Dove Magic

Li’l Pete was not a part of the magic act right away. He showed a reluctance to participate at all. He seemed more content in the cage or fluttering around the house. To the 14-year-old magician, this was frustrating and sad.

Li’l Pete was named after a miniature version of Pete Rose the Cincinnati Red’s star. Both the dove and its namesake moved quickly, flew towards objects (bases and plates for big Pete, narrow dowels of wood or homemade roosts, for Li’l Pete) and both seemed undisciplined or said more politely, independent.

Li’l Pete’s owner did not have a magic trick in mind when he purchased the bird for $5.00 from a shopper at the local magic store. He could not wait for the bird’s arrival and imagined it would be well-trained in the art of stealth and production. He was neither and he was not a male pigeon as his new owner learned shortly after building a large cage.

The state magic convention was about nine months from the day of Li’l Pete’s arrival. His owner’s competition act was based on handkerchiefs or streamers – both called “silks” by magicians. He wanted a finale after his last grand production of silks. The routine was beautiful on its own – performed in rhythm with the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour song.

The magician took time to train Li’l Pete on being hidden; then being hidden and suddenly appearing; then being hidden, suddenly appearing, and not flying away. After two months, Li’l Pete graduated from amateur to professional as a magic flying assistant. Li’l Pete did not coo much while being hidden, did not take off for a trip around the room when produced, and welcomed her master’s petting and positioning on the glitter covered roost.

Time moved quickly as the magician prepared for the state magic convention and the stage magic competition. Li’l Pete and her owner were coordinated with the music, the magic and the performance.

A week before leaving town for the big city location of the magic convention, the magician performed a final public show with his pal. The audience were fellow high school students. They were rowdy and occasionally loud. The magician began his production of a beautiful fountain of silks. The silks appeared to emerge in a steady stream from one silk to another and more.

At the end and on the Beatles’ cue, the magician reached into the overflowing festoon to produce Li’l Pete. The dove was a surprise to the audience. For a brief time, the kids were silent. The effect, the act and Li’l Pete worked perfectly.

“Let me see him,” one of the audience members yelled. “That’s not a real bird!”

The magician let Li’l Pete flutter to his shoulder as the girl approached the stage.

She was angry. She moved quickly and hoped to snatch Li’l Pete from the magician’s care. He reached forward to block her grasping hands. She pulled his fingers quickly and they both heard a snap as his middle finger broke. With his other hand, the magician pushed the stunned girl from the stage. She was immediately aware of the damage she caused.

“Sorry,” she murmured as the magician and Li’l Pete walked off stage.

A week later, at the state convention, the magician and his friend walked the dealers’ booths, watched the shows and the magician helped his friend practice for the competition. His friend’s act lacked so much of the grace and practice the magician created and honed. The magician’s finger, now in a cast covering much of his hand, was broken and he felt the same emotionally.

Li’l Pete seemed excited to see her master return home after the convention. She fluttered and landed on his shoulder before moving to his cast-covered finger. She cooed and stared at him with a slight angular move of her head.

In the years that followed, Li’l Pete performed flawlessly for the magician. She produced her own magical offspring with the help of the magician’s second dove. As she aged and cared for her chicks, she spent less time in secret compartments and more time hopping from cage to furniture and back to her nest in the cage.

One Saturday, many years later, long after the magician ended that part of his life where performing magic was the sole focus, Li’l Pete passed away. She was surrounded by her children; her partner having died a year earlier. The former magician cried and tried to catch his breath. He took her to the sunny backyard of the house they shared with the magician’s human family and buried her with a silent prayer and gentle rain of tears.

In keeping with the tradition pertaining to the burial of all magicians, he broke the magic wand that served as her roost for so many years. He set each half on the side of his partner and covered it all with dirt.

He could not stop the tears or hide his smile.