Drama Attempt : “Magic Moments” (IP)

Alison was the only person at the funeral wearing a top hat and long cape.

“You can’t wear those to a funeral”, her mother had told her, “It looks disrespectful and people will stare”.

But Alison loved magic and she had always loved performing magic tricks for her father, ever since he had bought her a magic set for her fourth birthday with a plastic wand and a felt covered hat.

“I think that daddy wouldn’t mind”, she said, “And he’s the only one who counts”.

“You totally love magic, don’t you?”, he’d said to her, one day, sitting up in bed while she’d been sitting cross legged on the covers showing him a card trick, “That’s great. If you really love something then it’ll never leave you”.

“I love you, daddy”, she’d said, hugging her father round the neck and he’d hugged her back tightly.

She had a real top hat now, covered in velvet and a real satin cape and her eyes set on a career in magic.

She could hear the other kids round about; her aunties and uncles kids, sniggering at her as her Fathers coffin was lowered into the ground, one boy nudging his brother and muttering, “I should have brought my fireman costume”.

But then, when the service was over, the priest said, “Alison has informed me that she would like to honour her father by performing a magic trick for us”.

Then she let go of her mother’s hand and there was a lot of uncomfortable coughing from the spectators all round when she stepped up to where her father’s head stone was but then she took off her hat and waved her wand over it and doves of all different bright colours burst up out of it,
coo-ing and flapping their wings excitedly and, at first, there was a stunned silence but then there was a big applause from everyone round about.

Even the sniggering kids sort of got it and now thought she was really cool and all her aunts and uncles started praising her to her mother, saying “Your daughters very talented. He’d be very proud of her” and “She’s very like him. Smart and confident”.

But most important of all, she thought, was seeing her mother smile through her black veil; the first proper smile since her father had passed away and things like that, smiles and loving parents; happy memories; those were the most magical things of all.