from inside the table. But since Melissa had done it holding the top hat up in front of her with nothing underneath the top hat, Kit could only think of one explanation: Magic.    

“Kit...? Kit…?” Chris nudged him on the arm, recalling him back to earth.

“Wha—huh? Oh, uh, I don’t know…” Kit said distractedly. “Maybe it was real magic.”

“Real magic?” Chris said, his eyes widening in surprise. “You mean, you don’t think this is a trick anymore?”

“After what Aunt Melissa just did, I don’t know what to think anymore…” Kit admitted.

Meanwhile Melissa put her hand back into the top hat and this time, she withdrew a piece of paper.

“Ah, here we are... Now when I call out a name, that person will come up here and assist me in my Grand Finale.” Melissa said, opening the folded piece of paper. “And the winner is...” she paused for dramatic effect while Jeffery with his set of drums, did the drum roll in the background. “Kit and Chris Cloudkicker, come on down!” she shouted and the crowd exploded with cheer and applause as the Cloudkicker brothers sat there, numb with the expression of shock before getting up and moving toward the stage. 

As they got up onstage, Chris ducked behind Kit, being very shy with a lot people watching.

Jeffery stepped forward and handed them two identical uniforms. They put them on over their sweaters and Jeffery stepped behind them to help them with the back zipper.

“There!” Jeffery said, giving Kit a slap on the back after he zipped him up. “Whaddya think?”
Kit looked down at himself and then at Chris. These uniforms were exactly like the one Kit wore at Daring Dan’s Air Circus, except that there was a yellow star on the chest instead of a yellow lightning bolt.

“I think they’re great.” Kit and Chris said, slightly off-unison, Kit started speaking a mere second before Chris.  

“Okay, Chris, come over here, don’t be shy.” Melissa said gently, beckoning Chris to her side. “Chris will break something for me to mend,” she told the crowd.

Chris’ shoulders were tensed and tight and he was staring down at his feet. Melissa sensed it and knew that Chris was suffering from first-time stage fright. So she bent down and hugged Chris, whispering in his ear.

“Don’t pay attention to the crowd, sweetie.”  Melissa said, kissing Chris on the cheek.  “Just look at your Mama and Papa and your sister, Molly, focus on them instead of the crowd.”  

Chris raised his head slightly and looked out at Rebecca, Baloo and Molly and focused on them, and then he felt considerably better and his shoulders relaxed as he found the sudden desire to impress his new family and do them proud.

“All better?” Melissa asked with a warm smile as she stood up.

“Yeah.” Chris said, feeling a lot better.

“Good, now come over here,” she led Chris to a table bearing a glass bowl. “Now, I want you to break this bowl for me—and do be careful and try not to cut yourself.” She handed him a mallet 

“But, that’s a pretty bowl,” Chris protested, but accepting the mallet anyway. “Are you sure you want me to break it?”

“Yes, Chris, it’s all for a magic trick.” Melissa told him, smiling.

“Okay…” Chris said uncertainly. He held the mallet high over his head and was about to bring down upon the glass bowl when someone grabbed hold of it from behind and held it in the middle of a backswing, preventing Chris smashing the glass bowl. Chris looked over his shoulder to see Jeffery standing there.

“Mom, aren’t you forgetting something, like some protective gears?” Jeffery asked.

“Oh!” Melissa gasped; her hand over her mouth. “I forgot, sorry sweetie.” She said to Chris

“Here, Chris, put these on first.” Jeffery said, handing his cousin a pair of protective gloves and goggles, along with a chest pad.

“Okay, thanks Jeffery.” Chris said with a grateful smile, glad that his cousin cares about him as much as he cares about Jeffery. He set the mallet down, took the protective gears from Jeffery and put them on. “Okay, all set, I’m ready,” he said, once the protective gears were on.

He picked up the mallet, raised it high in the air and brought it swishing down on the glass bowl, reducing it to powdered glass.

“Thank you, Chris, now watch this:” Melissa covered the powdered glass with a cloth, tapped it with her wand and said: “Abracadabra!”

There was a bang and a puff of pink smoke and when the smoke cleared, Chris’ jaw dropped. There on the table, stood the glass bowl, completely mended as if it has never received so much as a crack from the mallet! 

“Wow…” Chris said in awe and then he clapped loudly, the crowd followed his lead and applause too. 

“Thank you,” Melissa said, taking a bow to the crowd. “Now for the Grand Finale, Jeffery, fetch me the box.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Jeffery said politely as he dashed to the side of the stage and went out of sight behind the curtains.

“Kit, come over here, sweetie.” Melissa said, beckoning Kit to her side while Chris was taking off the protective gears. She held out a fan of cards to him. “Pick a card, any card.”

Kit picked a card and looked at it; an image of a box was on the front of the card.

“Looks like you picked the disappearing act.” Melissa announced.

Kit sighed with relief as the stage manager came out onstage, pushing a box on wheels toward Melissa. The box was on its’ side, held up several feet off the ground by six legs with wheels attached to them. At least a disappearing trick wouldn’t be so bad.

Melissa opened the box and gestured Kit inside. Kit climbed into the box and Melissa closed the lid of the box on top of him. It was a few seconds before Kit realized that his head was poking out of the end of the box and his feet were sticking out of the other end.

“W-w-what is this?” he asked, the fear in his voice was apparent. 

“Let’s see,” Melissa said, holding up the card Kit had picked, she pealed off the fake front to reveal an image of a box with saw cutting through it. “Oh, sorry Kit, my mistake, you picked the sawing in half illusion.”

“WHAT?!” Kit yelled, the panic evident on his face. “No…no…I thought this was a disappearing trick—LET ME OUTTA’ HERE!!!”

“Oh come now, Kit, what ever happens to ‘it’s just a trick, Chris’?” Chris asked slyly; he couldn’t resist teasing his brother, it was just too good of a chance to pass up.

“THAT WAS BEFORE I’M ABOUT TO BE SAWED IN HALF!” Kit yelled in exasperation, his head swinging around, indicating that he was struggling inside the box to get loose. “LET ME OUTTTA HERE NOW!” 

Chris was wishing he had a camera, the expression on Kit’s face was priceless and he was having fun watching his brother squirm inside the box. He started laughing at his brother’s expense.

“Kit, calm down.” Melissa said gently, stroking Kit’s head. “It’ll be alright, now relax.”

Kit calmed down but still felt uneasy

“It doesn’t…hurt, does it?” Kit asked, his voice squeaking like a mouse.

“Of course not, I’ve done this to Jeffery a hundred times, not to worry, Kit.” Melissa assured him. “Besides, I wouldn’t hurt one of my favorite nephews, would I?”

“I guess not…” Kit said reluctantly.

Melissa took out her saw and begin cutting through the middle of the box. Kit watched her with frightened eyes, and she stopped and strokes his head again, brushing his hair smoothly.

“Relax Kit,” she gently. “If it helps, maybe you should close your eyes till I finish.”

“O-okay,” he squeaked and he closed his eyes as his Aunt Melissa resumed cutting him in half.

In the audience, Baloo started to rise from his seat, looking furious but Rebecca grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.

“Let me go, Becky.”  Baloo snarled, pulling his arm out of Rebecca’s grasp. “I ain’t gonna sit here and watch my navigator become sliced cheese!”

“Baloo, Kit is fine, it’s just a trick.” Rebecca told him firmly. “Now sit back down, buster, before you embarrass yourself, not to mention me!” and she forced Baloo to sit back down.

Baloo just grumbled and drummed his fingers on the armrest.  

Back onstage, the saw has cut clear through the box and yet, Kit felt nothing, he didn’t even feel the saw cutting through his midsection, to his great relief.

The stage manger handed Melissa two mirror-like boards, she took one and slid in between the two halves of the box, and then she added the second board before she separated the two halves of the box.

 Kit nearly fainted. There, in the other half of the box, were his feet sticking out of the end. It was so bizarre to see his own legs separated from his body in the other half of the box.    

 Chris took the box with Kit’s head poking out of the end, while Melissa took the one containing his legs.

Chris look down at Kit’s head, stroking Kit’s chin and throat gently, all the while there was a mischievous glint in his eyes. 

“If you’re as ticklish as I am, ooh, I’m gonna have fun…” Chris said with a