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Erik
Chapter 71
The Magician
I moved at night.
No home. No family. I belonged everywhere and nowhere at once. I resumed my life the way it had been before I ever spotted Vincenzo and Carmelo passing by with that bag of money.
But now I had skills.
Now I was a better thief.
As I moved through Venice and into Austria, I no longer stole from grocers. I went, instead, into their shops and purchased with very legal tender - though the means by which I'd obtained such tender was certainly not legal.
Once in Austria, I realized that I'd never actually had a plan. No, in fact, I realized that my entire purpose had been to escape - but there was no real destination. But, I decided as well, I didn't want a destination. Destinations had only brought me heartache. I wanted, instead, to keep moving.
If I kept moving, I wouldn't have the time or energy to stop and think about what I'd lost. Idleness would only allow heartache to bloom - and I couldn't allow myself that. It would be far too painful, and I'd made a silent promise to Giovanni that I would keep living. I had to keep living. No matter what, I had to.
And if I was going to die, it had to be for something larger than my feelings. Larger than me.
If I was to make the choice to die, my death would need to make an impact. Save a life. Change the world. Only then would I feel satisfied with ending my life. Only then would I feel I'd honored Giovanni and the rest of my family. And only then would I finally feel I could rest.
It was in Vienna, a little after sundown, that I was playing with a coin I'd recently stolen. I was thinking, deeply - I wanted to stay in a tavern, I wanted a bed again after so many weeks, but I'd have to double my efforts to obtain money.
As I mulled over how, exactly, to steal so much in so little a time, I moved the coin between my fingers, making it appear and disappear in and out of thin air. I hadn't noticed at first, but a couple of boys a bit older than me, a few meters away, had begun to watch.
I noticed their intrigue - both at my trick and at my mask - and so an idea formed.
I turned to them, took the coin, closed it in my fist, and when I opened my hand I had two coins in them.
They smiled, glanced at one another, and came a bit closer.
I couldn't understand their language when they spoke to me, but the message was clear: they wanted to see more. And when they opened their purses to show how they'd reward me to show them what I could do, I smiled too.
I think, perhaps, I'd stumbled upon a career.
I wondered if Giovanni would approve-
But I pushed that thought quickly from my mind. I couldn't think of them now. I had to stay focused.
I had to survive.
