Playing with Magic (Writers Reveal)

by Naomi L. | May 21, 2014 | Blog, Creative Writing | 2 comments

Welcome to another round of Writer’s Reveal! This month’s topic was sent to us by Rhianna of A Parenting Life, who suggested the prompt “a tale about siblings with a magical twist”. Here’s a short story I wrote based on that idea. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for the topic, Rhianna!

Playing with Magic

“My turn, my turn!”

Amy reached her arms out for the toy in her elder sister’s hands, but she pulled it away.

“Wait! Just one more.”

“No, Brenda! You had him a long time! It’s my turn!”

“Fine…”

With a sigh, Brenda handed over the toy. It was an old plush rabbit, covered in gray fur that had once been white and sporting a blue ribbon around its neck. The younger girl laughed as she squeezed it with all the strength a five-year-old could muster.

“Careful, Amy!” Brenda frowned at her little sister. “Don’t hurt him! Remember what Grandma said.”

Amy seemed reluctant to loosen her hold, but she obeyed nonetheless. After rising to her feet, she closed her eyes, whispered into the rabbit’s ear, and spun around once on her toes. When she opened her eyes, she was draped in an opulent pink dress. Brenda rolled her eyes.

“A princess again?” the eight-year-old sighed. “Pick something else already!”

“But I like being a princess!” said the younger girl. “It’s my favorite!”

“Don’t you wanna try something different?”

“Like you?” Amy pointed at the fairy wings on her big sister’s back. Brenda nodded.

“Yeah! He can make you anything you want!”

“OK, show me something better than a princess!”

The five-year-old handed the toy back to her sibling and sat back in her seat at the tea party table. Brenda rose from her chair and followed the same procedure as her sister, closing her eyes and whispering in the rabbit’s ear before spinning on the spot while hugging it tight. When the older girl stopped and opened her eyes, Amy fell into a fit of giggles at the sight of the furry ears and tail that had appeared out of nowhere.

“Kitty!” she laughed. “That’s funny! I wanna try too!”

Brenda took a bow as her sister applauded. Before she could return the rabbit to Amy, however, there was a loud click and the front door started to open. The girls froze, knowing this could only mean one thing: their mother had come to pick them up early!

The sisters glanced at the door before turning to each other with panicked looks on their faces. What would she say when she saw them? There was no time to wish themselves back to normal; they would just have to face her and hope their grandmother could explain everything.

Brenda dropped the rabbit and stood up straight with Amy just as their mother appeared in the doorway. The woman immediately looked her daughters up and down as she walked in, but to their surprise, she didn’t seem to mind the dress or the cat ears at all.

“Hello, girls!” she said with a smile. “Did you have fun with Grandma today?”

The children nodded, maintaining innocent expressions while secretly trying to make sense of their mother’s indifference. Just then, their grandmother walked into the living room with a tray of cookies in her hands and a smile on her face.

“Oh, hello, Martha!” said the old woman brightly. “We weren’t expecting you yet.”

“Hi, Mom”, Martha replied, walking across the room to greet her mother with a kiss on the cheek. “Meeting finished early. Sorry to surprise you like this.”

“Don’t be silly; it’s always a pleasure to have you here! Right, girls?”

Both women turned to Brenda and Amy, who once again nodded without a word. They were still waiting for a reaction to their bizarre appearances.

“So what have you been up to?”

It took the girls a moment to register their mother’s question, but before they could reply, their grandmother spoke up.

“They were just playing with Cottontail. He was keeping them company while I was in the kitchen.”

“How nice!” said Martha as she glanced at the toy rabbit lying beside the tea set. “You know, your Aunt Sara and I used to play with him all the time when we were your age. I hope you’re having just as much fun with him as we did!”

While the children exchanged looks of surprise, their grandmother invited her daughter to stay for tea and cookies. Brenda and Amy enjoyed the rest of their tea party as casually as they could in cat ears and a princess dress, until at last their mother told them it was time to go home.

“Oh, I forgot the tablecloths in the car”, said Martha. “Say goodbye to Grandma, girls. I’ll be right back.”

The moment their mother was out the door, Brenda and Amy turned to their grandmother, and the elder sister asked the question on both their minds.

“Grandma, why can’t Mommy see us?”

The old woman smiled. “For the same reason only Mommy and Aunt Sara could see each other, or why only my brother and I could see each other. That’s just how Cottontail works. Now you should change back before your mother gets here.”

The sisters did as they were told, having Cottontail return them to normal before bidding their grandmother farewell. A minute later, Martha had returned a stack of dry-cleaned tablecloths to her mother and was ushering her daughters out the door. As they walked behind their mom to the car, Amy whispered to her sister.

“Brenda, do you think Cottontail could make everyone see us?”

The older girl shook her head. “I don’t think so. Only brothers and sisters see each other, that’s what Grandma said.”

“Too bad. I kind of wanted Mommy to see me as a princess.”

Brenda wrapped an arm around her little sister and laughed. “I’m sure she already does, Amy. I’m sure she already does.”

This has been a special topic post for Writers Reveal, a monthly blog swap among several talented writers. Be sure to check out the other blogs participating in the event. Thanks for reading!

Other bloggers in Writers Reveal
Melissa Khalinsky: Melissa Writes
Becky Fyfe: Imagine! Create! Write!
Rhianna: A Parenting Life
Ashley Howland: Ghostnapped
Emily Hawker: You Learn Something New Every Day