It was late afternoon, and after enjoying the trip to the Grand Canyon, Ives and Biscuit returned to the city center. While walking and chatting, they met a group of people in the city park; curious, they approached to see what was going on there.
Standing in the center was a young girl dressed cutely. She had a sweet face and eyes that sparkled like stars at night.
"Isn't she the girl we met earlier?" Ives recognized her immediately.
"Yeah, she is. Could she be a street performer?" Biscuit joined in.
"Excuse me, why are so many people gathered here?" He asked one of the onlookers.
"Oh, you don't know? There will be a magic show soon. Her name is Honora. Every few months, she will perform here, " The man said with an expression of anticipation.
"I see." Ives nodded.
Since it was a bit hard to see from behind these people, he decided to move a little forward. And indeed, from the front, he could see the girl's appearance clearly.
"Hello, everyone, and welcome to my magic show! It involves these interesting cards!" Honora shouted with a bright smile while showing her cards.
With agile hand movements, the girl shuffled the cards so they were thoroughly mixed.
Seeing her speed, the audience became even more interested.
She walked towards a random audience and asked him to take one of the cards from her hand.
"Have you taken it?" Honora asked sweetly.
"Yes." The chosen random people nodded.
"Remember the card you hold, and don't say it out loud. Please put it in this pile of cards when you are ready. Afterward, you can mix it." Honora gave simple instructions.
That person nodded and placed it randomly among the pile of cards. In his hand, those cards were about fifty-two. Taking a breath, he began to shuffle them at his fastest speed, but compared to the speed the girl had shown earlier, his speed was practically a snail's.
Satisfied and sure that the cards had been mixed, he returned them to the girl. By the way, before he stacked them, he had given a little mark to ensure the cards were identical. Of course, he did this without the girl's knowledge.
"Okay, it looks like this gentleman has finished shuffling. I will add another set of cards to make it more fun." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a sealed set of cards with one hand. With agility, she threw them up, peeled off the plastic, and opened it with one hand!
Once finished, she immediately stacked them on top of the existing cards. Looking at the audience, Honora bent more than one hundred cards into the required curve, and then the cards exploded towards the sky!
With entertaining, precise movements, Honora rearranges each card into a stack.
The audience who saw this action clapped their hands while laughing in amazement.
The thirtieth card, the thirty-first card, the fiftieth card, the ninetieth, the one hundred and third... Each card was stacked, followed by her rhythmic movements. When the last card was one meter above the ground, Honora, still focused on her performance and wanted to catch the last card, happened to see a boy who had previously helped her. At that moment, she was shocked and lost her concentration.
As the last card was about to fall to the ground, Honora regained her senses and quickly picked it up with two fingers. Perhaps because she was in such a hurry, she overdid it and made a flashy movement. However, instead of disappointing the audience, it made them applaud even louder.
'Honora, focus yourself!' She tried to encourage herself.
Sweating from the nervousness, she returned to the chosen random audience with his supposed card.
"Is this the card you chose earlier?"
"Let me see." He took the card and checked it, and at that moment, he felt disappointed; this card was not his!
"Unfortunately, it's the wrong card." He said in a flat tone.
"Are you sure?" Honora asked again while maintaining her smile.
"Yes. I know because I have given a mark on it before." Doubted by her, of course, he get even more disappointed.
The other audience began to whisper, but just as doubts rose, they suddenly heard the girl ask again, "Or is the card in your hat?"
"Huh? In my hat? How could that be?" As he refuted her, he reached for his hat, and at that moment, his eyes widened! Suddenly, a dove magically popped and flew, and there was indeed a card on his head!
"Woah!" Seeing that dove magically appear and the card, they shout in awe.
"H-how is that possible?!" He had never taken off his hat, and he pretty sure wore it tight. Even if she fast, she could not sneak it in without him knowing. Besides, there was a dove inside his hat the whole time!
That man rechecked the card, and sure enough, it was the same card. At that moment, he raised it and said, "Yeah, it is!"
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The audience applauded, this time more enthusiastically.
"Thank you, thank you." Honora bowed gracefully and thanked all who watched.
The show continued, and Honora played various other tricks to keep the audience anchored. About night, the show finally ended.
Seeing the audience had dispersed, Ives approached the girl with a clap, "What a great performance. I never thought you were a Street Performer, an incredibly skilled one."
"Unn... Th-thank you." The girl who previously seemed cheerful has now become shy and introverted. This sudden personality change is, let's just say, interesting.
"T-this is for troubling you earlier." Suddenly, she handed over some money to pay her debt.
"Oh, I thought you were an ungrateful little girl." Seeing her willing to pay back, Biscuit smiled as she put her hands on her hips.
"No need, just consider it a donation for your wonderful show." Ives rejects it. For him, her show was well worth the money he had spent.
"Okay... I-I'll be going then-"
"Hey, don't be so hasty. Why don't we have a little chat?" Before the girl could run away again, Biscuit stopped her.
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