MESSAGE FOUND IN A FORTUNE COOKIE

by Daniel Quentin Steele

NEVER, EVER open, much less READ, the contents of a fortune cookie!
It could – of course – save your life…maybe your soul.
On the other hand – it could destroy your marriage, your family, your chances of ever becoming a multi-millionaire, your relationship with your young sons…your life, in short.
And your world can end anywhere. And anytime.
My world ended, it crashed and burned taking down others around me, as I sat finishing the last of my lemon chicken.
I looked at the words on the thin strip of paper. It’s funny sometimes. You can see something. Have it sink into your mind before you even realize what it is.
I felt a chill run through me like a cold arctic wind had swept through the place and I shivered. I’d heard that expression someone had stepped on my grave. But I’d never really known what it meant. Until that moment.
I shook my head because the world seemed to go out of focus for an instant.
I wondered if I was having a stroke. I opened my mouth and licked my lips, just to see if I could do it. Everything was normal. Except nothing was. I looked at the people around me and it was as if I had never seen them before. It was, I guess, what a psychiatrist would call a “dis-associative moment.” Everything seemed strange.
I shook my head again and the sensation went away, except that I realized it never would again. My world had changed, revolved into a new realm of being. And I was the only one who knew it.
When you have lived your entire lfe - except for one time - mever taking chances, always playing the safe hand -there may come that one moment when you realize that you have to bet everything you ever wanted to win your lfe back.
You will have to read all of “fortune cookie” to find out what Jon learns from a fortune cookie and why he’s willing to destroy everything around him after it opens his eyes to the life he finds himself trapped in.

103 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2022

About the author

Daniel Quentin Steele is a Jacksonville author and native Floridian. A former educator, he has been a journalist and public relations professional. He has covered and reported on crime and cops, courts and trials in several Florida cities. He has worked as a speech writer and political and media consultant. He has had one novel published in the U.S. and Great Britain as well as short stories published in the U.S., Canada, Australia and England.

Reviews

[Hank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now This One’s Different

Husband has known about his wife’s infidelity for two years. He remained in the marriage because of his two young sons. Although she swears she loves him she is adamant that she will never give up her lover.

He feels trapped because of his sons and the fact that he works for her dad. The dad is rich, powerful and extremely dangerous. If he were to divorce her his life would probably be in danger.

But a man can only take so much so he finally devisees a plan to extricate himself from the trap. However, the plan could leave many other lives devastated as well.

An odd but well written story. It is a page turner though.

[Philippe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent drama

The story is typical, the way it's presented and written is atypical. Great characters fleshed out by their actions as well as by their words. The author writes realistically. This is not a regular HEA, but it's a great story.