Magician's Cape

By: Isaac Oliver

It was an early Monday morning in the Robins household. The kids were getting ready for school, or supposed to be, while their mom, Julie, got their lunches together. After raising thirteen kids you can tell when it's too quiet in the morning, and this morning it was too quiet. After making sure all the lunches were ready she went upstairs and started banging on doors.

“Wake up! It’s time for school! The bus will be here soon!” She yelled anything she could think of to get them up and moving and after a few minutes, her efforts paid off. Doors were starting to open, toast was being made downstairs, and there was a line of angry teenagers at the bathroom door but there was one door that still wasn’t open, Micheal’s. Julie pushed the door open but, of course, he was already dressed for school.

”You know you can't wear that to school.” Julie motioned to the magician's cape hanging off his back.

”I wish I could.”
“I know, but it will be waiting for you when you come home, you know that.”
”Yeah.” A sudden wave of sadness washed over the boy as he folded up the cape and laid it on his bed. He followed the rest of the kids to the table for breakfast.

Finally, with time for herself, Julie started to prepare for work. She tossed her pajamas to the side, trading them in for more professional clothes then started to apply her makeup for the day. By the time she looked at the clock, she noticed that the school bus would be at their house any minute. She rushed downstairs catching the kids right before they left. They all exchanged kisses and hugs before they left the house.

After the bus left she shortly followed. She drove into the city where she would remain for the next eight hours. Once the workday was over she got back in her car and headed home.

Usually, in the mornings, she’s last to leave but that only means that she’s the last to get home at night. When she walks through the door it is completely silent which is out of the ordinary. Usually, when she gets home her husband has music playing while he prepares dinner, and the kids do their own things. Some play their own music, some bicker, and some are watching TV, but not today. When she walked in, she swore she could’ve heard a pin drop. She went to the kitchen to check for her husband and surely he was there.

“Why’s it so silent?”

“Beats me. The kids went outside to play so I'm basking in the quiet. You're welcome to join.” Her eyes strayed past her husband and out the window. At the very top of the steep hill was a strange man. She looked down the hill where her children seemed to be climbing up towards the man.

“Hunny, who is that?” Julie lifted her hand and pointed up towards the scene she was watching unfold.

Her husband turned to look, and in a heartbeat, he was running out the side door with Julie right behind him.

“Kids, stop, come back!” The man yelled up to the kids as they chased them but it seemed almost pointless as the kids kept on climbing. As the first few kids reached the man he started to walk in the opposite way and the rest kept following. Micheal, who was the last kid, finally reached the top of the hill. He looked back at his parents before untying his cape and continuing on. The cape flew into Julie's hands, almost as a farewell gift, but she kept running. By the time the parents made it to the top all the children were gone.

“Go call the cops, I'll try and find them.” Her husband said to her.

Julie ran back to the house which only seemed to take a minute while it felt like a year climbing up it. Once she got back into the house she called the police. They sent out a few people to do a quick look over the hill and through the graveyard that was just on the other side of the hill.

Over the next few days, there were search parties and investigators crawling along her property and the surrounding land. They looked for days which turned into weeks but after so long the search parties grew limited and so did the hope. They never found any of the kids or the husband, not even a clue. It seemed like they disappeared into thin air. Now she sat in her quiet house with nothing but a small magician's cape to remind her that she ever even had a family.