"first rule of magic, always be the smartest guy in the room"

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New York
March 24

"COME IN CLOSE, closer. Because the more you think you see, the easier it'll be to fool you. Because what is seeing? You're looking, but what you're really doing is filtering, interpreting, searching for meaning. My job? To take that most precious of gifts you give me, your attention, and use it against you" Young Athena Knight said as she shuffle the deck of cards skillfully in her hands.

"Okay, I need a volunteer to help me out here," She asks the crowd. Athena scans the crowd and decided to choose a man, he's probably in the late 30s.

"You, come on up... I'm gonna need your help" Athena point at him. The guy looks around him before pointing at himself, she nods and gives him a sneaky grin.

He pushes through the massive crowd and stood a few feet in front of her "Okay, pick a card any card" Athena utter the most known phrase of a magician there is as she held out a deck of cards for the man to pick.

The man's eyes, scan the cards before picking one. "Okay, show it to the crowd but not at me obviously." The young magician covers her eyes with her hands and the man shows his card to the crowd, Athena uncover her eyes once the man is done showing the crowd his card.

"Okay, I need you to put it in your coat pocket." The man took it and tuck it in safely in his coat pocket.

"Okay, now I want you to take it out." The young magician ordered him. The man reaches out in his pocket but the card was nowhere to be found. He started to look around on the ground thinking that he accidentally dropped it. "You lost your card?" She asks him, the man nodded and keep on looking on the ground.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, you shouldn't have lost your card, sir. But it's okay because take a look at this" Athena said, she flicks her hand and a card appeared in her hands.

She showed the card in her hands to the crowd, "I believe this is your card" The young magician show it to the man. She flips the card so that the crowd can see it, but it's blank, the crowd goes silent. "Damn, tough crowd, you guys want to know why you can't see it? It is because you guys are looking too closely, and I've been telling you guys all night, the closer you look...." She stopped her talking so that the crowd can continue

"The less you'll actually see." The crowd shouts out together, Athena nods her head before throwing the cards into the air.

The cards burst into flame and the fire form a shape of Seven of Spades, the crowd applauds loudly, some whistle and some yelled in excitement, the man in front of Athena applaud loudly. Confirming that it is indeed his card.

"Now, you can see it" The young magician smiled proudly as people come up to her to pat her back or shake her hand. Some even give out money, these are her favorite kind of people.

Unknown by the young magician, a man in a blue hoodie has been watching her intently, taking an interest in her.

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After the crowd has dispersed, Athena walk to the subway station, to take a train back to her neighborhood. She opens up her purse to get her metro card, but something else drops out of her purse. She bends down and picks it up slowly.

It's a tarot card, it say's The Empress, the girl flips the card, the other side shows another tarot card. Ace of Swords. Athena looked at the card in awe, because she has never seen a two sided tarot card.

She looks in her purse for anything else and found another card. She took it out, and this card has a date, time and address on it.

MARCH 29

4:44 PM

45 EAST EVAN ST

NY, NY

She took out her phone to check the date today, sadly it was still a few days away. She put the card in her purse safely before taking out her metro card and walk through the gate.

Despite it being weird and all, Athena can't help herself but be excited for that day to come. It only reminds her the time when her dad first taught her magic, amazing and intriguing

As she sat on one of the seats in the subway train, she can't help but think where this could lead her, and the most important question lingering in her head is...

Who gave it to her?