♦️ Nimble Hearts

Once upon a time in a big city, there were two brothers who were extraordinarily agile. Their nimbleness was so great that they could perform amazing contortions in the streets for small tips. They cherished their craft and honed it each day, pushing each other to new extremes.

As years went by, they became even more flexible, but one day they realized that society didn't appreciate their effort as much as they had always assumed. Fewer and fewer people would stop to marvel at their tricks, instead they began to receive looks of disgust and pity when twisting their bodies into forms they thought were really cool and fun.

They got more and more desperate, until they finally found another way to put their nimbleness to use. They began cheating in card games for a living, using their agile fingers to manipulate the deck and win.

They already knew how to practice to get really good at something, and they started winning games at lightning speed. Soon they were the best card cheats in the city, despite their quite young age.

"Excuse me, but we're not letting cards be folded in this game," the croupier said. "You've been warned, boys."

The brothers exchanged a quick glance. "We weren't folding anything," the elder brother said, with a grin that revealed the tips of his teeth. The croupier looked at him suspiciously, and the brothers knew they were in deep trouble. They needed to come up with an escape plan.

Suddenly, a man in a top hat and a long coat entered the room and walked up to the brothers with a smirk on his face.

"You two are very good at what you do," he said, eyeing their nimble fingers. "I have to say, your skills are truly remarkable."

"Thank you, sir," the elder brother replied, a little confused. "What kind of skills may you be referring to?"

The man chuckled. "Oh, come now. We all know what's up with you two."

The brothers swallowed nervously. They didn't like the sound of that at all. "Did we do something wrong?" the younger brother asked, trying to appear calm and innocent.

"No, no, no," the man replied, shaking his head. "It's perfectly fine to come here and trick people out of their hard-earned money."

"We didn't mean to trick anyone," the elder brother said, trying to convince him. "But if it's not suitable for us to stay here, then we'll leave immediately."

The man chuckled. "Oh, you can't leave now. Assuming that each and every game you've won today was solely due to those nimble fingers of yours, I'm afraid you owe me a lot of money."

The younger brother trembled with fear, but the elder brother stood up tall. "We'll pay you back," he said bravely.

"Indeed?" the man replied. He pulled out a small notebook and began to scribble down numbers. "Let's see... You owe me and your fellow players a grand total of three millions."

The brothers gasped in unison. "That's... that's impossible," the elder brother said. "We don't have that kind of money."

The man smiled. "Then I propose you find a way to get it," he said, folding up his notebook and slipping it back into his pocket. "Or else you'll have to deal with life behind bars."

"Wait!" the elder brother exclaimed. "I... I'm not so sure if you'd appreciate this, but my brother and me could come up with something that might be... entertaining for you."

The man raised an eyebrow. "What kind 'entertainment'? I must warn you, if it involves card tricks, I'm not interested. I've seen enough of those to last me a lifetime."

"No, no," the elder brother said hastily. "It's not like that at all. If you let me show you, I'm sure you'll find it... quite fascinating."

The man groaned inwardly. He was clearly tired of dealing with the brothers. But he lifted an eyebrow and nodded.

"I'm gonna need a table," the elder brother said, looking around the room. "That one there looks perfect."

The man nodded, and a servant swiftly brought the table over. The elder brother kicked off his shoes and hopped on it with ease. "Please don't be upset if it doesn't go smoothly," he warned the audience growing in the room. "I'm pretty nervous."

"Is this going to be one of those silly tricks where you do a backflip off the table without snapping your neck?" he asked, rolling his eyes.

"Close," the elder brother said with a grin, gaining more confidence as it seemed the owner was keen on seeing the performance after all.

"Just don't break anything here," the man warned, folding his arms over his chest and gazing at the peculiar youth standing on the table.

For the first time, he realized how beautiful he was. Now, standing on the table in front of him, his slender legs, bare and sun-kissed, were exposed all the way up to his shorts that had seen better days, hugging his hips tightly as he probably couldn't afford a new pair for a long time.

His sleeveless white shirt, slightly sweaty, clung to his body, revealing the little there is to see on a guy's chest, and his bare shoulders glistened with sweat as he stretched his arms out, ready to start.

The owner swallowed, eyeing the young man's bare feet and realizing it wasn't going to be a tap dance after all. He wasn't sure if this would turn out to be worth three millions in the end, but he wouldn't want to be anywhere else at that moment.

The elder brother took a deep breath as he raised his arms high above his head, his muscles tensing as his back began to arch. With the slowness of a cat, his body began to bend backwards, his spine bending more and more with each passing second.

As if he were a piece of wet fabric, his torso continued to move backwards against all human norms, until his shoulders got on the same level as his hips, turning him into a perfect living "7".

He held the position for a few seconds, breathing in calmly and deeply. The audience gasped and applauded, assuming it was over. To their surprise, the flexible boy slowly continued to bend even further, his back bending at an even sharper angle, until there was no more room between his shoulder blades and his thighs – now tightly pressed together.

The crowd went wild, clapping and whistling, hardly able to believe that the kid had managed to fold himself like that without sweating, let alone breaking a bone! He held the crazy position with confidence for a few moments before spreading his arms wide to showcase his accomplishment with a triumphant gleam: "Ta-da!"

The owner of the venue was stunned, he had never seen anyone doing such tricks before. Forget about folding the cards, that boy just folded himself in half like a sheet of paper. The man was speechless!

Finally, the elder brother unfolded himself in a smooth reverse motion, standing upright once more. He bowed courteously to the crowd, then gracefully hopped off the table with a feline agility that seemed perfectly in line with his remarkable suppleness.

"Say, have you ever thought of performing professionally?" the owner asked, trying to hide his excitement. "You're really quite good at this."

The elder brother smiled. "I'd love to," he said, "When we were kids, we made our living like this on the streets. But the better we got, the more people treated us like freaks. And one day that really began to hurt..."

The owner nodded. "Don't expect too much of the mob, they aren't accustomed to quality entertainment. All they know is hard work and cheap booze. Unlike our esteemed patrons, who are not in a rush and appreciate the finer things in life."

The brothers looked at each other. "And our debt? What about that?" the younger brother asked.

The owner paused for a moment. "And as for your debt... it seems that you've earned your way out of it," he said finally, "Provided you two are willing to work here."

"Deal," the elder brother chimed in with a broad grin. "In fact, we can start today!"

The owner glanced at the two brothers with pity. They appeared to be in dire need of a shower and some new clothes.

"Listen up, boys," he said. "I think you two could really use a proper bath and some... fancier outfits. Hmm..."

The brothers exchanged a quick glance. "I've always wanted to wear something fancy," the younger brother confessed shyly.

"Well then, I'll get right on it," the owner snapped his fingers. "How about... How about... Since there's two of you, there's only one thing I can think of... The Jokers!"

The brothers looked at each other, then back at the owner. "Would that be possible?" the elder brother asked, a spark of interest in his eye.

"Believe me, a whole lot easier than bending in half backwards like a rubber doll," the owner replied slyly.

The brothers exchanged an excited glance, their spirits lifting as the owner's words sank in. "I can't wait to be a joker!" the younger brother exclaimed, unable to contain his enthusiasm.

"Of course," the owner said, chuckling. "You know what, I'll let you keep all the money you won with your cheating today. Just make sure I don't regret this decision."

The brothers cheered and hugged each other, then turned to the owner with a grateful expression. "We will make sure you won't regret it, sir," the elder brother promised, his eyes shining with newfound purpose.

"We'll make you feel so proud!" the younger brother added, his face beaming with excitement.

"Yeah, I don't think we've hit our peak yet," the elder brother mused confidently, "With a bit more effort, we'll have patrons line up at the front door to spend every last dime in here!"

"That's the spirit!" the owner clapped them both on the shoulders. "Let's roll with this plan and make you look like the two best cards in the deck! But promise me no more card cheating, alright boys?"

The brothers nodded enthusiastically. "From now on, we'll only fold our backs, sir," the elder brother assured him.

"Promise!" the younger brother echoed gleefully.