Short Story

Vanishing Act

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for WTFAIOA Pick 3 #6,
using at least 3 of 21 randomly
selected words. I have used all
21 prompt words for my story.

© Stable Diffusion

Twilight dappled every street corner of town in hues of mystery as the renowned magician Peter Petrov prepared for his greatest illusion yet. He practiced by the light of a lantern in the basement of the old theater, surrounded everywhere by costumes, props, crooked mirrors and hollow crates. But tonight, his performance would take a dark turn.

Peter slowly ascended the narrow staircase, pausing at the window of the stage door to observe the gathering crowd. The glimmer of excitement in the people’s eyes was intoxicating, yet something threatening hung heavy in the air and made him hesitate. Hours earlier, Peter had committed a crime that could destroy him. He had stolen a priceless jewel belonging to the richest man in the county – banker, theater owner, and Peter’s own father-in-law, Archibald Reef! Now the pilfered jewel lay safely tucked away in his pocket.

Breathing deeply, Peter stepped onto the stage, the murmurs of the audience rising around him. He performed flawlessly, but as the time for the final trick approached – a feat where he would vanish before the eyes of the crowd – he became distracted and stumbled, causing the jewel to slip from his pocket. Quickly and stealthily, he retrieved the jewel and returned to his pocket … just as a shout abruptly erupted from the crowd; someone had seen him retrieve the jewel!

Adrenaline coursed through Peter’s body; he couldn’t get caught! With a glance at the stairway railing, he quickly decided what he would do … descend into the bowels of the theater and flee into the night through the secret tunnels deep underground.

As he crouched low and slunk down the stairs, the voices from the crowd above faded faintly into the distance. Peter Petrov, the greatest magician in the world, had become a fugitive, determined to disappear from the life he knew and loved, forever marked by his crime.

NAR©2025
#WTFAIOA

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These are our prompt words:
Abruptly, Basement, Crooked, Crouch, Descend, Everywhere, Faintly,
Flee, Glimmer, Hesitate, Hollow, Lantern, Narrow, Railing,
Reef, Slowly, Street, Stumble, Twilight, Vanish and Window

This is “The Wizard” by Black Sabbath

Pick 3 #6 This week’s list

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy’s Notes 🖊️ 🎶, The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, The Rhythm Section, et al. and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

Pick 3 badge ©
Donna B. McNicol, 2025



41 thoughts on “Vanishing Act”

  2. Pingback: Pick 3 #7 – wtf Am I On About Now?

  6. Whew! Nice tension build up- I was waiting for Fandangos flash fiction starter line to show up somewhere in there because it talks about passing off a gem in an airport…. But that was just me always trying to bring prompts to the show. hehehe

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    1. So glad you enjoyed the story, dear Keith. I really like to push myself when it comes to these challenges. It’s a great sense of accomplishment when I use all the words and the story still make sense! Thank you so much!

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      1. Just shows, you’re a natural my friend, … I’m the same with some poems, I want to say one thing, And the poem goes the other way,… Sometimes I think words have a mind of their own, So I’ll join you gnashing, like a dog with a bone. ..😂

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  14. Nancy, I’m seriously impressed — you managed to work all 21 prompt words into the story, and it flowed so smoothly I hardly noticed! The integration feels completely natural, which makes the accomplishment even more remarkable.

    ~David

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    1. Wow, David! That is such a great comment! Thank you! I finally got the story to flow smoothy after a countless number of re-writes and edits and re-starts. I love a challenge and I always put more pressure on myself to use all the words. But it really is a stretch sometimes!

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      1. No, not “finally.” It’s “again.”

        Like you, I’m on a mission to use all of the words (except “hedgerow”). My biggest fear with using all 21 words is that it will sound contrived to the reader, as opposed to flowing naturally. Yours never sound contrived.

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