#next time he’ll show off his pocket watch and make your mind ✨disappear✨

[pocket-watcher]

“Would you like to see a card trick?”

I looked over to where the voice came from, confused on how something so softly spoken was heard so clearly in the loud casino.

He was tall, dressed in the uniform of the other workers at each table, holding a deck of cards.

I put down my glass.

“Sure. I need a little magic in my life.” I said, jokingly.

“Well…”

He leant towards me, hand on the table behind me and I felt myself shiver at the sudden closeness. His fingers expertly glided as he shuffled the cards in front of me with one hand.

“Most people think card tricks are magic, but it’s pretty simple really.” His fingers twisted as he pulled cards out of the deck and placed them back in. It was impressive, really, that he was doing it all one-handed.

I wonder what else those fingers could do.

I shook that thought from my head.

“You see,” my eyes met his, “all you have to do is keep your eyes on the cards.”

He offered for me to pick one. I pulled it out of the deck. He made a big scene of covering his eyes so he couldn’t see what card I’d picked.

Jack of Hearts.

I slid it back into his deck, and he uncovered his eyes and began shuffling again.

“See if you can figure out how the trick works.” He said smugly.

“I thought magicians weren’t supposed to reveal their secrets.” I chuckled, watching the cards move up and down.

Front to back.

“You don’t really believe in magic. Do you?” He asked, watching me as I watched his hand.

His skilled fingers still working the cards, fanning them out occasionally before drawing them right back in to a neat deck.

“I’d like to believe in magic. But I’ve been told I’m too logical for that.”

“Ah, well. I could tell that just by looking at you. You’re here in Vegas, but your mind is a million miles away!”

I laughed, guilty as charged.

“Clear your mind. That always helps me think.” He offered.

In and out the cards fanned.

“See, the trick is that I’ve kept your eye on the cards.”

Up and down as he shuffled them.

“Most magicians want to divert your attention. They don’t want you focusing on something that could reveal how it’s is done.”

Back to front and front to back.

“So, someone as logical as yourself should realise that if I’m telling you to focus on the cards…”

Fingers curling around the cards as they shuffled round and round.

“…I’m hiding the real trick from you elsewhere.”

The words sank in, but I couldn’t look away. The pattern on the back of the cards almost seemed to dance as he shuffled them.

“But you don’t care about that anymore, do you?” I could hear the smirk in his voice.

For a second I realised my shoulders were slumping. My neck craning forward to look closer at the cards.

“You don’t care that I’ve been sending you round and round. In fact, I think you’re finding it rather enjoyable, aren’t you?”

My eyes felt heavy. A pleasant fog was settling over my mind. It felt like I was sinking into the floor.

“You’re happy to just a it. And to listen. And to watch.”

I caught glimpses of the cards. 9… 8… 7… twisting, turning, constantly flitting from one finger to another.

“So what was the real magic? Come on… I’m sure if you focus you’ll figure it out. Just focus on my voice.”

His face was so close to mine, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away to look at him.

Finally, his dizzying hands stopped. My eyes slowly moved up to meet his. He tenderly pulled out a card from the deck. The Jack of Hearts.

“Is this your card?”