What’s the difference, I say. What would be an actual fortune?

I don’t know, she said. I can’t think of an example. It just seems like the fortune cookies used to be different, like when we were kids or whatever.

FORTUNES BY AARON BURCH 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 02

These fortune cookies never have actual, real fortunes any more, she said.

What’s the difference, I say. What would be an actual fortune?

What are you talking about?

On the weekends, we went out for Chinese. We tried to mix it up, find new places. We drove all over town, neighboring towns, like being on the run, or a scavenger hunt.

You know, she said. They are always predictions now. Weird sayings. Cliches. And they overload you with info—lucky numbers, how to say words in Chinese, the name of the restaurant.

We always ordered lots of food, more than we could ever eat, took our time. Her husband worked late, long hours in a restaurant. We sampled, compared, prolonged the moment until the check and, the best part, the fortune cookies.

I don’t know, she said. I can’t think of an example. It j…