Presto!

The black silken bag whispered against my nose as I crouched in the absolute darkness. I could feel the emotions of betrayal, panic, and abandonment at the edges of my perception but I held them back, reminding myself that soon I would be freed, again. I could feel my prison move around, tilt, and after a light thump I could feel something brush against my cloth surroundings as if looking for something. I sighed and pressed my nose upwards, breaking through the roof slightly. The light blinded me momentarily as something wrapped around my torso and removed me from my imprisonment. The audience cooed appreciatively as I was revealed and placed gently on the table. I blinked a few times before registering the people around me. 

Geraldo the Magnificent stood behind me just putting the former prison, a top hat, onto his head and taking a bow to the delighted clapping of the children around him. I hopped to one side of the table and sat up on my haunches, my ears pricked and attentive, watching the rest of Jerry’s magic show from my front-row seat. 

Jerry or Geraldo the Magnificent, as the banner behind him displayed in bright colors and plenty of sparkles, looked around at the smiles before him, gave a mischievous grin, and reached into his coat for a familiar black and white wand. I had seen, and participated, in this show so many times before that I knew the routine, even if Jerry sometimes didn’t. But that’s what I was here for, even if he didn’t know it. 

Because I owed Jerry my life. Quite literally. 

My very first memories were in a cage filled with dozens of other rabbits all crowded over one another, a puddle of multi-colored fur, to the point where you weren’t sure where you ended and your neighbor began. Large faces would appear at our cage and hands would reach in every now and then and one of us would be removed, never to be seen again. One day I was one of the “lucky” ones. I was put into a box and then a basket with a little ribbon around my neck next to some brightly colored eggs and scratchy grass that was definitely not edible. A small girl had squealed when she found my basket and had oohed and ahhed then named me Peter. I was then plopped into a cage barely bigger than my basket with some water and pellets of food in a blue bowl. The wire cage was put into the little girl’s room and there I had remained for weeks.

I shake myself out of my reverie sending the little bell on my collar to jingling, Jerry brandishes the wand and then, with a wink and some magic words it transforms into a bouquet of flowers that he hands to the birthday boy’s mother. He then pats his coat pockets and seems to be at a momentary loss. I stamp my foot to get his attention before nosing the pack of cards sitting in front of me forward slightly. Jerry smiles down at me and takes up the cards, fanning them out and asking the birthday boy to choose a card. I sit up watching the exchange ensuring that no cards fall out, again. 

After weeks of circling the small wire cage doing what all living beings do, the little girl’s room had started to acquire a smell. I had also felt my teeth growing too fast for my tiny mouth to contain and had attempted to ground them down by gnawing on the bars of my prison. The little girl had complained and the parents had decided to take matters into their own hands. I had been grabbed, causing some panicking, kicking, and biting at the hand that held me, before being thrown into a small cardboard box that smelled like feet. In the dark, I could only hear the crashes and bangs and the scent of gasoline as I was loaded into the family car and driven to a local park. I had pushed the top of the box open just as the car drove away in a cloud of fumes. Abandoning me in the park to fend for myself.

Jerry shows Alex, the birthday boy, his previously chosen card to the awe of the small child. Jerry puts all the cards back into the box and ceremoniously hands the box to Alex wishing him a happy birthday. Alex walks back to his seat reverently holding the cards before him as though they held the secrets of the universe. Geraldo the Magnificent reaches into his breast pocket and takes a bright red handkerchief and mimics blowing his nose into it. He then makes a show of displaying his empty hands before packing the cloth into his fist and making it disappear. However, I could see a bit of red cloth peeking out against his palm, bright against his parchment-pale skin. I hop to the front of the table and make a noticeable show of flopping onto my side to the distraction of the audience, hoping they wouldn’t notice Jerry’s magical hiccup. Jerry chuckles and shoos me off to my side of the table while deftly tucking the cloth and fake thumb back into his pocket. 

I remembered shivering in terror in that cardboard box all night. The sounds and smells all around me were unfamiliar but horrifying to my prey instincts. I couldn’t breathe or think past the racing of my tiny heart. I was so hungry and thirsty but couldn’t leave my cardboard protection as thin and flimsy as it was. As the sun had begun to peak over the trees I heard someone whistling behind me. I shakingly turned my head to see an elderly man walking past with a coffee cup in his hands, steam coming off it in the cool morning air. He almost kicked my hiding place before bending over to pick it up. He was startled to see my little face peeking back at him from what he assumed was a bit of refuse. Which I guess I had been. I could see his face soften and he gently closed the lid. I could hear and feel the unfortunately familiar jostling of the box as I was put into a car. I could hear muffled voices from outside my cardboard prison before the top was removed again. I was in a room with harsh bright lights which smelled strongly of antiseptic. A woman in a white coat handled me, surprisingly gently. She listened to my heart and poked me with a needle before placing me into a large plastic box with plenty of holes that allowed me to see out. I had still pressed myself to the back corner, my eyes darting around and my chest rising and falling rapidly. A few hours later I was in a warm home and let loose into a room furnished with a litter box, a wooden crate with plenty of hay, a bowl of fresh water, and the most delicious lettuce I had ever had. It took a few days for me to warm up to Jerry, who took his time acclimating me to his presence. He spoke to me in a soft, even voice about his life. I learned he no longer worked and his children had all grown up and moved away. His grandchildren were living far away and he was only able to see them on special holidays. His wife had passed away a few years ago and he was lonely. He had a small side business doing magic shows for birthday parties and local children’s hospitals to keep him busy. He had smiled softly and quietly telling me how much the children reminded him of his grandchildren.

Jerry picks a child from the front row, a small girl that made my ears lie flat against my head. He handed her a metal ring and asked her to check if it was solid. He repeats it twice more with all his magical metal rings. At one point, he fumbles the rings and one bounces across the table toward me. I move slightly to intercept it before it tumbles to the ground. He distractedly strokes my ears as he retrieves the ring. After dismissing the little girl, he knocks the rings together causing them to interlock. He performs this trick with each of the rings, interlocking and removing them a few times to the delighted clapping of the audience. 

Jerry had named me Preston, or Presto! for the shows. Each time before the shows he would gently place me in my little cloth sack in the top hat, making sure I had a few kernels of popcorn to keep me company. He knew that popcorn, unsalted and unbuttered, was my favorite snack. I hadn’t known this when I had first been introduced to the rest of his home. I had learned this when Jerry and I would watch movies on Saturday nights on his ancient television with an old-style “rabbit ear” antenna. He made sure with my vet that it was okay before giving me a handful. He had also taken to purchasing small toys for me, little balls with jingle balls or stuffed fake carrots. I hadn’t initially understood what to do with them but noticed that Jerry would smile when I pushed them around the room with my nose and thus I had continued doing that much to his delight. He made sure that I had plenty to chew on to keep my teeth at a manageable level and my fur became silkier and softer than I ever thought possible with my delicious healthy food and lettuce and carrots.

His magical show concludes and Geraldo the Magnificent gently scoops me from the table holding me securely against his chest as he takes his final bow to the thunderous applause of his adoring audience. He places me in my soft-sided crate with a carrot to munch on as he displays me on the table so the children could see, but not touch. The children rush the stage to pester Jerry for hints on his tricks, which he responds to by smiling, winking, and whispering quietly into their ears. He hands out a few wands and boxes of cards to select children. They ask him to pet me which he politely declines knowing how hard it was to earn my faith initially. I trusted him now to keep me safe and happy, and forever full of popcorn and lettuce.