Magic

Today The Man and I went into Osaka, and had dinner at an Indian restaurant. It was the same Indian restaurant I went to with my colleagues on the last day of classes last year, and as we went through the door of the restaurant we were sucked into a time warp and landed two weeks ago. I know this because my colleagues were there, sitting at the counter. Nothing had changed. It was all rather surprising, and at the same time felt completely normal. Time travel is like that.

They left soon after, however, and The Man and I ate heartily and well, and after eating there were no other customers so The Man showed the staff (three Indian blokes) how he could take a lighted cigarette and shove it into a handkerchief and then open the handkerchief and the lighted cigarette was GONE! They were amazed. Then he showed them another one with a ring and a chain, which also amazed them. He gave them the ring and chain and they tried to do it as well, and couldn't. It was all very exciting, especially when they asked him to do the cigarette and handkerchief one again and he did, and set fire to the handkerchief. There was a terrific amount of smoke and a nasty smell, and he quickly unwrapped the handkerchief, shouting and carrying on, and extracted the still burning cigarette. He showed them the charred hole in the handkerchief and put it away, shrugging and apologizing for his failure. Then he smoked the rest of his crumpled and bent cigarette.

The Man tells me that sometimes a failed magic trick is as much fun than a success, and I can see how that can work. His audience certainly got a thrill out of that one. I bet they'd never seen anything like it before.