Zanzibar the Magician - Unleashed

2 || TELEGRAM, MILK AND COOKIES

Still puzzled about her magic bleeding out without provocation, Zanzibar stared dumbly at her hand. She tried to rationalize what had caused the anomaly, but the reason evaded her.

A knock at the door interrupted her ruminations. A second, more persistent knock sounded quickly after; someone was impatient it seemed. Resigned, she stubbed out her cigarette, took another swig of bourbon, then padded to the front door. 

A boy with mousey hair and a freckled face peered up as Zanzibar pressed her eye to the peep-hole. Thomas - or Tommy as he preferred to be called, stood expectantly, looking casually around himself. He held a distinctive envelope in his hand. 

The magician flipped the lock and opened the door. A smile spread on Tommy's dirty, street-wise face. "Mornin', Miss Zanzibar," he said, beaming from ear to ear. "The telegram you were waiting for finally arrived at the  Western U office."

Zanzibar took the telegram thanking Tommy and beckoning him inside. "Want some milk and cookies?"

"Sure thing, Miss Zanzibar," Tommy enthused. The boy scuttled inside and made straight for the kitchen. He was about to sit down when Zanzibar shook her head and pointed to the sink. "You know the rules, Tommy. Wash first."

Making no objection Tommy crossed to the sink. Zanzibar ran some warm water into a small basin and stood back while the boy grabbed the soap and started vigorously washing his hands.

Tommy was a street urchin; an 'escapee' from the authorities and had lived on the streets now for just over two years. 

The boy's mother had struggled to raise him on her meagre wages from a two-bit diner in the Bronx. When she'd displayed early stages of tuberculosis, her employer dismissed her, rather brutally, and without pay. Unable to meet medical bills, she died in the small apartment she shared with her son, just before war broke out in Europe in September '39. 

With an absent father, the authorities stepped in on hearing of Tommy's predicament and took the boy to an orphanage. Whilst there Tommy heard stories of the Orphan Train Movement; a social experiment devised to settle poor and orphaned children with new families all over the States and as far afield as Canada and Mexico. The actual movement was no more, but the stories lived on and Tommy had feared he would still be sent away to a strange family in a strange place.

He flatly refused to leave New York. The Big Apple was his home and, demonstrating impressive alacrity, he'd managed to escape the orphanage and elude the authorities on several occasions.

It was during one of his artful dodges, he bumped into (a then-male) Zanzibar. Panicked, Tommy wriggled and lashed out, but the magician cast a harmless spell which resulted in silencing and calming the youngster. It was not hard to tell the boy was living on the streets and by the looks of him, just getting by on his wits, so Zanzibar took him to a nearby cafe where he treated him to a hearty lunch.

There they talked, and Tommy ate the first proper meal he had had in months. He relaxed and soon he spilt his story to Zanzibar. The magician took pity on him and offered him a job as a message boy delivering and sending telegrams for him. The boy could not read, but he knew his way around the streets well enough. He could locate various establishments, businesses and the likes. He also knew where certain individuals were to be found. And he was, by all accounts, brave and keen to earn a crust.

As their friendship developed, Zanzibar made enquiries for a home in which Tommy would be comfortable and well looked after. A childless couple the magician knew would have loved to take the boy in, but Tommy declined the offer, stating he had made the streets his home and had his own secret place. The two unlikely friends then made a pact that in time, Tommy would accept help in finding a proper abode.