Illusion… or the ability to be able to manipulate one’s mind into believing that the impossible, for only a moment, could become possible. A slight of hand or a hidden gesture that seems to slip past the conscious mind, is all that is needed to ensure a successful illusion capable of sending a crowd to their feet.

In a room adorned only with the silken threads of a spider’s web, a child shuffles a deck of cards through shaking fingertips. Through the cracks of the boarded walls a light filters through, though dulling as the once vibrant day shifts into a shadowed night. To the left of the room a single table stands on coiled legs which holds a dust coated jar. He had planned on collecting buttons of all shapes and sizes… buttons once strung proudly upon silken dresses or woollen coats. Buttons which held meaning to someone, at least at some point in time, but were now discarded and waiting for someone else to find the beauty in them once what they were attached to was lost. 

A single wooden door was all that lay before him if he was to peer up from his current position. A door splintered from its age yet held a sort of attractiveness to it with its mirror like glass staring back towards him. He dared to glance up and felt the grimace creep across his face.  His untamed Raven locks fell over eyes he hated to call his own. Though his left eye held a pale blue tainted with what could only be described as a silver lining, his right eye seemed to be lost in the colour pallet. It held a shade of red similar to that of freshly spilled blood at times, but given the right light, that same crimson eye would let off a paler hue which was often mistaken as his eye shining.    

He faltered once feeling the cards slip from his tiny fingertips, scattering across the dust sheened floorboards. A creak broke through the silence as boards curved inward when he bent down to start gathering the deck back together. It was his mother’s idea. She thought that with his talent he should add a little more mystery with the art of trickery. It was tiering enough… He spent most of his day traveling from one town to the next whilst his mother waved in the steady flow of cash his talents provided. To see the dead was called a gift, though, take off the bow and the pretty idea of it all and it could just be considered a curse.

Raising his hand to cover his crimson eye, he bit into his lip until he felt the steady flow of blood run down his chin. Had he kept his mouth shut then perhaps things would be different. Perhaps his father would have stayed around long enough to see him achieve anything a normal child would usually receive praise for. Perhaps his mother would smile again without the need of a fistful of cash. Oh, the scenarios he would dream up whilst laying awake at night. Those scenarios he knew to be only dreams.

The door opened and the doorway stretched out to a hall just as bare as the room he now stood in. If he strained his eyes enough, he could see a potted plant hanging just by a window which allowed the stream of moonlight to flood in from beyond its closed frame. A figure stood in the doorway, her blonde hair pinned back to a neat bun and her hazel eyes bore down towards him with a look of concern. She wore a loose-fitting black dress pinched in at the middle with a coreset that allowed the base to flay out and give her form further shape. If she was to take her hair out, he knew it would rest just upon her shoulders and fall longer at the front than it did at the back. Almeria had been the household maid for the past year and a half now. She was always gentle, even when he stayed out too late and she feared he’d catch a cold.

“Chester,” She sighed whilst kneeling down to level herself with his height. “You’ve made yourself bleed, what has your mother and I told you about biting your lip? Gently she used her fingers to pry his teeth from his flesh before she removed a piece of cloth from her dress pocket to dab his chin first then up to his lip where she held the cloth in place. “There is a little girl you will be seeing tonight,” she then smiled. “You’ll make her better so she can play like the other little girls her age, now won’t you?”

Nodding, Chester spread his arms out as Almeria went about unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it back from his shoulders. Her fingers were surprisingly warm in comparison to the cool night’s air now wafting in from the hallway.

“Her name’s Elizabeth,” Almeria continued. “She plays piano like you do Chet” He could see her conceal a blush. She had called him by his nickname. A name only his mother used or his father when he was around. “Sorry Chester,” she added quickly to the end. “Just sometimes you’re so quiet that I ramble on and let things slip.” Straightening herself once she had him fully unclothed, she then disappeared back down the hall only to return a few moments later with her hands carrying his next outfit.

“Is my mother coming this time?” He could feel his throat grow dry just uttering the question. Of course, she would… she loves to be there to talk the other mother’s through whatever was going on. To take credit for breeding such a special child. Lifting his arms, he felt the light fabric of his blue shirt being pulled down over his head, then held onto Almeria’s shoulders so he could step into his black jeans. “I thought maybe this time just you and I could go…”

Almeria glanced up with a small smile. “You know she likes to support you and your work silly.” Placing her hands to his sides she helps guide him down to the floor, so she was able to fiddle with his polished shoes. “Besides if your mother wasn’t there, I’m sure the other parents would freak out with what you do”

A part of him knew that was right, though it still didn’t change the fact that he hated her being there. Almeria lifted him back up onto his feet once she ensured the knots were fastened properly. Noticing his worried expression, she decided to keep hold of his hand as she guided him from his room and down the hallway.

“A letter from your father arrived this morning,” She added when they reached the hallways end and turned left towards the wooden flight of steps which coiled down to the lower level. “He said he’s going to try and make it home for Christmas, wouldn’t that be nice?”

Her voice seemed to trail off after the vacant promise of his father returning for the holidays. He promised the same thing ever year… it’s been three years and he hasn’t made a single Christmas yet.

Chester could feel the small smile play upon his lips. He had to at least humour Almeria with the illusion of a smile, especially after she was going to so much trouble to cheer him up. Right now, however, he was feeling as if a huge weight was being pulled down upon him, and that weight only increased when he saw his mother rounding the corner. She wore a thick strapped crimson dress which clung to her hourglass like frame and flowed down to the floorboards beneath her. The dress itself was probably worth more than the building they were standing in and accompanied with her side tilted crimson hat and pearl necklace… well… she was just a standing gold mine.

“Well what do you think?” She grinned whilst taking a graceful twirl. “Your mother scrubs up well doesn’t she?”

Looking up from the wooden boards, Chester swallowed hard and nodded to her question. When she twirled, he could see she’d also managed to afford a new pair of heels which clicked with her every step.

“I thought you were supposed to dress him Almeria?” His mother question with a hardened tone. “He hardly looks the part of a gifted child now does he?” Chester flinched when his mother crouched down in front of him and gripped hold of his chin, tilting his face this way and that which caused her nails to dig into his cheeks. “I’ve also told you numerous times to cover up that demon looking eye. The poor girl’s mother is going to have a fit if she sees it”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Digging his teeth into the side of his cheek when she finally released him, he held back the tears by clenching his fists by his sides. He could feel Almeria softly gripping him by the shoulders and steering him back up the stairwell, but from the moment she changed his shirt to a button up white shirt and slid on his black vest, to the time they slipped into the back of the carriage and ventured off into the night, his vision was just a blur.

“We’re making ten times more from the healings than we are from talking to the dead.” His mother made a point of saying when they pulled into the gated driveway of a large estate. “I suppose depending on the severity of the condition we could always up the prices again to make an even greater profit” Leaning forwards she licked the corner of her handkerchief and run it along Chester’s lower lip. “You’ve been biting that lip again, haven’t you?” Rolling her eyes, she glanced towards Almeria.

“I’m sorry Mistress, I’ve told him time and time again not to do it… I…” Almeria’s voice was shaking slightly, though she still managed to spread a smile across her once drawn face. “But you know how stubborn children can be”

Nodding towards Almeria she then took another glance towards his crimson eye before holding her hand out. “I’ll put the patch on then shall I? Seeming you chose to ignore me back at the house,” she scowled.

In truth Almeria knew how uncomfortable the patch was for Chester. She made the decision at the house to just bring it along with her and have him wear it when they left the carriage. With a slight nod she passed the patch towards his mother as she was quick to fasten it over his eye before she shuffled her way from the carriage and bowed towards the man now holding the door open for the three of them. Chester had not even noticed that at some point they had come to a stop at their destination.

“Roslyn.” The man nodded as she stood upon the loose gravel and reached in to pick Chester up to place him on the ground.

Roslyn gave him a small nod in return then placed her hands upon Chester’s shoulders. “My son has been talking none stop about helping little Elizabeth,” she smiled before waving towards Almeria to confirm her lie with a quick nod herself. “Elizabeth used to play the piano before this unfortunately event happened?”

To the quirk of her brow the man signed then looked back towards the expanding manner behind them. “Ah yes,” he murmured, as if remembering a time long ago. “The manner used to always be filled with her beautiful music, but unfortunately now she’s unable to sit up, let alone enjoy the keys of her piano.”

Hearing the extent of the girl’s illness only made Chester tense. Some people he couldn’t help… people who were too far gone and people who had given up on themselves. He had learnt that if the victim was set to die within the next seven days… then the cause was all but lost. To prevent scepticism his mother had recently started to request that a local doctor had come to assess the patient before she’d even consider taking the job.

“Well my son Chet here plays the piano himself. He’s quite fond of it actually, “his mother continued to babble on as they made their way towards the large wooden doors placed skilfully in the centre of the large bricks which surrounded it. “So, when I mentioned her passion to him, he decided to push her case up to the top of our priority list”

Priority list? They were mainly getting prank calls, or the calls which were serious they dealt with on that night.

Glancing towards his mother his eyes then grew wide as the wooden doors were peeled back to reveal an almost reflective marble staircase which expanded out to the entirety of what they could see of the second floor. The marble of the staircase flowed down to both the first layer and then back up to the second story making the foyer seem larger than it needed to appear. This place… it was nothing like Chester had ever seen before. Every corner had some form of decorative item in it, whether it be a vase balancing on a glass table, or an array of red to white roses clustered together and tucked within polished silver clamps hanging from the walls.

He could tell his mother was enjoying the finer things in life. She had already started darting around the entrance from one side to the next. She especially liked the idea of the painted portraits which hung along the back wall of the second story.

“They’ll be waiting for you in the second seating room,” the man continued whilst gesturing towards a hall which coiled around into a section illuminated by freshly lit candles. The flickering from their flame danced across the hall and once Almeria had steered him through the darkness to that light, he held his breath at what he saw.

Elizabeth was propped up with numerous pillows and her parents had positioned themselves together by her side, squeezing each other’s hands as if that simple gesture would bring upon some miracle to save their daughters life.

They seemed in a daze until they looked over towards Chester then met his mother’s gaze. At first the girl’s mother sobbed and the father clenched his arms around her to hold her tight.

“My wife Maria… she has trouble coming to terms with our Lizzy’s condition,” He uttered whilst stifling back a croaked voice. Judging from the redness of his eyes and cheeks, Chester could tell that it wasn’t just his wife grieving over their daughter’s situation.

Moving closer towards the sofa, Chester felt Almeria’s hands leave his shoulders. Being so small he could easily look down upon the girl’s sinister locks, spilling out in curls past her shoulders and down to her wrists. Her lashes were thick and cheeks a feverish pink he knew all too well. Tentatively he reached forwards. Taking her hand with his he was greeted by the girl fluttering her eyes open to look at him. A purple he’d never seen before stared back, faded, yet pleading.

“Who… are you…?”

Her words stumbled out and were hard to hear over his mother behind him, talking over the process with their backs turned to the two of them. He preferred the privacy… it allowed him to concentrate on what he was doing.

“I’m Chester… Your parents sent for me to help you…”

He was never one for speaking, in fact, he tried to stay quiet as best he could. The living wasn’t as easy to talk to as the dead… at least the dead didn’t have any expectations.

“It’s too late…” she croaked, though as she smiled Chester could see a single tear fall down her face.

Squeezing her hand gently in his he then whispers. “It’s never too late… if you believe…”

She looked at him, and for a moment he could see the expression of wonder cross her features. It was as if for a brief moment he was able to convince her that everything was going to be okay… and that was all that he needed.

“Have faith in me…” he continued as his eyes closed and he cupped both his hands around her own. He could feel the plastic of the drip separating them from having a complete connection, however, he had worked around them before.

Allowing himself to relax he felt her squeeze his hand back. She had faith… Smiling shyly he could feel the sweat start to bead upon his forehead as the pain struck him first. It was a pain he should have been used to by now, but one he could never really prepare himself for. It was as if someone were shoving a dull blade through his chest cavity… breaking apart whatever was in the way to get to his heart which now beat quickly within his chest. He could hear his breath. Long shallow breaths as the heat started to reach his fingertips and push forth into the now tensing Elizabeth.

“He’s hurting her!”

The voice was loud enough to break through his trance. Though to Chester, her cries out as well as Elizabeth’s slight whimpers, were drowned out by the searing pain which caused him to latch his teeth into his lip. Three… He counted in his head, as if that would be enough to distract him from crying out. Two… he could feel her starting to settle down. One…

Opening his eyes, he released her hand and toppling backwards he clutched at his chest and tried to use the pressure of his nails to relieve the pain.

Elizabeth sat herself up quite suddenly. Her hair fell over her face though she was determined to squirm forwards to reach out for him. It was a natural thing. Usually for the first ten or so seconds the person would try to reconnect with the feeling of being healed… or as some people liked to call it, cleansed.

“It’s a miracle!” Maria cried out from the far corner. She rushed forwards to wrap her arms around her daughter and her partner joined her side a few moments later after collecting himself from the shock of his daughter’s speedy recovery. Though the girl continued to reach out, her eyes lined with tears, Chester could do nothing but try and bring his knees up beneath himself so he could move further away from her. He couldn’t let them re-connect, for some reason he knew deep down this was something he should never do.

“Take him back to the car”

He could hear his mother’s desperate tone call out and could feel Almeria’s hands wrap beneath his arms and lift him quickly into her arms. By now… the room he was now being rushed through was turning into a blur… he could feel his heart clenching then releasing with every painful beat. Another healing… another healing and what did he gain from it? Absolutely nothing…