i was so hopeful, you know, when i first learned about magic tricks, they said it would disown all my fears, cast them away like leaves in the wind. they told me, in whispers and advices wrapped in the warmth of a shared secret, that the right trick, the perfect illusion, could reignite the dimmest light in the gloomiest of hearts. but here i am, struggling with this predisjunctive feeling, like i'm standing at a crossroads between revealing and concealing, and it's making me so reticent. they said magic would open doors, but i never imagined how hard it would be to step through them when every fiber of your being just wants to retreat into the shadows.