The Magic Shuffle

Now that Sally’s 24 birthday is only a few weeks away, she knows better than to fixate over how she can uproot the stamp of evil that has taken over the world in the form of a green leaf. The childhood idealism that she carried with herself has been replaced by the scent of sticky french fries on her pants. You know, when Sally was growing up, she had a powerful recurring dream. Whilst deep in slumber on cold winter nights, Sally would dream of a magical dollar-printing machine that would solve all problems. With the abundant money supply, she would distribute it to those in need and the world would then finally be a different place. A place where she and others like her belong.

Meanwhile, reality hits her while she is on a short break from working at the drive-thru. She has taken care of over 60 cars and the sun hasn’t even fully risen yet. Every customer has been handed the greasy burgers they have ordered along with a side of Sally’s effervescent smile and cheerful friendliness. Her breaks are spent typically looking at her explore page through the cracked screen of her second-hand phone. She believes she has never been further from who she truly wanted to be. She views herself as smaller than the tiniest fleck of shimmer on her rhinestoned teddy bear keychain.

When Sally was 12, her sheltered world was crushed by sudden tragedy. She rigorously avoids thinking about that day but somehow, she has not been able to escape the dark shadow of her past. It has a peculiar hold over her and shapes every choice and decision she makes for herself. Her lack of faith prevents her from venturing beyond her comfort zone. Everyday is just like every other day she’s had for the past six years. Every car passing by the drive-thru is in the same old black, grey and white she has seen a million times. Every order she delivers is a similar combination of meat, bread, oil and condiments she has now sworn off of. Her respite however, is in the flurry of conversations and rapport she has built with the regulars. Who knew that something like the weather could be discussed and described in a thousand different ways. Often, she wonders how the eight hours of her work life fly so quickly while having a chat with customers about everything from kids to pets to peony gardens.

Sally has been scrolling through some short videos when she comes across a giveaway hosted by a content creator. She enters herself into it thinking nothing would come off it anyway. Nonetheless, the prospect of having some oracle cards sent to her sounds to be quite exciting. Zodiac signs, crystals and astrology are the much-needed distraction from the mundanity of her every day life. If she is being honest, she doesn’t really believe that her fate is set in stone because she is a pisces sun and a cancer moon. Her amethyst bracelet probably doesn’t bring her the peace and calm that she craves so much. This is not to say that she’s not had some of her worst experiences when mercury is in retrograde, she giggles to herself. She’s come to the conclusion that probably it just helps her orient the world around her in a way that she can understand it best.

After a long day, she is back at home. She feeds her guppy fish pair with their favourite treat and waters her house plant. She’s just about to plonk herself into the relaxing arms of her couch chair when she hears a ping from her phone. She has received a special email. She opens it with eager eyes and realizes that she has been announced as the winner of the oracle cards. What a lucky stroke of luck, she thinks to herself. She’s never won anything like this. She expresses her gratitude to the content creator and replies back with her postal address. The cards would be coming from all the way across the world. Her roommate Greta is back now, and Sally tells her all about the giveaway. Greta’s quite excited for Sally and wants to be the first person that the cards are tried on.

In a fortnight, Sally receives her special package. She cuts across the tape with her exacto knife and unravels the brown paper to find the oracle cards hidden underneath it all. She opens the box and holds the crisp edges of the cards. Each card has a name, a number, and an explanation on the back. While reading the instruction booklet, she calls out for Greta. “Sally, could you please, please do a reading for me”, Greta exclaims. “We should definitely try this out now”. Sally shuffles the cards in the way that she knows how to, and a card flies out of the deck. Greta watches as Sally reads out the explanation on the back. It says, ‘’an opportunity will soon come your way where you will be able to demonstrate your leadership skills. It is your time to shine, and you will enter a period of structure and stability.” Sally asks, “does this make any sense to you at all, seems a bit generic to me”. Greta is stunned by this reading, and is smiling now from side to side. Turns out, Greta has been vying for a promotion in her workplace and has been really anxious to know if she will get it. The interview for the promotion happened weeks ago and she has been losing hope since she hasn’t heard back yet from her manager. Greta just says, “Sally, you are someone really special. I can’t thank you enough for shuffling the cards for me”.

In the weeks to come, Sally understood what Greta’s cryptic response meant. The way she shuffled her cards would bring magic into the lives of people around her. The readings would not always talk about a glorified future. Sometimes, Sally was able to provide some much-needed words of encouragement and guidance that would warm their soul. In turn, Sally found herself in the fleeting moments of everyday life where she had meaningful conversations with those around her. She realized that the world can be changed by just a sweet smile.