The Magic Shop

A Strange Visit





Marcus reached out to his sister. “What is it?” He hadn’t seen her react to anything this way before. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” Ellie breathed deep. “Just spooked.”

“About what?”

Marcus hesitated a moment, and then bent to pick up the paper. He wanted to know what would cause his sister to act like this, but he didn’t expect what he saw.

He held the sketch that Caleb had drawn for Grandpa that last time they had visited the State Hospital. But Marcus realized that this wasn’t why Ellie had reacted the way she did. Caleb had drawn the man who had visited the shop and had stolen the skull.

Marcus stood and considered the drawing for some time. “How could Caleb have drawn this?” he asked in a hushed voice.

“I don’t know, but this is starting to freak me out a bit. I think I need to just get away for a little while.”

“You need to get some rest,” Marcus said. “Why don’t you just go to bed? We’ll figure this out in the morning.”

Ellie nodded and crossed her arms in front of her. “Okay.” Then she left for her room.

Marcus made his way to his bedroom slowly with Tofu sauntering after him. He had so many questions and no answers. He flopped down on his bed. His mind wandered all over the place. Tofu curled up in his regular spot at the end of the bed.

Mixed emotions filled Marcus as he held up the picture. Was he going crazy? He felt angry and afraid. He felt like he was experiencing a sensory overload. Like Ellie, he just wanted to turn off for a while.

Marcus pounded his pillow. His curiosity was piqued. He had seen the unexplainable before; things he didn’t dare put into words. He wanted to know more; he wanted to understand.

Every few minutes Marcus tossed and turned. He played things over and over in his mind. His grandparents wouldn’t tell them anything; that much was certain. But they were running from something, perhaps this man on the sketch in his hands. But how did Caleb know to draw him? How could Caleb have known something before it happened? Was this paper a warning to his grandparents? No, that thought was insane. But while he couldn’t explain it, he had the proof right in his hands. Caleb knew something.

And that was the last thought Marcus had before he fell asleep.

He awoke to a dull ache in his head. He rubbed his eyes and tried to run a hand through his hair, but something was in the way.

“Get off my head,” Marcus said with a chuckle as he pushed Tofu to one side. The dog rolled over, and then popped his head up and yawned wide. His little tongue hung out of his mouth.

“Tell me that yesterday didn’t really happen,” he said. Tofu whimpered.

Marcus got out of bed and heard something crumple beneath his feet when he stood. He stooped and picked up the piece of paper—Caleb’s drawing.

“Marcus, Ellie!” Grandma called from downstairs. “Come down for breakfast, please.”

Ellie emerged from her room dragging her feet one step at a time like a zombie. Her eyes were only half open.

“Did you get any sleep?” Marcus asked, meeting her at the banister. Ellie curled her lip at him.

They went downstairs and entered the kitchen to find eggs, toast, and a bowl of cereal at each of their places. A pot steamed on the stove. Grandma scurried around putting kitchen items in brown boxes.

“What are you doing, Grandma?” Ellie asked, her shoulders drooping.

“I’m packing, dear, just like we talked about last night.”

“Can’t we talk about this some more? I don’t want to move.”

“This isn’t up for discussion, Ellie,” her grandma said. “This is a decision that your grandpa and I made for the good of the family.”

“I hate this,” Ellie balled her fists, “you’re ruining our lives.” Then she ran out of the room.

Charlotte sighed. “And how are you handling this, Marcus?”

“I’m confused, and I’m worried about Ellie. A lot has happened recently, you know, things we can’t explain.”

“Can’t explain?” Grandma retrieved ingredients from their pantry and added them to pot. She didn’t say anything else for a while. “Maybe you should take Ellie to a movie or something.” She stirred the pot on the stove. “Maybe that would get her mind off of this a little bit.”

Marcus opened his mouth to say what a silly idea that was; that Ellie didn’t really like movies, she liked books. He wanted to say that she should toughen up.

The first words passed his lips. “That’s a stup—” then he stopped himself mid-word. As the words started to come out, he realized that he had an opportunity here.

“That’s a stupendous idea, Grandma.”

“Well then,” she said, surprised, “let me get you some money.” She left the kitchen to find her purse.

He couldn’t believe this. He needed to find Ellie to explain that this was their chance.

A minute later she returned with her handbag. “Okay, here’s some money, Marcus,” Grandma flicked through bills like a banker at a teller window. “You should have enough there for the movie, some treats, and even a meal.”

“Thanks Grandma, I’ll go find Ellie and see what she wants to see.”

“That would be nice of you, dear. She seems like she could use a few hours away from all of this. Just make sure you are home by 6 P.M. tonight. You still need to pack, you know.”

With a nod, Marcus stashed the cash in his pocket. The stove pot began to bubble.

“What are you cooking?” he asked, smelling something odd.

“Just making some of our homemade licorice, dear.”

“You know I love licorice,” Marcus raised a hand approaching the licorice playfully.

“Oh no, you don’t,” she wagged a very straight finger at him. “You know that this is for your aunt and uncle. Special family recipe. I can make some for you later if you’d like.”

“Thanks, Grandma,” he saluted her, and then left the kitchen to look for Ellie.

Marcus went up to his room to find Ellie sitting on his bed petting Tofu.

“Hey,” he said, unsure of how approachable she would be.

“What do you want?” Ellie tossed the dog lightly to one side.

“Your allowance,” Marcus said with a playful grin.

“What?”

“Guess what just happened?”

“I don’t really care,” Ellie said.

Marcus didn’t need her consent. “Grandma feels sorry for you, so she just gave me some money to take you to the movies.”

“Why would I want to go to the movies?”

“I know, right? But don’t you see? This fits right into our plan.”

“I don’t have a plan, Marcus. This is all your idea. If it weren’t for you and your nosy nature, we wouldn’t be in this mess, and we wouldn’t have to move.”

“Whoa,” Marcus said. “Hang on just a minute there. I didn’t do anything wrong. I was just the witness. I have told you everything I’ve seen and everything I’ve heard. I didn’t ask for this.”

“Well, I want out. I’m tired of all this.”

“We have to understand what’s going on here, Ellie,” Marcus pulled out the wad of cash their grandma had given him, “and Grandma just gave us the way to do it.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ll take this money that Grandma gave us, add ours to it, and we should have enough for the taxi to go visit the hospital.”

“Are you crazy?”

“You saw the picture and Grandma’s locket, Ellie,” Marcus said. “Come on. We don’t have time to waste.”

“Fine.”

He grabbed Ellie’s hand and pulled her off the bed. “You have nothing to worry about, unless you’re afraid Caleb will drool on you.”

They made their way downstairs, through the living area, and to the shop’s front door when Marcus managed a token, “bye Grandma.” They scurried out the door.

They walked several blocks before hailing a cab. Marcus didn’t want to risk their grandma seeing them get into a taxi when the movie theater was so close to the shop. She would assume they went to that one.

A moment later a cab pulled to a stop in front of Marcus and Ellie. “Where to?” the dark-skinned driver asked when they climbed into the cab.

Marcus answered inconspicuously, “Nevada State Hospital.”

At the sound of Marcus’s voice, the cab driver raised his eyebrows over his sunglasses. He tilted his head to look up through rearview mirror. “The mental institute?” he asked.

“Yes, sir,” Marcus said confidently. He and Ellie exchanged a sheepish look.

The taxi driver shrugged and pulled away from the curb after the road was clear. “You know that’s quite a drive, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Marcus said, a little annoyed. “We have enough money.”

“Okay then,” the taxi driver looked into the rearview mirror, which had green, fuzzy dice hanging from its mount. “And hey, I didn’t mean anything by it, just so you know. I treat all my paying clients with the utmost respect.”

“That’s great,” Ellie said as she turned back to Marcus. In a lowered voice, she added, “What a weirdo.”

The sun beat down on the cab, and Marcus was grateful to be on this side of the tinted windows. He had a lot to think about, and he hadn’t quite worked out what they would say once they got to Nevada State.

The cab driver asked, “So what are you all doing at the hospital today, visiting family?”

“Yes, just visiting,” Ellie answered, and Marcus chuckled at her wording.

“How long before we get there?” Marcus asked. He wasn’t sure if this cab driver was the talkative type, but they needed the time to plan out their approach.

“Should only be twenty minutes or so.”

“Thanks,” Marcus said.

“You know,” the cab driver added, “it’s good of you to go see your family. Not everyone has that luxury.”

“Thanks,” Marcus said in an even tone, trying to contain his growing annoyance for a cab driver who wouldn’t shut up.

“What are we going to do when get there?” Ellie asked, huddling up to Marcus. “We’re going a long way for not even knowing if they will let us in.”

“They have to let us in. It’s never been a problem before, right? Besides, our families seem like old friends. How many recipes has our grandma given to the warden? I’m guessing that if it weren’t for Grandma, that woman would starve.”

“I know, but I don’t think they let just anybody walk into a place like that, you know?” Ellie asked. “I mean, why the cameras and all the security then?”

“Maybe you’re right. We’ll have to come up with another plan.”

They drove for some time and all the while Marcus racked his brain for something they could do to get in and see Caleb and Anabell. Perhaps they would, in fact, just let them in, but if they didn’t, he wasn’t sure what to do.

“Do you visit your family often?” the cab driver asked after some time.

“Once a month or so,” Ellie cut Marcus off as he was about to say something that certainly wouldn’t have been as polite.

The driver drove through the State Hospital gates around ten minutes later. The creepy statues of the winged animals still stood outside the gates and overlooked the security kiosk that the taxi was pulling up to.

The taxi driver looked in the rearview mirror. “What do I do?”

“Push the big green button on the kiosk,” Marcus said.

The driver hesitated a moment, and then pushed the button.

“Nevada State,” a man’s voice said from the kiosk. Marcus recognized Roger’s voice. He was a little surprised, considering that Pat had always answered the machine before. That said, he couldn’t forget Roger. How could he forget getting the third degree, free pat down included?

“State your purpose,” Roger said.

“Visiting family,” the taxi driver said.

“Name of the person you would like to visit?”

The driver looked back at Marcus and Ellie and shrugged.

Marcus whispered, “Caleb and Anabell Fith”.

The driver repeated the names back to Roger, who reacted very strangely.

“Caleb and Anabell?” Roger asked, then paused before adding, “Who is this?”

Confused, the driver looked back to the kids again for an answer.

“Tell him that we have a recipe for Pat,” Marcus said, scouring his brain for something. “A licorice recipe.” It was the only thing he could think of.

“What?” the driver asked, looking annoyed. Apparently he didn’t get this kind of request often.

“I have a recipe for Pat,” the driver said. Then he added, albeit hesitantly, “for licorice.”

Roger didn’t respond this time. A few moments went by and then the security gate made an electric buzzing sound, clicked, and opened.

The driver looked back at them in surprise. When he saw that the children didn’t look taken aback at all, he moved the cab forward up the long stretch of driveway that curved toward the entrance of Nevada State Hospital.

As they pulled up, no one immediately emerged to greet them as they had the last time they had visited. Marcus thought this was odd, especially given the reception from the security kiosk. Nevertheless, the children got out of the cab and huddled outside the vehicle. They pooled their money and paid the driver.

“Would you mind waiting for us?” Ellie asked. “We shouldn’t be too long, and it might be hard to hail a cab when we are done.”

The driver thought for a moment. “Most drivers wouldn’t wait for you, you know. You owe me a big tip.”

“Thanks,” Ellie said when the driver cut the engine.

Marcus and Ellie approached the front door cautiously. Marcus stood on his toes to look in the blurry windows of the closed door. While he couldn’t see well through the windows, he didn’t see any shadows moving.

“I don’t think anyone is in there,” he said. Ellie looked confused.

“Well, it’s not like they go on field trips, do they?” she asked.

Marcus tried the door. It was open.

When he looked to Ellie for reassurance, she just opened the door herself.

As they entered the hospital, Marcus smelled the lingering disinfectant odor. They looked down the hall for the employees dressed in white, but it was empty. Every other time they had come to the hospital people scurried all over the place. They saw nurses every now and then, but they seemed preoccupied with other things.

They moved down the hall the same way they had gone before. Roger, the security guard, sat exactly where he had sat before, reading a new book.

“What do we do?” Ellie asked. “He won’t let us by without Grandma and Grandpa.”

Marcus thought a moment. “Let’s just tell him that they are coming behind us.”

“Do you really think that will work?” she asked, but Marcus had already started toward Roger. She followed.

Marcus tried to appear normal as they approached Roger. He wasn’t sure if Roger heard them coming. The man didn’t show it, because he didn’t bother to look up from his book until Marcus cleared his throat.

“Excuse me, Roger?” Marcus asked. “We are here to see Caleb and Anabell.”

Roger dog-eared the page he was on and set the book on his desk.

“Where are your grandparents?” He paused for a moment before adding, “I need to thank Charlotte for that pumpkin tart recipe that she gave me. It was excellent.”

Ellie turned around as if she was surprised that their grandparents weren’t right there next to them.

“Oh,” she said, “they must have gotten caught up in conversation back at the entrance.”

Marcus was impressed with her improvisation.

Roger looked Marcus over, and then Ellie. “Alright then,” Roger said, “you know the drill.”

Marcus stood on the printed feet in front of the security gate and Roger systematically waved the electric wand around each of his legs. When he was satisfied, he made Ellie go through the same exercise.

“That will be all,” Roger said at last, stepping aside when the electric wand caused no alarm. He still eyed the children carefully.

Marcus and Ellie quickly moved their way to the common area where Caleb and Anabell typically spent their time staring. “We have to hurry,” Marcus said. “It’s only a matter of time before Roger realizes that Grandma and Grandpa aren’t coming.”

They moved down the hall, acting as normally as they could, and eventually found the large room where Caleb and Anabell had been the last time they had visited.

A few people wandered the area, but not nearly the same number as before. Marcus wondered where everyone was. The last time they were here there were people with walkers and canes, and clusters of people huddled around small tables, working on puzzles or playing checkers.

Finally they found Caleb and Anabell’s table. However, when they reached the table, only Caleb stared out the window like he always had when they visited.

Marcus and Ellie picked up a couple of chairs from the table behind him and placed them in front of Caleb so that they could face him.

When they sat in front of Caleb, Marcus noted a change in his countenance, like he contorted slightly somehow. Caleb raised his hand and put his index finger and thumb together, drawing circles in the air.

Ellie leaned back toward the table behind them, grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil, and then handed them to Caleb.

Caleb took the pencil in his hand the best he could and scribbled on the paper. After a moment, he held up the paper so Marcus could see it. On the paper Marcus read a poorly written “here”, followed by a question mark.

“Why are we here?” Ellie asked.

Caleb nodded and Marcus thought he looked confused.

“Caleb,” Marcus said, “we don’t have much time before Roger kicks us out. We need to ask you some questions.”

Caleb’s eyes widened, then he began to scribble again. He lifted the paper a moment later for the kids to see.

Caleb had drawn two stick figures that slightly resembled their grandparents, in hairstyle at least, followed by another question mark.

“Are you asking if our grandparents are here?” Ellie asked. She had barely gotten out a “no” when Caleb shook his head.

“They are okay,” Marcus said. “Grandma and Grandpa are fine.”

Caleb seemed to relax in his chair a little as he gazed out the window. He wrote again. Marcus saw him draw a lone question mark this time, as if to ask “Why are you here then?”

“We have some questions that we think only you can answer,” Marcus said, meeting his eyes. “Very important questions.” Caleb nodded.

“We’ve seen some things,” Ellie said. “Things we don’t really understand.”

Marcus added: “And everything leads us back here, to you and Anabell. Like the things you and our grandparents pass back and forth when we visit.”

Caleb drew another question mark on his paper.

“Like the locket you gave Grandma,” Ellie said. “We’ve seen her use it.”

Caleb’s eyes searched the room, and then studied the children carefully.

“I saw Grandpa getting into a strange blue room behind the tapestry at the shop one day,” Marcus said. Caleb’s eyes widened. “Grandpa sealed it off with a glass ball somehow. We saw Grandma use the locket like spectacles. Grandpa said it was to make sure it was closed off properly.”

Caleb lifted his gaze to the ceiling and took a deep breath. Then he drew a door and crossed a line through it, followed by a question mark.

“There’s more,” Marcus said when Caleb stared at the ceiling. “The reason why they sealed the door.” Ellie shifted her gaze. “We were tending the shop one day when a strange man came in and asked for the back room. We weren’t sure what he was talking about, but he was intent on finding something. So, I showed him into the blue room.”

Caleb jerked his head. His eyebrows furrowed. Marcus had never seen him look like that before. He felt he had to explain further.

“Well, Grandpa had someone else in the shop before, and it seemed like he sold her something out of that blue room. Besides, the items in the blue room had price tags, so with our family’s financial situation I thought we’d do everyone a favor if we sold something out of there too.”

Caleb’s lip quivered. He stared intently at Marcus. With trembling hands, Caleb wadded up the paper and and threw it on the floor. He held his hand out in front of Ellie. She got another piece of paper from the table behind him, and he snatched it from her before she could sit back down.

Caleb drew on the fresh paper. A moment later he lifted up the paper. Two words were written on the paper: “What sell?”

“So you know about the room, then?” Ellie asked a little surprised.

Caleb ignored her and shook the paper at Marcus.

Marcus exchanged a guilty look with Ellie.

“The stranger looked the room over but was only really interested in one thing,” Marcus said.

“It was a skull,” Ellie said. “It looked like it came from a bird or something.”

A shadow passed over Caleb’s face. He stared out the window for a moment again, and then put his face in his hands. A single tear appeared in one eye and streamed down his cheek.

“We’re sorry, Caleb,” Ellie said. “Our grandparents were mad too, but we didn’t realize what we had done.”

“There is one more thing, Caleb,” Marcus said. “The reason we came here was to give you this.”

Marcus unfolded the picture that Caleb had given to their grandpa the last time they had visited the hospital.

“How did you draw this man? Do you know him?” Marcus asked. “Do you know where can we find him?”

Caleb eyes darted from the picture to the children, and then back to the picture again. The hairs on the back of Marcus’s neck tingle. Beads of sweat appeared on Caleb’s brow, and his breathing grew heavier.

“Who is this man you drew?” Ellie asked in a calm tone.

With a quivering hand, Caleb scrawled what they thought were the words: “bad man”, and then added the word “very” in front of it.

“We already know he is bad,” Marcus said, slightly frustrated. “He’s the one that stole the skull from us.”

Caleb suddenly seized up and made a gagging noise. He confusedly looked at Marcus, as if he didn’t hear him properly.

“This is the man that came into the shop, Caleb,” Ellie said. “We need to find him so we can get that skull back and our grandparents won’t force us to move away.”

Caleb unexpectedly yelped like a wounded animal, and then rocked silently in his chair. Tears welled in his eyes.

Marcus suddenly heard footsteps scrambling down the hall and various voices giving orders.

“Caleb,” Marcus’s eyes shifted from the hallway to his uncle, “we need your help, and we don’t have much time. What can you tell us to help us find this man?”

Caleb reached a shaking hand into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a small marble. He extended it to Marcus.

Now he wants to play games? thought Marcus. I’m not a kid anymore, and now’s definitely a bad time. “This was a bad idea, Ellie,” Marcus said. “Feel free to rub it in later.”

Marcus barely heard Caleb’s insistent grunts over the incoming voices as they approached; but he saw the angst in his face. When he saw how intent he was on giving Marcus the marble, he played along and quickly put it in his pocket.

Caleb began to write on his paper the moment Marcus took the marble. “Keep safe, always,” the paper said.

“Thanks, Caleb,” Ellie said, “but—“

“But,” inserted Marcus, “we are in need of some real help here.”

“Marcus? Ellie?” came a voice from the other end of the room. Roger arrived with several men at his heels. “Is everything okay in here?”

Caleb wrote again, even faster and sloppier than before. “Stay away the man,” he showed them, or at least that is what Marcus thought he read.

“I’m afraid we can’t do that,” Ellie looked in Caleb’s eyes. “He stole from us, and we have to get the skull back.” She lowered her voice. “Now, for heaven’s sake, help us find him already.”

“Are your grandparents still not here?” Roger asked, looking concerned. He and his coworkers made for Caleb’s table.

Caleb wrote furiously and then held the paper up for Marcus and Ellie to see just in time for Roger to swipe it out of his hand.

“He did this me,” read Roger aloud.

Marcus and Ellie froze.

“What kind of note is this?” Roger asked as he glanced over the paper. “Are you guys playing charades or something?” He looked around, digesting all the details from the scene. “Where are your grandparents?”

“We were just wondering the same thing,” Ellie said. “But it doesn’t matter now. We were just leaving anyway.”

Marcus and Ellie stood from the table, and Caleb’s arm reached out to them.

“Sorry for the confusion, Roger,” Marcus said. “We need to find our grandparents.”

“I’ll see you out,” he said.

Roger followed them up to the gated security room while the other men stayed behind to check on Caleb. Once the children were outside of the gate, Roger entered his booth and locked it.

“Don’t you kids lie to me again,” he picked up his novel and settled back into his chair.

Marcus and Ellie exchanged an awkward glance.

Ellie said, “Thanks, Roger.” Roger nodded and waved them off.

Marcus was half surprised to see the cab driver waiting outside like they had asked him to do. They had been gone for some time.

“You know this is will cost a lot of money,” the cab driver said as they scooted into the backseat. “You said you had money, right?”

“Just take us back home,” Marcus said, and the cab driver started back the way they came without another word.

Marcus gazed out his window and Ellie stared out hers. Marcus liked watching the passing trees. The rhythm soothed him. Ellie tapped her thumbs on the drawing of the very bad man in her lap.

Normally Marcus would fall asleep on a long car ride like this, but he had too much to think about. He wasn’t sure why he thought he could get help from Caleb or Anabell, especially in their condition. He felt stupid.

He slipped his hands in his jacket pockets and nestled into the door. He found the clear marble that Caleb gave him and stared out the window. It had been a silly idea to go to the State Hospital, he thought. He rolled the marble around in his hand. They had come away with very little—a couple of cryptic comments from Caleb and this worthless marble.

Then something occurred to him; had anything truly worthless come out of the Hospital before? The picture seemed to have significance, though they didn’t quite understand it, and Grandma’s locket definitely seemed out of the ordinary. Yet, he held the marble in his hand, and it was just a marble. It felt like a marble and looked like a marble. Nothing seemed odd about it. He didn’t want to get in the habit of seeing things that were not really there. He already questioned himself that way, given everything that had occurred recently.

The cab driver had kept his eyes fixed on the road until Marcus leaned against the window to settle in for the long haul. Something odd caught the driver’s attention.

He looked up at the rearview mirror. From the corner of his eye he thought he had seen a flash of light or, something like that. He looked at the mirror trying to catch it again. He didn’t see anything else for some time, but he glanced up at the mirror occasionally just in case.

It wasn’t until they arrived back in town that the cab driver saw it again. It was the boy. He was fumbling with something in his pocket. Was it a flashlight? No, flashlights don’t give off blue light.

“Thanks for the ride,” Ellie said when the driver pulled up to the movie theater where he had picked them up. Ellie pulled out their pooled money. “How much?”

While the driver quoted her the fare, he curiously watched Marcus, who still rested in the corner of the cab. A mere glow bordered the boy’s pocket, and not the bright light he had seen before.

“Sir,” Ellie said, waving a wad of cash in the driver’s face. She waited another moment. “This is the part when you take the money.”

The man shook his head a little. “Yes, thank you,” he said.

“The tip’s included,” Ellie said before turning to her brother. “Marcus, wake up.”

Marcus’s eyes opened wide and he shot up. As he did, the light from his pocket vanished altogether.

“We’re here already?” Marcus asked. “But we haven’t been gone that long!”

“You fell asleep. Surprise, surprise.”

They scooted across the backseat and out of the cab. The driver continued to watch the children for a moment and then slowly pulled away.

“Now what?” Marcus asked.

“We need to confront Grandma and Grandpa.”