What if I ain't no violinist?

70. Twoset Fortune Teller II

Eddy couldn't believe his eyes. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to see the man sitting behind the little table with the white tablecloth. Yes, it was definitely the same young man who asked Eddy a few years back if he wanted to have a chat.

His name... how could Eddy forget – was Brett. Eddy thought about him a lot over the years since their encounter. Brett had given Eddy a sense of relief that no one was ever able to give him before. He also gave him hope, that things will get better with time. Moreover, Brett had given Eddy direction on what he should do till there came a day when Eddy would feel comfortable in his own skin. Eddy continued to push himself to achieve what he wanted in life and he felt like he was getting there while he did what he loved. He felt like he owed his current happiness to the advice he received from this man. It was possibly the biggest gift he had ever received from a stranger.

Eddy smiled. Brett the fortune teller had upgraded his sign. It was still handmade with a thin piece of paper and was spelt wrong again, this time as "Fotune Teller." Brett's handwriting had not improved one bit. But at least it helped Eddy recognise him the second he saw it.

"Brett."

The young man looked up from his phone.

"Hello. Oh. Hey...um... hang on, wait, please don't tell me... um.... nnnnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaaaaagggghhhhhhhhh... Oh !!! EDDY!!"

"YES!! Wow.. you remembered..!!"

"Yes, of course. You were my first reading."

"Reading ?"

"Yeah, the first person I read a fortune for."

"Seriously?"

"It was my first day. I had not had one customer. Then I decided that I'd work pro bono for the next person who looked like they needed some help."

"Must have been my lucky day."

"Haha"

"I'm serious, Brett. I think I was very fortunate to have had my fortune read by you that day."

Brett smiled.

"So.. how have you been? Man, look at you. You've chiselled into a dude !! Like, how long ago was it when I met you as a young school kid?"

"3 years. I'm at uni now."

"Yeah? What are you studying??"

"Music."

"That's fantastic. Are you enjoying it?"

"Yes, I'm loving it."

Brett smiled.

"It's great to hear people say they love what they do."

"I owe it to you Brett."

"Me?"

"Yes. I'm now with like-minded people with common interests. I no longer worry or give a toss about those who are different from me. Most of the people around me are civil enough to respect each other's differences. It's been fantastic."

"I'm really happy for you Eddy..."

"So.. Brett, what's your story?"

"What do you mean?"

"I was too caught up with my own issues then, I didn't get to learn what brought you there in the first place. Are you a full-time fortune teller? What's your background?"
"Eddy.. would you like to sit down? Or better still, grab a coffee or something?"

Eddy smiled.

"Yeah, I'd like that a lot."

"Eddy, I'm a psychology major."

"Oooooooh..... that makes sense."

"Well, I wasn't back when I first met you.. I was in Year 12."

"Really? I was in Year 11 back then but I thought you looked so mature and substantially older than me."

"Hah."

"Hang on, how could you afford the time in Year 12 to be sitting outside with your fortune teller desk?"

"Well... I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with myself... like I wasn't even sure if I wanted to go to uni. So at that time, I had plenty of time to try out a few things."

"Hmm.. you've got a very interesting way of trying out things, Brett. So fortune telling was one of the things you wanted to try out?"

"Well... I thought it was a non-threatening way to speak to random strangers. I wanted to see if I could help people. Like I said before Eddy, you were my first reading. That experience was a defining moment for me, too, Eddy. I've been wanting to thank you as well."

"...I don't understand."

"Remember how you had a... um, very emotional response?"

"Yes,. Of course I do."

"And in the end, I felt like I was able to help you. Like, give you hope."

"Yes, you certainly did."

"I found that very, very, empowering. And I wanted to learn how to do better, to the best of my ability. It gave me the vision to aim for and told me what I should be studying..."

"I'm really glad to hear that. I thought you were great, I'm sure you will be able to help lots of people. It's certainly your calling."

Brett smiled.

"Thank you, Eddy"

"So Brett, I've been meaning to ask you. Did you write your signs like that on purpose? To attract customers?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"