Magic!

Patrick felt a warm glow on his face. His nose wasn’t cold anymore. He blinked at the sun. Then he looked around. He was sitting on a large rock. The ground was sandy at his feet.

The Imagination Station faded away.

I forgot to ask Mr. Whittaker where we were going, he thought.

Patrick wondered what kind of clothes he was wearing. He always found himself in different clothes in the Imagination Station. Maybe they’d give him a clue. He looked down. He was wearing thick robes with colorful embroidery. A heavy gold necklace hung around his neck.

He noticed a hat on his head. Patrick reached up and felt cloth. A wide strip of material was twisted like a cinnamon roll. A turban, he thought. He touched a large jewel attached to the front of it. It was about the size of a baseball.

He searched his pockets. Whit often gave him a small gift to use in each adventure. But his pockets were empty. Did Mr. Whittaker forget to give me something? he wondered.

He stood up and looked around. On Patrick’s left was a large open field of sand. On his right stood a row of tall, thick bushes. A few were as tall as a man. Beth was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly he heard voices coming from the other side of the bushes. They were angry voices.

Uh-oh, I hope Beth isn’t in trouble already, he thought.

Patrick crept up to the bush. He spread apart some branches and peeked through the opening.

He saw two groups of men. They were standing on opposite sides of a hole in the ground. Square, flat stones lined the hole.

One group of men wore simple brown robes. A herd of twelve donkeys was gathered near them. Each donkey carried a large bundle on its back. The animals looked worn and tired. They only moved to twitch their ears.

The second group of men wore beautiful robes. Jewels decorated their clothes. The shiny gems looked like giant candy gumdrops without the sugar.

More than twenty camels stood around the men. Each camel was covered with a fancy blanket that looked like a carpet. Each blanket had dozens of long tassels. Patrick whistled to himself. These men had money. Lots of it.

The men in brown robes were different. He remembered drawings he’d seen of trading caravans in the Middle East. The men in brown robes looked like traders.

The shouting between the two groups grew louder.

One man in a brown robe stepped forward. His fists were clenched. Then a man from the other group came closer. He pointed to the hole.

Patrick guessed the hole in the ground was a well. The two groups seemed to be fighting over it. He scanned the crowds. He was hoping to spot Beth. But he saw only the men and their animals.

A man from the wealthy-looking group tossed his hands in the air. He looked disgusted. He shook his head and then turned and walked toward Patrick.

Maybe he’s seen Beth, Patrick thought. He stepped out from behind the bush as the man approached.

The man looked surprised to see him there.

“Have you seen a girl with brown hair?” Patrick asked.

The man looked at Patrick with an odd expression. He shook his head. “A girl? No, of course I haven’t,” he said. “We travel only with men.”

“What about them?” Patrick asked. He pointed to the other group of men.

“You’ll have to ask them yourself,” the man said.

Patrick looked at the arguing men. “What are they fighting about?” he asked.

“Our caravan has been traveling for days,” the man said. “Our camels need water. But the traders say the well is theirs because they were here first. We said we’d be happy to take the water after them. But they insist we cannot have any water at all.”

Just then, Patrick heard a man in a brown robe shout. That man shoved a man from the other group. The other man shoved back. A few other men began to throw punches. The argument was turning into a fight.

“Oh no,” the wealthy man said to Patrick.

“What can we do?” Patrick asked.

Suddenly there was a loud ka-pow! and a bright flash of light. A thick cloud of white smoke exploded next to the bush.

Patrick jumped and stumbled away from the explosion. He bumped into the wealthy man. The man reached out to steady him.

Several donkeys reared back. The fighting stopped. Both groups of men turned to see what had happened.

Patrick saw a white cloud of smoke. As the smoke thinned, a young man stepped forward. It seemed as if he had magically appeared. He wore a huge gold turban like a snail shell. His robes were made from shimmery fabric. He looked like a prince.

“Stop fighting, and share the water!” he called out. “There is enough for all!”

Then he raised an arm toward the sky and opened his hand. There was another ka-pow! and cloud of smoke. The young man vanished.

The men in brown robes were amazed. Some fell to their knees.

“Magic!” they cried with fear. “They have magic!”