The Man Upstairs Is Probably a Wizard
It starts with a little idea…
Finn (child)“The man upstairs has loads of parcels. And I heard this weird banging. What if he’s a wizard? He’s probably just fixing something. But can the boy try to work it out? I don’t want you to say straight away.”
Kit is collecting evidence about the man upstairs. A strange hat, mysterious parcels, three knocks through the ceiling… Surely there is an ordinary explanation.
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Read the whole story as text
The first clue
The man upstairs moved in on a wet Tuesday. Kit saw only his boots, a long coat and a box that rattled. That evening, three knocks came through the ceiling. Knock. Knock. Knock. Kit opened his notebook. Ordinary neighbours had ordinary luggage. Probably.
A growing collection
By Friday, Kit had collected five clues. A tall black hat. Parcels covered in stars. A white feather on the stairs. And once, under the upstairs door, a curl of blue smoke. He wrote WIZARD? at the top of a fresh page. The question mark was important. So far, he had no proof.
Two explanations
“He could be making something,” Mum said. “Or turning people into frogs,” said Kit. Mum looked at the feather. “Have you seen any frogs?” “No.” “Then leave room for another explanation.” Kit drew two columns. In one he wrote MAGIC. The other stayed rather empty.
The missing box
On Saturday, the biggest parcel arrived. Kit watched Mum carry the shopping past it. When they came back, the parcel had vanished. The landing was empty. Then a voice behind the door said, “Oh, bother. Where has the rabbit gone?” Kit stopped breathing for a second. Rabbit. Definitely a new clue.
A proper question
Kit wanted to listen at the keyhole. He wanted to peer through the letterbox. Instead, he asked Mum to come with him. Together, they knocked. The man opened the door. He was holding a white rabbit. Kit swallowed. “Excuse me. Are you a wizard?” The man looked at the notebook. “That depends,” he said. “How much evidence have you got?”
Behind the door
“I’m Mr Bell. I’m practising for the library show.” The rabbit was cloth. The blue smoke came from a little stage machine. The three knocks were a wooden box being tested. Mr Bell opened the box. It had a hidden compartment. Kit’s empty column filled up quickly. “But,” said Mr Bell, “there is one thing I can’t make disappear.”
A very large worry
“My nerves,” he said. He could vanish a handkerchief. He could find a card. But when he imagined the audience, his paws shook. Kit looked at his notebook. “What if you practised on us?” Mr Bell tried the trick. The handkerchief caught on his sleeve. Kit laughed. Mr Bell laughed too. For the first time, the room felt less mysterious.
The library show
At the library, Kit sat in the front row. Mr Bell took a breath. Kit gave him a small thumbs-up. The red handkerchief vanished. The cloth rabbit appeared. Everybody clapped, even before the last trick. Kit crossed out WIZARD? and wrote MAGICIAN. Then he added: Quite a good one.
One final clue
Afterwards, Mr Bell reached behind Kit’s ear and brought out a silver coin. Kit checked his ear. Then his pocket. Then Mr Bell’s sleeve. “How did you do that?” Mr Bell smiled. “A little practice.” That night, Kit started a new page. MAGICIAN, he wrote. Underneath, in very small letters, he added: Probably.
An illustrated example of the experience we are developing. Talebrix is still in development; this book was not printed by the device.