THE FORTUNE-TELLER SYSTEM

CHAPTER 5-HARSH TRUTH

Today, Brooke was in the hospital waiting room. flipping through an Archie comics. It had been seven months since the trailer truck accident that left him with broken legs but he luckily got a monthly check-up and treatment.

"Brooke Rancher?" a nurse called out, her voice piercing through the hum of the waiting room.

Brooke rolled his wheelchair and made his way to the examination room. Dr. Garcia, a kind-faced man greeted him with a firm handshake.

"It's good to see you again, Brooke. Let's take a look at your legs." Dr. Garcia said his eyes scanned the X-ray images on the computer screen.

Brooke watched as the doctor's expression changed from curiosity to astonishment.

"Woah, I don't know how to explain this but your leg is healing at an incredible rate. The bones are reassembling themselves and the tissues are regenerating faster than I've ever seen before."

Brooke's eyes widened and a smile spread across his face, "I knew it. The cookie is effective."

Dr. Garcia raised an eyebrow, "What cookie?"

Brooke chuckled, "Umm, it's nothing, Doc. Let's just say I have a healing cookie that helps me out sometimes." he joked

Dr. Garcia was puzzled, "Whatever it is, it's certainly doing its job. You're going to make a full recovery, Mr. Rancher. You might even be able to walk again in a few days."

Brooke's heart skipped a beat. Tears forming in his eyes. Walk again? It was a prospect he had thought was lost forever.

This afternoon, Brooke set up his fortune-teller stand on the street corner, his third day back in business. He wore a bright smile and a hopeful heart. But it wasn't always a lucky day. Some people ignored him, hurrying past with a dismissive glance. Others stopped to listen, but their skepticism was palpable.

Brooke patiently what for a moment but then his gaze wandered to a happy couple strolling hand in hand down the sidewalk. They looked like they were on top of the world, Brooke felt envious but then visions hit him- the system flashes their future, like snapshots in his mind.

Brooke saw a man named Trevor Dawson had divorce papers in hand, walking away from his wife, Isabella. Then the woman's face was gaunt and pale, her eyes sunken with despair. And then, the next day, Trevor found her in the hospital.

Brooke's heart sank and he couldn't just stand by and do nothing. He called out to the couple. "Hey there, lovebirds! You two are meant to be together. Let me tell you your fortunes, and maybe I can help you avoid some of the pitfalls ahead."

Trevor raised an eyebrow, "Fortune telling? You mean like superstition and magic crystals?"

Broke smiled wryly, "Something like that. But I assure you I can help you."

The woman, however, looks intrigued. Her eyes locked onto the clover amulet on the table, and it had her attention.

"Do you want to take this? I can give this to you for free. It's a small token of good luck and be careful okay? Life can be unpredictable."

The woman's eyes narrowed, confusion etched on her face, "What do you mean? What's going to happen?"

Brooke hesitated, unsure how much to reveal, "I'm reminding you to not give up, no matter what life throws because there is a rainbow after the rain."

The couple exchanged glances, and then they turned and walked away, leaving Brooke to wonder if he had done enough to change their fate.

"You, Mr. Dawson, will divorce your wife!" Brooke suddenly shouted and the couple turned to him.

"What did you just say?" Trevor asked coldly.

"I said you will divorce your wife. It is written in the stars." Brooke repeated.

Isabella's eyes were fixed on Trevor waiting for him to deny the fortune Teller's words. But Trevor's face was unreadable, his expression was a mask of stone.

Suddenly, Trevor's face twisted in anger, his eyes blazing with fury. "You're a liar. You're just trying to get a rise out of us." he spat.

Brooke didn't back down, "You know the truth, Mr. Dawson. You will leave your wife and it will be a tragic mistake."

Trevor grabbed Brooke's collar and pulled him close, "You're a cripple, a nobody. What do you know about anything?"

Brooke didn't flinch as Trevor's grip tightened around his collar, "I maybe crippled, Mr. Dawson. But I see things. And I see that you will leave your wife, Isabella and it will destroy her."

Isabella's eyes widened, her face turned pale. She tugged on Trevor's arm, trying to pull him away from Brooke. "Trevor, stop. Let's just go."

But Trevor was beyond reason, he was consumed by anger, "You're a freak, a sideshow attraction."

"I'm a freak, but I'm telling a harsh truth that your wife will die because of your bad decisions." After Brooke said it, the man punched him in the jaw and sent him crashing to the ground. Brooke's mouth filled with blood as he struggled to sit up.

"Trevor!" Isabella dragged her husband.

Slowly, Trevor released Brooke's collar. He turned to Isabella and his face couldn't be painted, "Let's get out of here."

As Brooke wiped the blood from his mouth, he heard murmurs from the crowd, "Crazy guy, suddenly became a fortune teller, ruining people's lives."

The whispers stunned, but Brooke knew the truth.

Just then, the system spoke up, "Brooke, don't listen to them. You're not ruining lives, you're saving people from their cruel destinies."

"But they don't believe me." Brooke retorted.

"Because the truth is harsh, Brooke, but it's necessary. You're giving people a chance to change their paths, to make amends, to cherish the time they have. Without you, they would stumble blindly into their fates."

Brooke sighed, his mind reeling with the weight of responsibilities. He had never asked for this gift but but it was his now.

He had no choice but to tell the truth, no matter how painful it was, because it was the only way to truly help those who sought his guidance.