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1. His full name is Jackson Nathanael Wilder. The Jackson part came from a favorite uncle his dad was fond of. Nathanael was because, in the happier times, his mom was kind of religious. No one ever used his full name. That was a part of him he left behind when he ran.
2. He doesn’t really remember the happy times. Just a few hazy memories. He remembers standing in the bright yellow kitchen watching Mama bake chocolate chip cookies and begging to lick the spoon when she was finished. He remembered the sound that that old creaky front door made when Daddy came home from his shift at the factory. He remembers the feel of the worn fabric under his fingers as he sat in the big armchair with Daddy while Mama sitting off to the side while the all watched tv together. He remembers…being happy.
3. His clearest memory from his childhood was Mama getting really sick. She told him that everything would be okay. That she was going away for a little while to get better but that she would be coming back soon. She had wrapped him in her arms and whispered that she loved him, then Daddy took her by the arm and drew her away. He remembered waving out the window wildly as they got in the cab and drove away, with Ms. Miller from next door standing beside him. He didn’t fear for her. After all, Mama had promised to be back soon. She PROMISED. So he waited patiently until, finally, Daddy came back alone and told him he couldn't see Mama anymore. That she had gone to some far away place called heaven and that Jack couldn't go there.
4. That was the day Jack learned that sometimes Grownups lie.
5. It wasn’t long after that when the people with the fancy cars came and took him away to his first group home. Daddy stopped caring about things after Mama died. He didn’t clean the floors or wash his hair. He started to smell like sour food and alcohol. Bugs took over the kitchen and bathrooms and made Jack kind of scared to use the toilet. Mama had sworn that his best friend, Billy, was just joking and that nothing would grab him. But now she wasn’t here and it actually looked like something might crawl out of it.
6.Daddy didn’t even try to stop them when he was taken. That was the moment Jack realized he had lost both his parents.
7. He knew something was wrong with his group home almost instantly. The kids were too quiet and the parents smiled too brightly….the dads “accidental” brushs against him lingered a bit too long. But it wasn’t until that night when he heard the man sneak into the bedroom and sit on the bed with the only other boy that he learned just what kind of man Mr. Fuller was. But for all the looks and all touches on his arms and shoulders, Mr. Fuller didn’t approach his bed. He didn’t learn why until much later.
8. That boy, George, took Jack under his wing. Taught him how to do the chores Mr. and Mrs. Fuller demanded of them like cleaning up after the littler ones and cooking what little food they were allowed. How to pick the pocket of just about anyone and to vanish from practically anywhere. He taught him how to survive. When Jack asked why it was so important for him to know, George looked haunted and told him that it would come in handy. And he was right; Cus just a few weeks later George ran away leaving Jack, at just 11, the oldest boy in the house. Free game to Mr. Fuller.
9. When Jack first discovered magic he had been in the group home for over a year. He allowed Mr. Fuller to do what he wanted and in return, Mr. Fuller gave them extra food and stayed away from the other kids. Jack often thought about running away, like George had, but he just couldn’t run and leave them to that monsters mercy. So he bit his lip and kept his head down. Kept them all safe. But it was starting to be too much. He didn’t think that he could handle it. One night He slipped out of the bedroom after Mr. Fuller was finished and went walking along the streets. He knew it was dangerous and if he was caught he’d be punished but he just couldn’t stay in that house a moment longer. His walk took him along over a river. Jack stood atop the bridge wishing for all the world that he had the guts to jump. To make the pain and horror of his life stop. Then he heard applause and cheers coming from a side street across the way. Following the sounds he discovered a man performing magic to a small crowd that had gathered around him. Watching the magic happening right before his eyes gave Jack back a spark of hope strengthened his resolve. He learned how to do magic for himself and the kids and whenever he started feeling overwhelmed he would research newer, harder tricks to learn. He used the internet to discover the name of the magician who saved his life that night. That man… was J. Daniel Atlas
10. He never found out exactly who tipped the Government people off to their home situation. But when the people with fancy cars came back on his 14th birthday Jack bolted. He knew that the fancy car people would be able to help the others but it was too late for him. He was too old, too damaged. He jumped at loud noises and flinched away from being touched. Good parents didn’t want messed up kids like him. On the streets he used the things George taught him to make money. He did magic on street corners, picked pockets from the wealthier people who would watch the performers but never willing gave them anything. He survived. He never dreamed that one day he would meet his idol. Would be performing on such huge stages. He never dreamed he would come so far.