This is the second part of a bedtime interactive story that I told my 8 y.o. daughter. See part 1 here.
Chatty: So May-Gee was worried that she was going to fail her magical gestures exam this afternoon so she practiced really hard. See, gestures need to be precise.
I started making Tai-chi like moves with my hands, making my hands weave and circle around each other. Rory sat up in bed and started doing the same. Soon we both were May-Gee, practicing moves for the exam.
Chatty: May-Gee’s test wasn’t simple, she had to freeze water in a glass globe without making it burst. That made her very nervous.
That’s why she was practicing?
Yes, she was outside the school, trying to do as many as she could before the test.
Okay. Then what?
Well… There was this boy see…
No daddy! Not a boy!
Oh come on Rory, it’s a story about teenagers, there’s always a boy right?
(Laughing) Yeah, you’re right…
What should we name him then?
We started riffing for names and they all sounded wrong, stupid or inappropriate. We laughed a lot. After a few horrible, hilarious failures…
Chatty: Oh I don’t know. How about Luke?
Rory (pondering): Yeah, lets take this one.
All right, so while May-Gee was practicing, Luke came to the field. He said “‘here let me help” but he just started showing off. He made the gesture really well and started freezing one globe after the other.
That’s not nice.
I know. That’s why May-Gee told him “You know I don’t like that when you do this. You’re not helping, this is HARD for me!” Do you want to know what she did after?
What?
Well there’s this one spell that May-Gee is really good at, and she uses it when people tease her too much.
Oh yeah?
Yeah, so she put her hands on her hips, made a little circle on the floor with her left foot and started whistling. Luke, recognizing the spell, started apologizing but it was too late. Luke’s lips started inflating like balloons!
I started lisping really bad.
I’m sho shoory May-Dzee, I didn’t mean to teashe you…
Daddy stop doing that, May-Gee stops the spell!
Of course she does. Luke’s lips shrunk back really fast, he was relieved. Do you want to know how Luke made it up to May-Gee for being mean?
Yes.
Luke told her “See, I have this music that plays in my head when I make magical gestures. It’s like I dance to it, making the moves easier. You want to try?” “Sure” May-Gee answered, “but I can’t hear what’s in your mind”. Do you wanna know what he did next?
Yeah!
At this point I was in full narrative control of the story, but Rory (and I) were really into it. The story was barreling in my mind like a train, it was just too awesome.
Luke came real close to May-Gee, putting his head near hers (I did the same with Rory) and he said “I have this trick I discovered in the library, lets try it”. He reached to the side of his head with his fingers and made a pinching movement. As he slowly pulled, May-Gee saw those lines and symbols you see in music class.
Yes I remember, the staff and notes.
Exactly! So as Luke pulled off this stream of music from his head, May-Gee heard a faint song play. Luke then brought his fingers to May-Gee’s head, the music entered her mind and she heard it loud and clear. Then Luke started teaching her how the music guided him to make the correct gestures. After a short while, May-Gee said she was ready to try. So, both Luke and her set many many water globes in a large circle around them, and they both started making the moves, slowly at first, freezing water , each doing their own side. It was quite a sight to behold, like a slow, graceful dance .
Oh wow…
As they worked together, they didn’t even notice how good they were. They became a team as they froze globes faster and faster.
Then what daddy?
Well, someone was watching them from the school’s top floor!
Who daddy?
It was Baladur. He came down in a storm just as the last 2 globes were frozen. He said “Excuse me young lady!”
Oh no!
May-Gee started apologizing, explaining that Luke was just helping her practice for the test. But Baladur interrupted her with a dismissive wave. “It’s incredible what you did there! I’ve never seen two magicians, much less such young ones, perform in perfect unison like that… You pass the test young ones, no need to do it again!”
Yay!
Then Baladur said “More importantly, you seem to have rediscovered the power of linked magic… this is stupendous… we need to explore that…” But that’s for another time, that was the story for tonight.
That’s my favorite story ever dad!
Then Rory did something that stunned me, showing me we were more alike than I ever expected. She took my head, brought it close to hers, made a slight pinching gesture near her left temple, pulled an invisible string and brought it to my right temple… whispering
“Do you hear the song daddy?”
Of course I do love, of course I do.
And we both hummed a song together for a few seconds.
My love for my kids knows no bounds. I cherish every moment that brings me closer to them, even though many of the things that prevent me to do so come from my own choices and quirks.
I once promised I would not miss my children growing up. I take this promise to heart.
Thanks for reading.
