Sunken Fish - Chapter 57
After getting tired of that, he started dribbling a basketball, pretending to dunk. Then he took out a deck of cards from his backpack, tossed them into the air to shuffle, making a sound like pigeons flying.
Soon, a group of people gathered around.
"Draw a card, any card."
Rupert told the Masseys that several locals had gathered around to watch, and Mrs. Massey drew a King of Clubs.
“Let someone see your cards,” Rupert said. “You remember what cards they are, right… Okay, don’t forget, we’ll put them back. Now, draw another card. Okay, the two of diamonds… Let someone see… Put that behind you… Is it in place? Okay, let’s shuffle the cards.”
“Seeing is not always believing,” Rupert said, drawing out his words. “What you choose is not necessarily what you get.”
His voice had completely changed, becoming deep and resonant, like an old man's voice. He had read a book about magicians called "The Expert at the Card Table," and he knew that skill lay in the hands, eyes, and performance techniques.
Rupert placed the cards face down, swept his hand across them, and a card flew out.
“In a magical land, magical things happen, but they only happen if we believe.”
He looked at Madame Massey, his face no longer that of a boy, but that of an elderly scholar. His eyes were fixed on her, not looking away for a second: "As long as we believe, the impossible can happen, what we hope for will appear, and what we want to hide will disappear..."
The way he said it struck her as bizarre, but she attributed it to the extreme heat.
“I believe,” Rupert said, reverting to his childlike demeanor, “and you?”
"certainly."
Madame Massey answered, then turned her gaze to her husband.
"Pick one,"
"Rupert said. She did as she was told, choosing a card near the center. Rupert drew it out:
Is this yours?
“No,” Mr. Marseille answered for his wife.
"are you sure?"
“Not this one,” Mr. Marseille said loudly. “You’ve failed.”
His wife looked at the cards, shook her head, and said, "I don't believe it."
Mr. Marseille glanced at it; it was the Two of Diamonds. She pulled out the cards from behind her—it was the King of Clubs!
The crowd grew noisy, and Mr. Marseille grabbed the playing card, examined it carefully, and tried to determine if it was real or fake.
Three boatmen watched from the crowd.
They saw the young man conjure playing cards; he could make things disappear and then reappear. He possessed the Black Book. They knew this book was a crucial document lost by "Big Brother," the one that had led to their decline. They had waited for centuries, vowing to retrieve it. Finally, he arrived—this young man playing cards, the reincarnation of "Big Brother"—the King of Gods.