Don't Try

Tear turned in his 50$ deposit and application to join the magic show at a booth located near the side of the building entrance.

After that, he was stuck in what he liked to call "The torturous chamber of boredom." 

Or in other words, a damn long line. In the end, though, it still felt like mere seconds cause of the anxiety of the situation. 

He was in the the line from dawn to noon, and then noon to dusk. After 8 entire hours, Tear was finally only one person away from entering the stage.

He had been rehearsing what he was going to say and do during his entire wait, yet he still couldn't shake off the nerves even up until a couple minutes before his performance.

What forced him back into the moment was an abrupt and loud "BOO" from the crowd.

His vision became clear and his eyes locked onto the person on the stage in front of him.

It was a young woman in her early thirties. She was clearly dressed up for the occasion. She seemed as though he was about to burst into tears.

And yet, the criticism and rude shouting from the crowd wasn't stopping whatsoever.

Tear happened to live near Yollymood, where magic was more popular than any other sort of entertainment.

Several hundred were lined up to participate, and on such a big stage, Tear quickly realized that only perfection wasn't torn to shreds.

Everything else was roasted and burnt to a crisp before even getting a chance to surface.

Out of nowhere, the lady on the stage broke out into a flurry of tears before digging her face into her elbow and running backstage--brushing past Tear.

Understanding that his turn was next, Tear felt his breath wanting to stop at his throat and his voice closing in as though he was suffocating. His heart was beating non-stop, feeling as though it was going to burst out of his chest.

Cold sweats, horrible chills crawling up and down his back, and even a feeling of lightheadedness. Despite this, his name was still called on the loudspeaker after a few seconds:

"Next contestant, #1102 Tear Shosha, please make your way to the center of the stage!"

Just like that morning, Tear took in a deep breath and walked forward. He felt the eyes of the crowd pierce into him like daggers--almost feeling the sting on his skin.

The feeling was judgemental and vicious, like a pack of starved wolves ready to gnaw at any chunk of skin they could get their teeth in.

Yet... 'This is my only chance, damn it. Toughen up.' Tear gritted his teeth, walking to the X on the floor before turning to face the crowd.

In front of him were three judges behind a glowing table. One was a bald man, the other a beautiful lady, and the final one was an ugly middle-aged man with sunken eyes.

In front of them all was a green button that read "Yes."

Tear's eyes darted around, hurrying to find the most important person--the Golden Yes holder.

To the left, sitting on an elevated seat was a man wearing all golden-colored clothing.

He looked pompous as could be and was slightly chubby, having what many would call a grand mustache and plump red cheeks.

In front of him was what Tear had been waiting to see. The elusive Golden Yes button.

"Good morn--" That was all that left Tear's mouth before he was abruptly interrupted.

"Morning? It's dark outside right now. What kind of mornings do you have?" The Golden Yes holder blurted out.

A few seconds of silence passed, as the crowd erupted into hearty laughter.

"Pahhaha! We got a retard on stage!"

"Get this clown out of here!"

"Did he say morning!?"

...

For a moment, Tear felt panic climb up from his feet to his head, wanting to burst out the top.

However, he composed himself again.

"Haha..." He chuckled lightly, warranting everyone's attention. At this moment, he unexpectedly felt a flush of confidence wash over him.

It might have been his nerves carrying him through it, but having never done this before, his body moved on its own.

"Of course, it seems I've been inside for so long I forgot what time it was!" He said, inciting a few laughs from the crowd himself.

The pompous Golden Yes man snarled slightly at Tear's remark.

"Nevertheless, I am not here to tell you all whether it is nighttime or day, but rather, to impress everyone with the most fantastic magic you have ever seen in your lives!"

This speech warranted a few odd cheers from the crowd. Mostly, it was still a load of badmouthing.

Tear performed his Transfer spell as a warm-up. Or at least, he tried to.

He put a golden ball in his hand, showcased it to the crowd, and attempted to move it to the other hand.

'Work.' He mused in his head, closing both hands into fists before opening them up again.

Yet, the ball had not transferred. Once the audience noticed this, they had quite a laugh.

On top of that, the insults were much worse than before.

Even the judges were disappointed.

"One of the easiest sleight of hand tricks a magician can do, and yet you fail at even that? Do you take this competition as a joke?" The pompous Golden Yes holder said again.

Tear felt agitated at this.

'I'm trying my best here, fat bastard! I bet your stubby fingers wouldn't even close into a fist if you tried this!' Tear said inwardly, but had to remain stoic to continue his act.

At this point, no one was on his side. The stage was so loud with boos and ugly remarks that most people would have just given up by now.

Yet, Tear was going to continue. He had already had his fair share of humiliation in the past.

Compared to the accumulation of his entire life, this wasn't shit. Tear realized this and gained even more confidence.

He had nothing to lose, so why not go all out!

"For my next trick!" He announced loudly into the crowd, quieting them down.

Some of the judges looked behind themselves, "Well... at least he has good crowd control." One said under his breath.

Tear continued: "I will be requesting a volunteer." He placed the crowd in a slightly uneasy mood.

For a moment, Tear felt like he held the power. As his eyes scanned across the crowd, he almost felt like a hawk searching for its prey.

Finally, his gaze stopped at the Golden Yes holder.

He pointed at the pompous man: "Sir, would you be so kind as to join me for my final magic spell?"

A few seconds of silence passed. The pompous man tucked his chin back, almost in disbelief.

"What? Me?" He confusedly exclaimed.

Suddenly, the crowd began to cheer for the man to step up to the plate.

Even the judges encouraged it.

"Come on! Go for it!"

"You are the most experienced amongst all of us, you got this!"

Tear's smug expression became more and more cunning as the cheers became louder.

'Come on, fatty. I'll use you as my test subject.' He mused as he smirked.

"F-fine!" The pompous man's seat lowered to floor level as he pushed himself off of it and walked onto the stage. "Don't do anything silly, or else you will never be able to pay it back up." He said with a low gaze.

"Naturally!" Tear retorted, "Please step here right next to me."

As the pompous man did this, the crowd calmed down.

Some whispers began to sprout about.

"Where is the equipment?" A few murmured amongst themselves.

"Is he not going to use the usual curtain?"

"A new piece of technology?"

No one understood what Tear was trying to do, while Tear was simply re-reading his magic book.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Tear faced the crowd.

"Today, I will be making this man disappear without any equipment or tricks. This will be raw, real magic!" 

Of course, no one believed him. He became an even bigger laughingstock than before.

The bald judge was dying of laughter, convinced Tear's act was a comedic one rather than magic.

Tear raised his hand above the unsuspecting pompous man, who looked back at him with furrowed brows of puzzlement.

At that moment, Tear felt every external sound muffle out and time seemed to almost slow down.

'Your final words...' He mused to himself, remembering that life-changing day 16 years ago.

***

Before his grandfather died, his last words to Tear were: "Be good, Tear. When you need help, use my book. Don't just try your best. It's not good enough. Don't try at all. Just do..."

Back then, Tear had always imagined that his grandpa was trying to tell him to use the magic book if he ever needed help performing a magic spell.

However, Tear now began to understand that perhaps his grandpa's advice to "remember" the book was a way of telling him to use it whenever he needed guidance or assistance in any aspect of life.

***

Remembering his grandpa's words and widening his eyes, he seriously focused on the magic book before saying out loud:

"Disappear."