A light breeze ran across your skin as the sun filtered a comforting warmth from overhead. The platform at Gourmet Fortune was welcoming, with a small fountain spraying a modest stream of water in front of you as you descended the small length of stairs. The town was a nice change from the hustle and bustle from where you called home, and you felt yourself beginning to destress with every breath of the coastal air. You were quite glad that you decided to come here several weeks before you actually needed to, and the hotel you secured for your stay even had a nice little promotion happening when you booked. All of the cosmic signs in the universe were pointing to you and telling you that you were doing the right thing.

You took your time winding your way through the small streets, listening to the light rumble of laughter mixing in with the sound of the nearby ocean. The scent of freshly-brewed coffees and baked breads wafted out into the open air around you; invisible fingers drawing you in closer as if to say "come and try us!" Your stomach growled lightly in protest as you kept walking past, taking in every small detail about this town. Why you never visited before seemed like such a strange thing to you.

You could hear the babble of talking growing as you wove your way deeper into the heart of town. You were looking for the hotel you had booked with but the increasing noise was drawing your curiosity. You secured your sheer green neckerchief and gripped your wheeled luggage tightly before heading closer to the rabble. You couldn't help but feel in the bottom of your heart that your mystery correspondent was close; well, you hoped so. Although you weren't wearing a traditional scarf, you hoped the desired effect was still achieved.

You eventually made a left turn and had to stop suddenly before crashing into the back of someone. You blinked in surprise before peeking around the lanky body in front of you. Your mouth dropped in awe at the sudden length of line in front of you. You gazed further ahead, but couldn't quite see what the text said on the sign through the small sea of bodies, so you tapped on the shoulder before you.

"Excuse me" you said shyly, still keeping a tight grip on your luggage handle. "What is everyone lining up for?"

"You don't know?" A young black-haired man in front of you blinked in surprise. "This is where everyone gets their fortunes read. It's basically the best thing about this town."

"Fortunes?" You questioned softly, confusion crossing your features as you tipped your head to the side lightly.

"Yeah, Coco's Fortunes are amazingly accurate. You can ask him anything and he'll tell you. For a fee, of course."

"Oh... thank you."

With that, the man turned back around and started playing on his phone while he waited. You glanced at the small watch on your wrist and shrugged. You didn't need to check in until late evening, so you figured you would kill time and wait your turn. Besides, your curiosity turned into a mild bubbling of excitement.

"Any question, huh?" You thought, trying to figure out what sort of question you should ask.

You noticed a few more people had appeared behind you, queuing for their fortunes to be told. You couldn't believe how quickly the line was growing before you heard a gleeful squeal pierce the air ahead.

"I can't wait! Thank you, Coco!" A pretty young girl squealed with happiness as she exited the fortune-telling house. Another young man followed behind her, a red blush on his face as he looked at the woman. The girl, her red dress shimmering in the afternoon sun, seemed to radiate with her happiness and she clung on to his arm and dragged him away.

"I can't wait for our kids! Can't you imagine it honey?! Three precious boys and one beautiful baby girl!" The excitement in her voice rang out over the queue, and woman in line let out collective "aww's" and gushed praise. A lot of men made eye contact with her partner and gave him half smiles and weak chuckles of "congratulations" as they made their way back. You noticed the man had a small metal sign in his free hand which he promptly plopped behind you.

"Coco said to put that there. Looks like you're his last client for the day." He said quickly, while his girlfriend tugged him away.

"Oh, okay." You said, while collective groans and titters broke out behind you before the people behind you began to walk away disappointed.

You weren't sure how long it was you waited, but the line progressed with a slow crawl. With every step forward, you pulled both your luggage and the small metal sign with you. You figured that leaving it where it was would invite extras to try and sneak in, and you weren't completely sure what the proper protocol was in Gourmet Fortune. At least there was a nice ocean canal view while you waited, so you didn't mind the long wait too much. Occasionally a small gondola would drift by with tourists on them. Eventually, the lanky man in front of you was called in and you were left to scope out the building in front of you.

It was a rather quaint little store, with sandstone walls and a little cobblestone path leading into the entrance, a small roof with green bricks neatly topped it all off. The sign had a small purple skull and crossbones insignia in the middle of the word "Coco". You furrowed your brow at the skull; it looked so out of place since this was a fortune-telling store.

About ten minutes passed before the man had finished his appointment and left the store. He had a small smile on his face, so you internally wished that he had had some good news. Good for him.

"Next please." A mellow voice drifted out of the ether, snapping you out of your thoughts.

You pulled the sign in and tucked it over to the side behind the doorway. You looked around in surprise at what you saw. You were expecting a dimly lit room with purple curtains draped from the ceiling, incense burning and a crystal ball on a circular table in the middle of the room. This wasn't the case. Instead, the interior was just the same bare walls with two boxed shelves across the back wall holding products you didn't know. A lantern was stuck in the right-hand side of the wall overseeing a light brown desk with a monitor on it, and seated in the middle of the desk was-

"Hello there."

That same, soft voice snapped you back once again and you found it belonged to a rather handsome man. You half expected some sort of gypsy to be running this shop. He had a myriad of green wrappings hugging his arms and wrists over a black body suit, a beige cape draped over his shoulders and across his left arm. Raven hair peeked out from underneath a green turban on his head; accented with a small red "p" motif. You only had a quick glance at the fuchsia chain clipped on his left ear before you were drawn into the pair of eyes boring into you.

"Is there something I can help you with?" The man asked again, resting his chin on the back of one hand and giving you a soft smile.

"Oh! Right, yes." You stammered, pulling your bag to your side as you stepped closer to the desk. "I'm sorry, I haven't been here before, and I'll be honest, I'm not really sure what to ask."

The man let out a small chuckle before standing up from his chair.

"That's okay, everyone has a first time here at some point." He said kindly.

"You're probably aware by now, but I tell someone's fortune. I just need to know what kind of questions you're wanting answered."

"Right. Well..." you trailed off, acutely aware that you were unprepared, despite all of the time you had earlier to think of something, anything, before coming in. "I guess...-"

You stopped and tapped your finger on your chin, your mind scrambling to think of a question. You didn't want to pick something cliché or embarrassing, but surely there was something you could think of.

"Do you want some insight on a career? Money? Love?"

He said those choices so autonomously, so you figured that they must have been the usual requests. A small laugh fell out of your mouth.

"No, no. I'm okay with those. I'm going through some changes any way." You said, looking at the man's face. He had deep hazel eyes sheltered by long eyelashes.

"Will I be happy?"

Your question caught him by surprise as his eyes grew wide briefly. He couldn't help but let out a soft laugh as well and looked at his hand. He smiled again after a small moment before looking back at you.

"Well, it appears that your changes are going to make you quite happy. It looks like you're making some strong choices. Of course, there's going to be some trials and tribulations, but in the end, it'll all be worth it."

Your heart gave a small skip and you were smiling a genuine smile before you knew it. That feeling of warm comfort from earlier filled your being once again.

"Wow, I sure hope you're right." You said, smiling back at him again.

"I have a pretty good track record." He laughed, before coming around from his chair. You couldn't help but notice that he was quite tall; your frame would fit snugly if you hugged him. You dismissed that thought quickly from your mind; you weren't in a position to be thinking those things, especially with an upcoming job.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" He said kindly with a smile.

"...'Sugar?'"

This time you were the one taken aback and your (e/c) eyes grew wide like saucers. You breathed your next word with the quietest puff of air.

"...'C'?"