A Little Angel in the Land of Oz

“Now, Remember Cassie, it can become a little strange inside beyond this door.”

“Kay.” Swaying from heel to toe and back, the little girl waited for her older brother to open the door. He had been telling stories about ‘backstage’ for weeks. Today, she would see it for herself.

As the plain metal door opens, she sees colors and lights and people swarming in all directions. She grabs on to Billy’s hand as he moves forward. All his warnings of the extraordinary hadn’t equipped her. As she steps through the doorway, a dancing balloon catches her attention. She attempts to catch the glittering yellow globe, but it hops over a giant man and disappears. Immediately, she looks for Billy, but the giant has spotted her. He grabs her under her arms with his enormous hands. “I found an angel.” His deep voice booms in her ears. “Does she fly?” With the last word, he lifts her high and tosses above his head and catches her before bringing her gently to her feet. “You are a lovely angel.” He lifts her again. Cassie explores with laughter as she feels the air rush around her face, a moment of weightlessness and then the giant’s arms landed her safely back on the ground.

“Again.” She calls out as she bounces on to her toes.

The man tosses her again. This time, her laughter catches Billy’s ears. He rushes back. “Oh, goodness, I thought I told you to stay close. Thank you Tiny for watching her. Have you seen Marcie?”

“No trouble Billy. I think Marcie is in the pit.”

“What’s she doing in the pit? Never mind, now, come along Cassie and stay close.”

Cassie waves to Tiny as Billy pulls her down a hallway away from the lights and funny people. The walls deafen the sounds from the area she just left. She tries to glimpse Tiny, but Billy pulls her around a corner. Holding her hand tight, he helps her down a flight of stairs. They enter an area filled with instruments. She attempts to reach out to the one closest to her. It looks like her fiddle at home, but much, much bigger. “No, Cassie, don’t touch. Maestro, have you seen Marcie?”

“You just missed her. She said she wanted a smoke.”

“I understood she quit. Thanks.” Billy anxiously lifts Cassie on to his shoulders. “It’s time for you to ride. I’ve only got an hour to get into makeup and custom. We got to find Marcie.”

“Why?” Cassie asks as the quick pace jostles her on Billy’s shoulders. “Why find Marcie?”

“I need her to take care of you.”

“NO!” Cassie wraps her arms around Billy’s head, covering his eyes and yanking him to a stop. “I want to stay with you. No, Marcie.”

“Cassie, I have to get ready. You can play with Marcie and then see the show. I’ll…”

“No.” She held tight around his head. He would have a difficult removing her before she was ready to be moved. As one of his hands tried to move between her and his ear, she licked it. “I won’t come down.”

“Cassie, please.”

Billy finds his way back to the large backstage room. She sees Tiny again. He is tugging on a rope. A beautiful princess dressed in a dazzling pink dress is talking with him. The princess’s eyes look her way. She comes rushing over. “Oh Billy, I found you. I’m in the show. I can’t watch… Is this your little sister? She is so cute.” Cassie lets go of Billy to reach out to the beautiful princess. “I wish I could watch her. But Sarah sprained her ankle, so I’m in.”

“Well, if I can’t find someone to attend her, I’ll be out.” 

“Sorry. I wish I could help.”

Marcie sets Cassie down. She brushes her cheek like caressing her favorite doll. “You are so pretty.”

“Like an angel.” Tiny says.

“Can you keep her, Tiny?” Billy asks.

“I’m working, too.”

“Billy?” A woman from the hallway shuts. “Why aren’t you in makeup? Are you sick? Broke something?” 

Cassie watches a woman in bright red robes wave her arms around through the air. She continues to question her brother. Her jet-black hair and fair skin turn toward her. She was stops pushing Billy towards the hallway and smiles wide at Cassie. “Hello. Who are you, my sweet?”

“Cassie.” Cassie said.

“You are as cute as a button.”

“Like an angel.” Tiny chirped.

“Who do you belong to?”

Cassie looked up at Billy. The director raised her eyes steadily from Billy’s feet until she reached his eyes. 

With a rich blush, he said. “She’s my little sister. My parents asked me to watch her. I asked Marcie, but…”

“Nonsense. We are all family. Your sister is our sister. We will all look after her.” The director squatted down to Cassie’s eye level. “I have a couple of rules. One, you shouldn’t go out the back doors. See, they have long bars across their middles. Two, the stage is off limits. Three, you whisper once the show has started. Can you do that?”

Cassie nodded.

“Good. Everyone, I said everyone.” The director waved her voluminous red robe around as she waited for everyone’s attention. “Good. This is Cassie. Please keep an eye on her, and protect her. Thank you.” 

Billy listened as everyone gave their affirmative remark and positive comment on how pretty, cute, and adorable his little sister was. Within moments, the crew was working again like a well oiled machine. The director shewed him down the hallway. He watched Cassie move towards Tiny. Was it that simple? 

Billy found his staging area. Max was ready to begin Billy’s transformation. In a matter of minutes, his little sister would no longer recognize him. If she panicked, he would have merely his voice to offer her solace. 

“Loosen up. The little darling will be fine. I brought my son with me when he was… uh… three the first time. He had so much fun. He pleaded to come back.”

“So, where is now?”

Max snickered. “Picking up his date. He’ll be by after the show. You know, George. Don’t you?”

“George is your son. I… I always wondered what he did here.”

Max chuckled as he started applying the mask. “It’s one gigantic family here. I bet someone will be in before this glue dries to provide you an update.”

If only, thought Billy. He didn’t like the idea of letting his little sister loose backstage. There were a lot of moving parts, not to mention the trap doors and people. If she impeded the wrong person,… He should go. 

“Relax.” Max pushed down on his shoulders. “You are going to have a permanent frown if you don’t loosen up. No one will like a frowny scarecrow, especially Madam Director.”

Trapped between obligation to his theater family, and his obligation to his sister, Billy endured Max’s constant tucking and pulling. Any other night, he would have enjoyed the attention of being transformed into his character. The boy sitting in Max’s chair was no longer the teenage misfit and reject. Tonight, he was becoming the comical scarecrow. Last month, he had been the mischievous but loved street rat, Aladdin. Next month, they promised him a starring role in James and the Giant Peach. He acted was only nine days a month in fifteen performances. No matter, it was his dream to become a professional thesipan. Nothing made him happier than being in the show. 

Tom, the backstage manager, peeked around the corner. “Cassie is doing great. Tiny is having her help hold a robe. She’s loving it. It’s already tied down, but you should see her give it all she’s got. She is precious. I’m going to be giving her a tour in a moment. Then Mason is going to entertain her in the costume area. She is such an angel.”

Tom disappeared as quick as he appeared. “See, I told you, Billy. Now, just a few more…” Max mumbled. Billy had to admit Max was right. If someone would keep giving him reports, he might make it through the performance with a clear conscience. “Ok. Make up done, now the costume. Arms up.”

Thanks to the report, Billy could relax and go over his lines. He also thought of the amount of time he would be backstage during the show. She wouldn’t know he was checking on her. Yet, he would feel better. Would his little sister be okay spending three hours with total strangers? Good thing it wasn’t Saturday or Sunday when they gave two performances. The tensions grew in his shoulders until Max began beating on them. “Relax. Relax. Relax.” He said with each playful punch rub.

“All done.” Max announced.

Billy gave a grateful nod and hurried down the hallway to see what Cassie was doing. She was being treated to a magic show but Carrie. Perched on a stool, Cassie was being dazzled by the disappearing and reappearing boutique of flowers. Carrie was quite good. How he wished he could talk with his sister and see how she was feeling. In costume he would be another strange is a sea of unfamiliar faces.

“Oh, Cassie, look. It’s Billy.” Carrie says.

Cassie jumped from the stool and ran over to him. “You scarecrow.” She wrapped her arms around his legs. “It you?”

“Yes, Cassie. Who told you…”

“Marcie, she a princess. Tom, he a lion. That girl, look…” Billy followed her tiny pointing finger towards the front curtain. “She ugly, but wait, she get more ugly and green.”

Billy hugged his sister. “You doing ok?”

“Okey Dokey.” She pulled free of his hug and skipped away to return to her personal magic show.

Billy felt an arm wrap around his shoulders. “Our one enormous family just got a little bigger today. Do you think she’d like a part in the next show?” Billy looked at Madam Director. Stunned to silence, she continued. “If she’s anything like her big brother, she’ll be a natural.”