“They had met 20 years prior on the corner of Rodeo Dr. and Hollywood Blvd, both performing magic tricks solo, for anyone who wouldn’t turn their nose up to a roadside illusion. She was born with magic in her blood, given her great grandfather was Harry Houdini. Growing up, she never steered away from the mystery of magic; being her dad’s assistant, helping him make props, and traveling along with, whenever she was able.
He was was a teenager when the curiosity of magic took hold; Houdini was one of his inspirations for a lot of his illusions; starting with simple card tricks, pulling anything out of a hat, and disappearing acts for neighbors, family, and friends. He quickly got it perfected, making his shows and performances bigger and better. The duo married and quickly became headliners for shows in Vegas, LA, and NYC. Traveling together, making fans jaws drop, and becoming the fastest sold-out magic show in the world, they were unstoppable. But there was something deeper; with travel, little to no downtime, constantly changing the act of trying something better, she was exhausted and she began to resent him and his work. But there was one act that the pair had never tried and he was determined to do it, just one time. She wanted to refuse, she wanted to scream and tell him it wasn’t worth the risk because she had never seen this illusion done correctly…
He was going to cut a woman in half. His woman. Hell-bent on doing it like a ‘real magician’, he didn’t practice before the big night. She was terrified, he was too anxious to see the fear she had boiling out. As she sank down in the long, rectangle box, he closed the top and asked the audience if they wanted to see him saw a woman in half! The crowd roared with cheers and her throat dropped into her stomach. She heard the sawing of the box; he had begun the trick. No sooner than she heard the blade to the wood, she felt the blade to her skin. Warm liquid started to cover her torso, and she began to panic. But the pain… the pain she should have felt wasn’t there. No pain at all. When he lifted the lid to the box to end the most dangerous illusion they have ever done, the entire audience gasped and fell completely silent. Blood gushed out of the open cracks and dripped puddles onto the waxed stage floor. She rose to her feet slowly and looked up at her husband, who stood there with the saw still in hand, frozen in horror at what he just has done. Locking eyes, a smile protruded across her face as she asked, “Was that supposed to hurt?”
