Peter has met many strange people, but he’s not sure if he’s encountered one this strange.

         The woman was old, nearly ancient, it seemed, and her eyes were milky with cataracts. She looked very wise. She walked up to Peter and took his hands in her own, weathered with years of age and use. She spoke in a very soft voice.

         “I have received a prophecy that is destined to happen, and it is about you.”
         Peter felt surprised. He had never experienced this, despite all the strange things he had experienced in his life. He looked at the old woman and blinked.

         “Are you sure you have the right person?” Peter asked. “I’m no special guy.”
         The woman didn’t seem to react to that. Instead, she told him the prophecy.
         “Positive outcomes will fall upon you and one of your loved ones.”

         Peter raised an eyebrow. “No disrespect, but that sounds like something straight from a fortune cookie.”

         The woman seemed unfazed.
“Considering you have had no good fortune in the past 10 years, perhaps you will learn to be grateful.”

         Peter grimaced. “Touché.”

         The woman let go of his hands and began to walk off.

         “Wait,” Peter said.

         The woman turned around and looked at him, her blank, milky eyes staring right at him.

         “When will this happen?” He asked.

         “Only time will tell,” She replied cryptically and left.

         Peter sighed and glanced around. Nobody seemed to notice anything that had happened. Typical city people. Nothing was out of the ordinary in cities. Pete knew that because he had lived in the city most of his life.

         He walked along the sidewalk in silence, his mind still reeling from what the old woman said. Should he even believe it? She seemed very real, or very convincing, at least. But weren’t most prophecies supposed to be dreadful? Many people constantly predicted the world would end almost every single year. Maybe it was one of those sort of prophecies; complete nonsense. Pete was a pretty doubtful guy anyway, it took a lot to convince him about almost anything.

         Pete’s life seemed to stay the same for the next few days. He wasn’t disappointed. Well, maybe a little, but he didn’t want to admit it. He wasn’t surprised, he didn’t know why he got his hopes up to begin with. By the next day, however, his life finally seemed to be looking up. His best friend, both a singer and an actor, had received the role as a character in a TV show. As for Pete, he was feeling exceptionally good for no given reason. It wasn’t the cliché type of luck like finding a one hundred dollar bill on the sidewalk, but even just feeling happy for once was a very exciting thing.

         Pete walked the sidewalk of the cramped city with a more positive view on things. He admired minute details that he loved about the city that he typically wouldn’t care at all about. He fed a pigeon some french fries then hung out with his best friend for a bit. He truly did feel that he was experiencing a positive outcome in life. He didn’t realize how much even a simple burst of happiness could mean to him, and he was finally grateful for something.

         Happiness is sometimes found in the smallest of things, but sometimes that’s the best kind of happiness. All it took was a little faith and hope, and the unexpected finally happened.