He could hear the nervous whispering and applause right before the announcer billowed his name as if the people in the plush, red seats had no idea whose show they had paid for not five minutes before.
He took a deep breath and tucked the tricks further into his sleeves. He raised his head and marched from behind the curtain and out onto the stage. He met the excited applause and the blinding spotlights with routine enthusiasm.
He was a preforming magician and this was just another performance on what he thought would be just another night.
Starting with the Chinese linking trick, he preformed a variety of enticing illusions. He was entertaining and joyful, so each audience member was focused on his practiced movements.
The whole show was some type of illusion: the position of the lights, the hidden compartments, or a flick of the fingers.
It was all going smoothly, at least, until he called for a volunteer.
The boy he called upon looked average enough: brown curly hair, sparkling eyes, and a blue jacket with a gold pendant of what looked like a dragon.
"What's your name, son?" he asked after the boy climbed up the stairs.
"Damarius," the boy shakily replied into the microphone held out to him. He looked nervous, though he knew something the preforming magician didn't.
"Okay, Damarius, come over to this table and have a seat. As you can see, I have a regular deck of cards. Look through them to make sure that's true." He paused while Damarius sat down and quickly looked through the deck and confirmed it was a regular deck. "Okay, now I want you to pick a number between one and ten. What's the number?"
"Four."
"Four? Great! Okay, now I want you to take the deck and count out four cards from the top and lay them down one at a time, like this." The preforming magician counted out four cards from the top of the deck and continued, "When you're done, pick up the top card and remember it, but don't let me see it." He put the cards back on the deck and handed it to Damarius.
Damarius counted out four cards and held up the last card to let the audience see the five of clubs.
"Can I shuffle it back in?" Damarius asked.
"Yes, do that. You remember the card?"
"Yes."
"Was it black?"
"Yeah."
"Was it a club?"
"Yeah."
"Was it the five of clubs?"
"Yes, it was." Damarius chuckled and set the cards on the table.
"Alright, folks, give it up for Damarius! You can head back to your seat now, boy."
Damarius didn't move but stared pensively at the deck he had just set down. "I have been practicing magic for a few years." He hesitated, "My instructor says I'm doing quite well. Would you mind if I tried a quick trick?"
The preforming magician blinked, considering briefly this possibility. He opened his mouth to deny the boy precious minutes from his showtime, but found himself assuring the boy that one trick would be allowed.
A big grin crossed the boy's face. He rose from his chair and gestured for the illusionist to take a seat. "Thank you, sir." The boy spoke evenly with no microphone, yet, everyone in the audience was able to hear him clearly.
"From the deck, please pick a card and don't show it to me." The boy turned away from the table and took a few steps toward the center of the stage. "Memorize the card and give it to someone in the audience. I'll turn my back and close my eyes. Tap me on the shoulder when you're done."
The illusionist drew a deep breath then picked out a card and followed the young man's instructions. He pulled out the five of clubs. He then got up, walked off the stage, and gave it to an elderly woman one-third of the way down the fourth row. He walked back up onto the stage and tapped the boy twice.
"Alright. Stand here beside me and look at the remaining deck over there on the table. Stare at it, but think about the person you gave your card to."
The illusionist rolled his eyes as he turned to stare at the deck and think of the lady's peppered gray hair, bright green shirt and rimmed glasses.
The boy raised a hand toward the illusionist. All eyes were on the boy who closed his own eyes. The audience could see the illusionist swaying slightly as a warm feeling came over him. He thought he was smelling peppermint.
"Don't forget to breathe." Said a voice in his head. He jumped, startled. The illusionist realized that his chest was tight and there was pressure in his head. Was the boy reading his mind?
"Breathe and focus on her. I almost could make her out. Come on, stop thinking about your grandfather. Did he smell like peppermint? Okay, I see the image clearer so that must be it. Now, I need you to focus and think about who you gave the card to." The illusionist blinked and tried to recall what the lady had looked like. The boy was reading his mind. "You're doing great," said the boy's voice in his head. The smell of peppermint faded as the boy lowered his hand and opened his eyes, which were searching the audience.
The boy spotted her, jumped off the stage in the energy appropriate for a boy his age and raced to stand by the row that the lady watched from. He stared at her expressionlessly. She continued to stare at the table on the stage with a slight gleam in her bright eyes, pretending to be unaware of the card's location. She held the card between her finger and thumb of her left hand at her side, opposite the boy.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a blurry, white image rise from her side. Her smile faded, replaced by an astonished look. The illusionist on stage watched as the boy had pointed a finger in the direction of the lady. He watched as the card he had given the lady rose and blocked the lower part of her face from his vision. He couldn't believe this trick., but this was not the end.
The boy curled his finger and the card flew into his other awaiting hand. After catching it, he ran onto stage holding the card for the audience to see as they applauded fiercely. Damarius continued to smile as he gave the speechless illusionist a bow. He turned toward the the audience and gave a second bow. The people whistled and cheered as they still failed to reason exactly what had just happened right before their eyes.
The boy waved and tossed the card into the air. The illusionist and audience was suddenly aware of the smell of peppermint. As the card came down, the boy snapped his fingers and it turned into red and white confetti, concealing the magician's escape.
No comments:
Post a Comment