“Yeah, do you believe in magic
Yeah, believe in the magic of a young girl’s soul
Believe in the magic of rock and roll
Believe in the magic that can set you free
Ohh, talking ’bout magic

Do you believe like I believe
Do you believe in magic
Do you believe like I believe
Do you believe, believer
Do you believe like I believe
Do you believe in magic “

   Phil’s mom is still trying to pry her eyes open with the radio in the back ground and a cup of coffee in her hand. Phil, Wendy and Ishkabob come down the hall to feed the growling monster in Phil’s belly. The familiar over-caffeinated voice resounds off the cabinets as he tries to sell grass seed that can grow on your chin if you want. Peter, Paul and Mary come on next:

“When I was growing up my best friend was a unicorn
The others smiled at me and called me "crazy"
But I was not upset by knowing I did not conform
I always thought their seeing must be hazy.
The unicorn and I would while away the hours
playing, dancing and romancing in the wild flowers
and we’d sing ….”

   Phil’s breakfast vanishes and he tells his mom where he’ll be on his bike, then out the door he goes. Wendy and Ishkabob get excited about going on the big moving space. They pick up speed and Wendy’s hair streams out behind her. The scenery blurs, and then Wendy hears Phil shout to Shiloh. They pull beside each other, exchange pleasantries, Shiloh asks what they’re doing, and Ishkabob says they’re looking for a Unicorn. Shiloh says she’s only seen drawings of Unicorns and that she’d love to see a real one, but where do we look? Wendy asks, what about the quiet place with all the books? Ishkabob says he’s never seen a Unicorn there. Shiloh says that’s a great idea, they must have a book that says where to look for a real one. Phil turns his bike around and as they head toward the library, Wendy and Ishkabob talk about what a Unicorn might be.

   They park their bikes and climb the stairs; automated doors open with a silent whoosh as cold air greets them.

They walk to the desk and ask the librarian the best place to look for “factual” information about Unicorns. They produce library cards and are signed onto the internet. They find out that Unicorns are mentioned seven times in the Bible, not only was Adam the first man to see one, it was the first animal named, placing it above the other animals. They are courageous, yet solitary; fierce, but gentle; rare and of amazing beauty.  They learn that placing the horn on a table will neutralize poison and even a small piece on a chain will protect the wearer from evil. That because they are so valuable, a whole horn is worth 3,000 pounds of gold, and phony ones have been passed off during medieval times; there are five different tests to prove its authenticity. One test is to place the horn into water; if it sounds and looks like the water is boiling, but the water is cold, it’s real. They also find out that if a beautiful maiden sits in the forest where Unicorns frequent, it will come, lay its head in her lap, and it can be captured. Ishkabob says Shiloh is beautiful, so we can catch one.

   Exiting the library, they are reminded of how hot it has become outside. Shiloh says she needs to stop at home for just a minuet for a cooler shirt because the dark one she’s wearing is stuck to her back with sweat. Phil agrees with the stop so he can touch base with his mom and maybe grab a camera. Shiloh’s mom is busy doing “mom stuff” as Phil is on the phone. Shiloh reaches the bottom of the stairs and the sun seems to act like a spotlight directed on her. She’s wearing a light, white cotton pull over with blue lace through the collar and the seam of the short sleeves. Wendy and Ishkabob both blurt ”wow!”, and Phil is speechless.  Shiloh blushes and tells them her dog chewed a hole through the bottom so she can wear it out for “play”. After the “we’ll – be - careful”, and “yes – I – have – my – cell - phone”, they head toward the edge of town and “the forest”.

Trees crowd the road, blocking the brilliance of the sun and the shade does little to cool the temperature. A beam of sun is permitted through from an old fallen tree and Wendy tells them that this is the spot. Pulling their bikes up they find the sun showing a path into the woods. They walk their bikes about ten feet up the path so they can’t be seen from the road and will be there when they come back. Birds sing their songs and katydids play their music, Wendy is the first to notice that even though the path winds and twists; it’s carpeted by leaves and is almost two feet wide.  A stuttering ray of light, from the movement of the trees, points to a fallen tree, it’s almost a perfect chair height. Wendy whispers that we must be very quiet now. Without thinking Shiloh kisses Phil’s cheek, then turns and walks to the tree. Phil sits to wait, the camera in his hand and his thoughts all mixed up, running in circles, she kissed him.

   Dust and bugs dance in the stuttering ray of light on Shiloh, Phil’s mind is in a fog, the passage of time is unknown to them. Wendy sees the sparkling of a brighter light, first, just one; then hundreds, like sun reflecting off a broken mirror; had she known what pixies are, she would know what’s happening. The sparkling surrounds Shiloh, outlining her. Wendy senses movement, and only ten feet from her, outlined by thousands of pixies, is a Unicorn. Its horn aglow, muscles ripples it walks, its white coat shimmering, almost changing color. Graceful steps close the short distance, it kneels and lays its head in her lap. Moving as if in a dream, all around her forgotten Shiloh strokes its neck, Wendy whispers, “It’s beautiful”; Ishkabob could be shaking a bologna sandwich, because Phil’s leg is asleep. Wendy sees the trouble Ishkabob is having, and starts by whispering, then calling Phil. Wendy sees a pine needle close at hand, picks it up and stabs Phil just above his navel. Reality seems to be playing tricks on his mind because he’s looking at a Unicorn, he remembers the camera in his hands. His hands wet with sweat, he lifts the camera. Looking through the view finder, his heart skips at the beauty of Shiloh holding the Unicorn in her lap, as he presses the shutter, the camera slips. Phil shouts that he got it, as he tries to stand, he forgets his legs are asleep, and he falls. The Unicorn jumps up and runs off. Shiloh blinks several times with a blank look on her face from being so close to such magical beauty. Phil falls several more times trying to get his legs under himself. Shiloh slowly regains her grasp on reality, and Wendy and Ishkabob are pretty much speechless. The excitement of what happened bubbles out of all four of them at once. Napoleon XIV starts singing, startling them all with:

   “They’re coming to take me away ha, ha

They’re coming to take me away

To the funny farm, where life is beautiful all the time ....”

Shiloh giggles and tells them to be quiet, it’s her mom. She answers and tells her mom that she’ll be home later, she’s having dinner at Phil’s house.

   All the details of back out of the woods and home are unimportant, but Phil’s mom did take the camera for the one hour processing. Their hands tremble as they glance through the pictures to find the one they want. It’s a great picture of Phil’s thumb on one side of a horses head in Shiloh’s lap, and even without proof, they know Unicorns are real.