Submitted Story
John spent most of the days after the event wondering what he could’ve done different that day on the 18th of July 2009. But, all he could do was run the events in his mind and every time he did so the outcome was the same. He’d never remove the screams of the children from his memory. 
His daughter Emily’s eight-birthday party was supposed to be filled with laughter and children playing. Instead it was filled with screams and parents trying to calm the children down while the ambulance’s paramedics tried to save poor Emily’s life from the accident that happened when the magician’s trick went awry. John had hired him from the recommendation of a friend. So, John thought it would be fine, and he knew that Emily enjoyed clowns and magicians she has seen them in past parties and was comfortable with them. But, what John didn’t know or in fact was not informed of was that the magician was going through a bitter divorce and his wife was fighting for full custody of the children. If john had known this little fact he would of kept a closer eye on the magician and maybe would of noticed that the gun he was using as a prop was actually a real gun and not a prop for his magic act. The magician in his grief was going to commit suicide the day before, but he received a phone call from his attorney stating that his wife was demanding him to pay for last months support and she didn’t care how he paid it as long as he did. He told his attorney “he didn’t care anymore.” But, the thought of his children living in a world with out their father no matter custodial or not was to much to bare so he accepted a job for an Emily Garza an decided to give his wife’s attorney the full amount to make up for the passed month. The magician had put his gun on the table next to his magic props and started to pack up his material for the following day’s party. On, the next day he headed out to his assignment not knowing the prop gun was still on the table at his house and never realizing that the gun in his case, which was an exact replica, was in his case. The magician arrived to the house of John Garza and introduced himself where he was greeted well and John didn’t noticed anything was wrong at the time, all his training from the force would of helped at this moment but he was not a cop today he was a devoted father and all he wanted was to give his daughter a wonderful and beautiful birthday party. During the party the magician performed his tricks and the children laughed and played, now the time came for the finale the dangerous shoot the bird in the cage disappearing act. This was the most popular part of the magician’s act. He called out for Emily who was the birthday child to assist him, which she did and while holding the covered cage the magician would shoot the covered cage and voila the bird would disappear and a present would appear for the child. As Emily held the cage the magician shot towards the cage not aiming since the gun was a prop and was used for the act. And for a moment the children gasped and then screams were heard and you saw the lifeless body of Emily fall to the ground and a pool of blood came out from her enveloping her little body. The paramedics tried all they could but could not save poor Emily. During the arrest the magician did not realize the gun was real until it was to late and now John Garza had to bury his daughter next to his wife. John ran the memories in his mind and looked down on his daughter’s head stone and noticed that today would have been her thirteenth birthday and she would of started on her life of a teenager. The magician ended up in prison for involuntary manslaughter and John Garza has left the force and is now living alone with only his grief and memories to give him company and support. As, he headed back to his car he notices a blinding light and as he opened his eyes he realized he’s still in bed and the date is the eighteenth of July 2009.
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