“That’s the thing about magic; you’ve got to know it’s still here, all around us, or it just stays invisible for you.”
– Charles de Lint
It was one of those summer days when I was feeling blue. I just had to get a strong iced tea and some dark chocolate covered almonds with sea salt from Starbucks to help put a spring in my step. I mean, come on, that’s a fantastic treat. The tea was ordered but I saw they didn’t have any of the candy I wanted. I inquired with Maria behind the counter. She agreed that that particular candy is an exceptional treat and that, because of that, her particular Starbucks had sold out of them. Maria could see the want in my eyes for the dark chocolate, sea salt, almond combination so she searched through a few cupboards and boxes on my behalf. Sadly, she came up empty-handed. I said, “That’s okay. I’ll just take the tea.” She rang me up at the cash register and handed my debit card back to me. And then…
Maria reached her hand around the cash register to the very back of it, to the crevice between the cash register and the high counter. All of a sudden, she had in her hand a container of dark chocolate almonds with sea salt. It was as if it appeared by magic. Maria was completely startled. She said, “Um. I don’t even know why I put my hand back there. Here. Take it. You don’t have to pay. Just take it.” She practically threw the container at me as if it were a terrifying object.
I saw a real-life magic trick at Starbucks. Maria was freaked out, but I walked out the door with a big grin on my face.
