Magic Man

A golden tenor voice sang out as I was returning from lunch.

“This one’s for you, wherever you are…” an old Barry Manilow tune back from my college days. I was enfolded in a sudden wave of nostalgia listening to that voice sing. I had seen him on the street corner many times before but never heard him. He was the one they called “Magic Man”. Why “Magic Man”? Perhaps it was the way he could wrap his voice around a song and take you anywhere he chose. Dressed casually, wearing sunglasses and a hat, he was the epitome of a street performer but that voice was pure heaven. And for some reason that song connected to me, called me to him, compelling me to listen to what he had to say.

Even when the song ended I was suspended standing on the street corner. I knew I had to get back to work but something held me in place, an expectation of more yet to come. His voice softly stirred the air as he began “Fly away”… I was hearing the melody but the words were not those I remembered of the song. He sang as though to entice me…

… And fly away I did to the sounds of waves lapping gently on a beach and birds circling in a bright blue sky. Somehow he was singing just for me, filling my soul with a desire to be somewhere else. And then his song ended…

I slowly returned from my dream world. He had vanished, nowhere to be seen. Holy shit! Time had flown by while I was lost in his fantasy and I was late for my meeting. I hurried back to work, not giving “Magic Man” another thought.

The rest of my day seemed languid until finally it was time to go home. For some reason I was quite fatigued, barely able to keep my eyes open so I planned on calling it an early night. I could not resist the thought of gentle sleep that was wooing me. I was asleep as soon as my head nestled into the pillow, cocooned lovingly in the arms of Morpheus.

I found myself travelling down a tropical path, hearing the song of “Magic Man”. His words coaxing me onward and leading me to somewhere I didn’t know.

“Life in the city can make you crazy
“For sounds of the sand and the sea
“Fly away”

When the music faded I was alone by the beach, the warmth of the sun radiating throughout my body. The tingle of the salt air against my exposed skin renewed my very being while the smell of the ocean teased my nostrils. “Fly away” kept reverberating through my head. Ah, such bliss, such peacefulness, paradise found. I was flying, floating away on the waves of the sea, drifting further and further from the world I knew. The colors here were brighter, more vivid than any I had ever seen. I felt at home as if the beach was where I had always belonged. I closed my eyes but for a brief moment.

I was startled awake by something warm and wet hitting me. Wide eyed I surveyed my surroundings. I was no longer in my bed. I wasn’t even in my apartment. I was lying on a sandy tropical beach, the sun permeating every pore of my body while the waves crashed around me. I stood up, powerful and supple muscles smoothly rippling as I rose. Something was hitting my chest. I looked down to see…

I was still dreaming. That was it, for what I beheld was a vision of youth in its prime, of beauty realized in human form. “Magic Man” had somehow tapped into my deepest desires, fed my mind with his words until my yearning manifested into reality.

My heart pounded quickly as I ran my hands down my naked torso, every crevice and striation firm, taut with lightly bronzed skin. My fingertips were sending waves of pleasure to my brain as I felt each beautiful muscle I now possessed. I was physical perfection on display. My body wanted to hit the waves, my soul yearning to be one with the sea. Almost involuntarily I bent down to pick up the surf board lying near my feet. Ah, youth. It could be so cocky and brash but I loved every moment and as my feet touched the warm water I knew this was nature’s truth, where I belonged. Whether angel or demon I didn’t care for I was living my fantasy, thanks to “Magic Man”.