[ WP ] A sleight-of-hand magician meets an actual spells-and-wands magician .

`` Is this your card?'' 
 
 I produced the queen of hearts, and the woman clapped. `` Yes!'' It was cold out, and her cheeks were flushed. She was very pretty. 
 
 I smiled, and gave it to her, tucking it into the strap of her purse where it crossed her shoulder. `` It suits you.'' She smiled back, and shyly opened her purse, dropping a few dollars into the can at my feet. I tipped my ragged hat, and she went on her way. 
 
 When she was a safe distance away, I flicked the queen of hearts out of my sleeve and shuffled it back into the deck of cards, glancing down at them. There were tiny markings in the fine details of the card backs. Anyone could spot them, if they know what to look for. 
 
 But noticing them at a glance, and not making a fool of yourself shuffling through a deck looking for a matching mark, that took skill. And skill took practice. So I practiced. 
 
 `` King of spades,'' I muttered under my breath. Then I spread out the deck upside down in one hand, and plucked it from the fan of cards. I flipped it over, and saw that I'd had it right. `` Jack of diamonds.'' I tried again, and found it easily, though my cold fingers stumbled and grabbed two cards instead of one. I sighed under my breath, and slid the deck of cards into my pocket. 
 
 Sitting down against the brick wall of my alleyway, I reached into my shanty and took out a package of plastic-wrapped hand warmers. They did n't fill my belly or warm me at night, but without them, in the winter I would be a beggar, not a homeless street performer. Knowing all the sleight of hand tricks in the world is useless if your fingers are too cold to perform them. 
 
 I took out one and opened it. Exposed to air, it heated up quickly, and I held it between my stiff fingers, enjoying the warmth as it spread through my hands. My eyes were closed as I leaned against the wall, and I dozed off slowly, even though I knew I should keep an eye out for people to perform for. 
 
 I woke up to something hard tapping against my leg. I opened my eyes, sitting up quickly from the slump I had fallen into while asleep. The hand warmer was in my lap, and I tucked it quickly in my pocket, aware of how much it had cost. 
 
 Looking up, I saw a tall man, around thirty. He had a thick and curly beard, and a wide-brimmed hat with dark eyes peering out from beneath it. `` You were snoring,'' he said, not unkindly. `` And it's too cold to sleep outside.'' 
 
 I stood quickly. `` That's the only place I have to sleep,'' I said. `` But thank you all the same.'' Then my brain kicked in, and I asked him, `` Sir, would you like to see a magic trick?'' 
 
 `` A magic trick,'' he repeated, smiling. `` Yes, I would very much like to see you do that.'' So I slid out the deck of cards from my pocket, and spread them. `` Pick a card,'' I said. `` Any card.'' 
 
 He considered, his fingers hovering over the deck. Then, he plucked one from the very edge. Even without the markings, I could have told him it was the jack of diamonds, the card I had just drawn and put back. But the show was worth more than the knowing, and so I let him look at it. Then I held it out and let him place it back into the deck and then shuffling it expertly, letting them flick between my hands in a manner most impressive. He smiled pleasantly, watching. 
 
 Then I spread out the deck upsidedown again, finding the marking for the jack of diamonds, and flicked it up. `` Is this your card?'' I said without looking, knowing it was. 
 
 `` No,'' he said, still smiling. 
 
 I frowned, and looked at the card. It was the three of clubs. I flicked it back over, and saw that the markings on the back agreed. But the markings on the jack and the markings on the three looked nothing like each other, and I knew it had not been the fault of cold fingers. 
 
 Confused, I put the card back, and said, `` Sorry sir, cold fingers and a sleepy mind. Certainly *this* is your card!'' With spectacular emphasis, I flicked over the card marked as the jack of diamonds. 
 
 `` No,'' he said again, laughing a little. 
 
 I looked again, and was deeply embarrassed to see that I held the ten of diamonds, not the jack. The markings were more similar, but I still should have been able to tell them apart. I put the cards back together, starting to stammer out an apology as I slid them back into my pocket. 
 
 The man held up a hand, and said, `` No, no. Do n't put them away. In fact, let me try.'' 
 
 I hesitated. The cards were my livelihood. Buying another marked pack would cost more than I had, and this stranger was asking me to entrust him with them. Even if it was just for one trick, he might drop them in the snow, or bend the edges, or any number of things that would ruin them. 
 
 Then he held out a fifty dollar note, and my eyes widened. He dropped it in the can, and my jaw dropped with it. I did n't know what to say, so I simply looked up at him, astounded, and amazingly grateful. 
 
 He still had his hand held out. `` Just for one trick. I promise to take good care of them.'' His eyes twinkled, and he looked so very kind. So I handed him the cards. 
 
 He spread them out in front of me, not even bothering to shuffle. `` Pick a card,'' he prompted gently. So I did, taking one in such a way that the markings were obscured. 
 
 Flicking it over, I glanced at it. It was the five of clubs. I put it back in with the others, still attempting to obscure the markings. He shuffled them briskly, and pulled out a card at random. 
 
 `` Is this your card?'' he asked, flicking over the five of hearts. So very close. I smiled, and said, `` No.'' 
 
 Then he flicked it with a finger, and it became the five of clubs. `` How about now?'' 
 
 My eyes widened in surprise. This man must have been a master of sleight of hand, to have performed such a switch in front of my eyes, without me even noticing. If he could do that, maybe he had even swapped out the jack of spades. I started to feel much better. `` Yes,'' I said, letting my amazement show. `` How did you do that?'' 
 
 He laughed again, and handed me the deck. `` Take a look.'' 
 
 I did, spreading the cards out in front of me. To my shock, every single one of them was the five of clubs. Then I blinked, and they were back to normal. They spilled out of my hands, fluttering to the wet pavement below. 
 
 The man frowned. `` I did n't mean to scare you,'' he said. `` Just a bit of fun.'' Then he waved his hand, and the cards fluttered up into it, like a reversed video of how they had fallen. Not a one of them was soaked. I rubbed my forehead, my eyes. I was certain I was going insane. 
 
 When the man handed me back the deck of cards, I took it on mere instinct. He smiled, and said, `` Thank you, for the magic trick.'' 
 
 `` T-Thank you,'' I said, stammering. `` For the same. And the money,'' I added, almost forgetting. Then he walked away, whistling cheerfully, and I slunk into my shanty to close my eyes and get some proper sleep, hoping that everything would make sense when I woke. 
 
 Instead, after I had laid down, I took the cards out of my pocket, wanting to look at them one last time to make sure he had n't swapped them. As I did, I noticed that they felt strange. Very cold, and heavy. 
 
 Even after I took them out and spread them, it took me a moment to figure it out. They were so well painted, I could hardly believe it. I could hardly believe any of it. 
 
 The cards were solid gold. 
 

