Fortunes

Satoshi Hiwatari was not surprised. It was Halloween, and there was to be a celebration festival in the town square come nighttime. Their class was in charge of one activity to do. Well... it was nighttime, and there were hundreds of booths lining the sidewalks. Only one caught his attention.

"Come! Have your fortune told!" One of his fellow students beckoned the crowd.

Satoshi approached the booth, making sure to check before he crossed to the other side of the street. He looked at the student. "Seahera... what are you doing?"

"It's our booth, Hiwatari!" Takeshi Seahera replied with a grin. "Don't you remember?" At the look on Satoshi's face, Takeshi assumed he didn't. "The younger Harada suggested it when Sensei asked for ideas. We all voted unanimously. You must have been absent that day."

"Why didn't I hear about it before now?"

Takeshi just shrugged. "Risa's been working her ass off. Behind the scenes, keeping it a secret to the public, organizing and preparing this whole setup. She probably forgot to tell you..."

With a scowl, Satoshi asked, "Where is she?" Takeshi pointed to the tent behind him, telling him that Risa was playing with her Tarot Cards. Satoshi thanked him and went inside. He was impressed.

The entire tent was purple, and filled with posters, pillows, pictures of moons and stars, even glow-in-the-dark planets hanging above his head. There must have been dry ice or a fog machine, because there was indeed a mist at his feet. In the middle of it all sat little Risa Harada, her back to him, muttering things as she fiddled with her cards. Satoshi almost chuckled at her black robe (full of white, sparkling stars) and the turban that sat upon her head.

"It looks nice," he voiced out, startling the girl.

"UWAH!" Spinning around and dropping her cards, she faced him. After recognizing his face, she exhaled, relaxing. "Oh. Hi, Hiwatari-kun."

"You did a very good job," Satoshi said, walking over and helping Risa pick up her cards.

"Thanks." She didn't sound very cheerful. Now that he thought of it, she was acting different as well. She avoided eye contact, and her cheeks were a bright color pink. "So... um... what brings you here?"

"I saw Seahera at the booth," Satoshi explained. "I was confused when I learned that this booth was our class's."

Risa shuffled her cards, suddenly very interested in them. "Sorry... I must have forgotten to tell you..."

"I understand that you've been very busy with this," he started slowly. He then sat down in a chair, opposite from hers. "Just from the looks of it, I can tell you've devoted half of your life to this. The decorations, the costume-" Risa's blush depended at this. "-the booth in itself... it's very, very impressive. I've never seen anything like it." He paused. "But... through all of that, I truly don't believe that you simply 'forgot' to tell me."

Risa slumped down into her chair, ashamed. "No..."

"Why not?"

"... I was embarrassed... I mean, how many times have I talked about, or fussed about, or used tarot cards? People get so annoyed by it, and I feel really embarrassed when others tell me that I overdo something. I don't know... I just... I thought you'd laugh or something..."

Such honesty. "I wouldn't laugh." When Risa glared at him, he shrugged. "I really wouldn't."

Risa smiled. "Really?"

"Really. Harada-san... this is certainly too amazing to laugh at." It was amusing how many times Risa blushed in a day. As her smile slowly grew, she inhaled and winked at him.

"So, do you want your fortune told?" She stuck out her tongue at him, happier than ever.

Satoshi couldn't help but smile. "Sure."