Excellent A story of a peerless magician. Now You See It, Now You Don*t by RodG      Peculiar Contest Winner

Uncle Jerry had the fastest, cleverest hands anyone could remember.   On the line in the electronics plant, he worked on intricate circuit boards with flying fingers.  No one matched his skill. On breaks or during lunch, he’d perform magic tricks for his co-workers and often his bosses.  He’d make coins and cards disappear, then magically reappear.  He was so good, he was always asked to perform at their kids’ parties or for special clients.  Uncle Jerry never refused. There was nothing else special or memorable about him except those hands.  When he’d visit his sister, my mom, he never failed to keep us all entertained from the moment he walked into the house till he left it. “Benny,” he’d say to me, smiling, “you forgot to clean your ears.”  He’d grab both my ears and remove nickels from both.  “Oh, and what’s that in your shirt pocket?”  His fingers would pluck out a card, or a candy cane at Christmas. My sister and I always begged him to show us how to do a trick, but he’d just shake his head.  “These fingers won’t let me.  They’ve minds of their own.” “I used to ask him, too, when we were kids,” Mom said.  “He never taught me one.”  But she was smiling. One Thanksgiving Aunt Millie told us all how Uncle Jerry wooed her.  “Tricks.  All the time.  A rose would appear behind my ear.  When he proposed, a ring suddenly circled my finger.” “Oooh,” my sister sighed.  “How romantic!” “Bah!” said Aunt Millie.  “Got old in a hurry.  He never stops.  See.” We all gazed at our uncle as a salt shaker disappeared and reappeared on Aunt Millie’s plate. He grinned as Aunt Millie glared. # Easter has always been my favorite holiday.  Even when we were teenagers, Sis and I begged to color eggs.  One Easter, my uncle and aunt sat at the dining room table where colored eggs in a decorative bowl were the centerpiece. “How many eggs in that bowl?” Uncle Jerry asked. “Twelve,” Sis replied.  She sat next to him. “You sure?” he asked and pointed to two in her lap. “How—?” she squealed. “Stop!  Enough tricks,” Aunt Millie shouted across the table.  “You’re pathetic.” The look of a scolded pup appeared in his eyes, and his hands disappeared under the table.  Not one word did Uncle Jerry utter the rest of the evening until they were leaving. “I’ve learned a new trick,” he muttered.  “Anyone interested?” “We are!” Sis and I cried. Aunt Millie stood beside him glaring. Uncle Jerry turned, looked into her eyes, then raised and wagged both arms. “Now you see her,” he said, “and now you don’t.  Poof!” She vanished.  Really!  There was no smoke or any other distraction.  She just vanished. We all stared.  At where she’d been.  At Uncle Jerry. “Okay, Jerry,” Mom whispered.  “Bring her back.” He smiled, opened the door, and walked out of our house without her. No one’s seen her since. Writing Prompt Write a story where one of the characters has a quirky habit and a peculiar hobby. Maximum 500 words. Peculiar Contest Winner Author Notes Clip art courtesy of Google images.

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