Fortune Cookie

Two

We sat beside each other on the train, still pretending that we didn't know each other. Yet, we had just talked for over an hour. We talked about so many things, what our ambitions were, what we liked, disliked, and what we believed in. I felt like I had known him for years but in all reality, it was just an hour and a half. 

I didn't know how I could have possibly never met this man. "I'm Wade by the way," he finally said after the dead silence between us. His hazel eyes glanced at me before quickly looking around. 

"Arai," I said and smiled at him. He smiled back and nodded his head. 

"Nice," he chuckled and looked out the window with a smile. I furrowed my brows before turning to watch in front of me. 

"The train will be stopping in the park in five minutes," a speaker said. "Again, stopping in the park in five minutes." 

I sighed and grabbed my bag off the floor, "Bye, Wade." 

He smiled and I stood to get off. I was headed to the Chinese restaurant in town, I needed to have a night out on the town. I had been cooped up at work and in my office for what seemed like years and just wanted to relax. It was a busy month for us knowing the holidays were just about to come. Thanksgiving was next weekend and then in a couple weeks, Christmas would be here too. I was supposed to go home for Thanksgiving but with the way I had to work, I wasn't sure if that was still going to happen. 

I walked down the sidewalk, bouncing on my toes in anticipation for my Chinese food. I grinned as I heard the chime of the bell when I walked into the restaurant. The owners smiled at me, greeting me politely. 

"Hi," I smiled and stood at the register. "I'm here to pick up my order." 

They nodded and placed a bag on the counter and threw a fortune cookie into the plastic bag. "15.67," the teenage girl said. 

I placed a twenty dollar bill in her palm and grabbed my food, "Are there silverware in here too?"

She nodded and gave me my change, "Yes, have a good night." 

"You too," I smiled and walked back out of the building. I walked back to the park and sat on a bench. I pulled out my Lo Mein and started to eat it with my fork. I could never get the hang of using chopsticks, it wasn't a talent of mine. I spun the noodles around before sliding them into my mouth and closed my eyes, savoring the flavor. 

After ten minutes, I had finished my delicious noodles and started on the fried dumplings I was given. They were just as good as I dipped them into their sauce. When I completely finished the meal, I pulled out my fortune cookie. They were my favorite part of eating Chinese food. I cracked it open, putting the cookie into my mouth. I held the folded up paper in my hand as I finished the last of my cookie. I looked down at it confused. It looked nothing like a fortune, it was folded up into a small square and looked old. I unfolded it and looked at it surprised. A small map was sketched out onto the decaying paper and had small writing on it. 

"True love awaits." 

I stared at the paper for a moment. A list of things was printed down the side, along with a certain day. It would take fifteen days to find my 'true love'. I sighed and looked at what the list said. 

1.) Go to the southeast part of the park and look up

I decided to play along with this game and walked to the other side of the park. I looked up to see an apartment building, the curtains of the window I looked at were opened and the boy from the train stood there on the phone. I groaned, rolling my eyes. This was obviously a sick joke and someone just thought it'd be funny to do this. I walked away, throwing away my trash and stuffed the map into my pocket. It was starting to get cold now because of the disappearing sun and I was not appreciating it. 

I waited for a good twenty minutes at the train station before it came back through. I hurried to get on, relishing in the warmth. I sat in a seat and waited for my stop again. 

Once I got home I pushed my shoes off, leaving my purse lay on the counter. I pulled off my coat and hung it up before walking to the kitchen. I pulled out a can of soda and sat at my kitchen table. Looking at the mail I had grabbed before leaving early, some were just bills and others were junk mail. I leaned on my arm as I sighed, I was exhausted today. 

I decided it would be best to sleep. So I slid on my pajamas and got my bed ready. Afterwards, I cleaned all the makeup off my face and pulled my hair into a bun. I went back to my room and slid into my bed. The blankets were cool and felt good against my skin. I turned my lamp off and before I knew it I was asleep.