Fortune Cookies

Jane Goodhew

I might have known with my luck lately, what am I saying; lately?  Don’t I mean for centuries, or it seems that way so why would a fortune cookie wish me good fortune in love, money, or luck and yes you guessed, it didn’t, it foretold what could be my demise and told me to get out post haste. 

Don’t be ridiculous you’re thinking how a cookie could know what will happen to you or anyone, it can’t but perhaps it can put the idea into your head, and you will react accordingly viewing everyone and everything with suspicion.  Walk around a ladder instead of under and then get knocked down by a bus or whatever…. Anyway, it isn’t Friday 13^th that was last week. 

I would not go along with this, after all, I have always considered myself to be extremely lucky especially in comparison to for the moment those in the line of the last few hurricanes or forest fires or worn torn countries or those hit by famine or lack of clean water or those in need of a McMillan Nurse.  Just watch the adverts asking for money and you will see how lucky you are but then isn’t there a saying not to compare yourself to others or you will become bitter, twisted and vein or words to that effect.?

The sky outside the restaurant is continually changing as it naturally does and deep silver-grey clouds sit amongst pink, that foretells a beautiful day tomorrow but had this happened yesterday I might have believed it, after all it did look as if the end was nigh. 

The sky had been flat and dark and menacing and a bright blood reddish orange orb sat in the sky, it couldn’t be the sun for you could look at it and it did not seem to hurt your eyes (but then of course only time would tell if it had) and this ’orb’ it was so round it looked like the harvest moon but it was daytime?  Was it not?  Even the birds were confused as it was more like dusk or was it dawn when they either went home to roost or left home looking for food but although they at first flew in formation with military precision they were not sure which way to go so seemed to circle and hover whilst the leader of the squadron decided.  Whilst they just circled and hovered as the wind blew harder and the by now milk a magnesia sky was replaced by blue and the real sun now sat not directly south but had moved to the west where it would settle for the evening.  Life as we and the birds knew it had been resumed so forget the cookie and its forebodings, I am off to meet that stranger and talk to all and sundry after all we have already had my Zemblanity moment, for you see I am a ghost.  

The cookie had been correct but it got the wrong week!

Copyright Jane Goodhew