Fortune’s Wind

A Positopian Flash Fiction by Jonathan Chew

Jonathan Chew
Jul 20, 2017 · 3 min read

Somewhere, in a hidden valley, as the sun set, and the wind blew, a thin little piece of paper flittered and twittered, to and fro, hazily and mazily in the breeze.

And somewhere, on the complete opposite side of the valley, near the edge of a lazy farmer’s road, in a bed of luscious green grass and red daffodils, lay haphazardly a fortune cookie resting on one of the flower petals.

Oh my!” said this poor fortune cookie, “I seem to have lost my fortune! I’m not so sure where he went. He’s usually safe and sound within me, ready for a fortunate person to crack me open and reveal hidden treasure within. But without my fortune, however, I’m worthless!

Photo by Steve Halama on Unsplash

What’re you talkin’ about?” piped a pair of sunglasses staring straight at him on a the gravel nearby. “You don’t need a fortune to make your way in this world. Make a name for yourself by just bein’ you and puttin’ in some hard work. I’ve worked all my life protectin’ people’s eyes as the shield they need me to be. I didn’t depend on no fortune, I made my own!

I don’t think you understand how precious my fortune is to me!” said the cookie, as he began to hobble off the flower petal, “I’m useless without him! My entire self-worth is based upon him being inside me! I must go out in search of my fortune, otherwise, I’ll live a worthless existence!

Mr. Fortune Cookie paused, “Look where your self-made fortune has gotten you, Mr. Sunglasses! The people you once protected and shielded have now cast you aside and tossed you away like you were nothing! I don’t want that same destiny for myself.

You mistake yourself again ya darn cookie. I’m no castaway on the side of a road livin’ his last days in despair and desperation. I’m a fortune waiting to brighten the next person-who-happens-to-find-me’s day. I’m opportunity in waitin’, waitin’ to bless the next lucky soul who crosses my path.

Photo by Jordan Whitt on Unsplash

The fortune cookie thought about this new paradigm. Perhaps Mr. Sunglasses was on to something. For he had never imagined this worldview. A light began to dawn on him, and clear skies opened. Maybe, he didn’t need a separate, external fortune to be worth something. Maybe, he didn’t need to wait around or go in search of it, because it was already inside him regardless of whether it was physically there or not. It was in his name after all. And there was more than just one way to measure worth; taste and crunchiness to name a few!

So, in that moment, he decided that he was worth a damn, even if he didn’t have a damn thing.

And the instant he stopped looking, fortune befell him, and a tiny little piece of paper flittered and twittered, to and fro, hazily and mazily down to earth right next to the fortune cookie, and they were reunited once again.

)

Jonathan Chew

Written by

Disney Imagineer. Startup enthusiast. Sci-Fi/Self-Help novelist on a mission to build a Positopian world. Follow me @JonathanGChew or go to: www.chewsjoy.com

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