yearn to be taken to a place where the impossible happens; where elephants hide under teacups and ladies smile when they're sawn in half. Oh, to be able to forget about sorrow and suffering and rise above gravity! Or to become invisible. Or to produce anything you desire out of thin air. How happy we would be.
Hush! The lights are dimming. There is a roll of drums. As the curtain begins to rise, the chattering stops. Children with their own hopes and dreams merge into one child in the darkness, eyes drawn to the centre of the stage by the hypnotic spotlight; you are no longer aware of your surroundings or yourself.
There's a thunder crack! A puff of scarlet smoke! You are mesmerized as it uncurls like a phantom serpent. As the smoke clears, a strange figure in a mask emerges from an impossibly small cauldron; how did the Masked Magician ever fit inside it?
There's no time to puzzle it out or you will miss what happens next. The magician produces a rope out of nowhere and throws it into the air. Somehow, this rope â which you know to be bendy â stands upright and hovers with no visible anchor.
The Masked Magician whistles into the wings. A monkey disguised as a boy (or could it be a boy disguised as a monkey?) bounds across the stage and climbs to the top of the rope. You wonder how it's possible for him to do this without the rope collapsing; can the laws of nature really be broken?
The Masked Magician instructs the creature to come down at once. It refuses.
It climbs higher and higher, then vanishes ⦠just like that! Perhaps you blinked at the wrong moment. You thought your eyes were open, but you blinked.
Again, the magician asks the invisible monkey to come back down. It just cackles and hurls tomatoes, which splatter on the stage. It must be up there still, this monkeyâboy; tomatoes don't just fall from theatre roofs.
The Masked Magician pulls out a cutlass, climbs the rope and slashes wildly with the flashing blade. There are curdling screams as a shower of severed limbs thump into the cauldron below.
A little girl is bundled out of the theatre by her mother; this is not suitable entertainment for children. Where are the rabbits? The top hats? The pretty silks?
But
you
are not afraid; you're fascinated. You're watching to see how the illusion is done. You're certain it's an illusion and you hold your eyelids open with your thumb and finger so that you won't blink. The Masked Magician climbs back down the rope to a cacophony of hisses and boos; the audience is outraged by the barbaric slaughter of the small assistant.
The magician shows no remorse and, with a wand, stirs the limbs in the cauldron adding squashed tomatoes all the while. Is the poor creature to be cooked?
Watch carefully and you will see a foot begin to twitch, then an arm, then a hand, then out leaps the monkey, alive and well! The whole theatre sighs with relief. There is laughter, applause, disbeliefâ¦
“How? How?
How?
”
The magician floats to the front of the stage, stops right in front of you and bows deeply. Two glittering eyes stare into yours, boring through the slits in the mask. A shiver plays along your spine. You have been singled out for attention and, while you feel uneasy, isn't it exciting?
Here is the truth: the whole show has been put on just for you. Now the Masked Magician beckons with a long, gloved finger. You rise from your seat and walk onto the stage as if in a trance.
We meet at last! I am the Masked Magician, allow me to shake your hand. Your palm is sweating. It leaves an imprint on my glove. Don't be nervous, I'm happy to answer your questions. Who am I? What do I want from you?
All will be revealed. But only if you join me on a quest which will take you to the four corners of the Earth. This journey has only ever been attempted once by a child, but she was wiser and braver than any adult that ever lived â at least she was until you came along.
Her name was Sam Khaan and she learnt the truth about magic the hard way. This is your chance to take the easy route. Shortly, you will re-trace her footsteps. I will be with you throughout the journey, disguised as a camel or a cloud or a cat, depending on circumstances. In case you lose sight of me in my ever-changing guises, here are my travel tips â observe them or be damned.
1. As you travel through these unchartered pages, keep your mind open but your mouth closed. This will keep the sand out and the secrets in.
2. Lay your soul bare, but wear a big hat in the hot sun or your brain will bake.
3. Watch out for anacondas and anagrams. Remember: An
anaconda
is the name of a snake that twists itself around you. An
anagram
is a name that twists around itself, like a snake.
Now you know what's afoot, you can either put this book down like a coward and forget I exist, or you can turn the page and we will set off around the globe. I hope you will join me because you really are wonderful company and a lot more fun than your friends.
First you must relax. Loosen your clothing and let your shoulders drop. Let the rest of the world and all its sounds and distractions fade into the background. Concentrate on my voice, the voice of the Masked Magician. Breathe slowly and deeply. In ⦠and out. In ⦠and out. Drifting away ⦠drifting ⦠drifting.
On the count of three, I will take you back in time to when Sam Khaan was almost thirteen and living in abject misery with her mad, bad, sad Aunt Candy in London. Here we go.
One ⦠two ⦠three.
OW TO PUSH A CUP THROUGH A TABLE
The masked magician places a coin on the table, lifts up a cup and brings it down hard over the coin. The cup goes right through the table and drops from underneath it.
THE SECRET
You need: a plastic cup, a paper napkin, a coin, a table
1. Sit at the table with your audience facing you.
2. Place the cup over the coin and wrap the cup in the napkin.
3. Lift the cup and tell the audience to concentrate on the coin.
4. Secretly drop the cup onto your lap, still holding the napkin, which should be in the shape of the cup. This is known as an “ashra” device â the audience thinks the cup's still inside it.