Three Fortunes

I stared at him in silence as his story drew to an end, and as the first fortune proved itself to be true. In some ways, it was hard to believe he was telling the truth. And yet, it made sense when I thought about the brief hints to his past he'd given me before today. He didn't look at me directly.

"I have to go back." He said. "I ran away because I was afraid to face my destiny, but I can't run forever."

The genuinely sad look upon his face as he walked towards me told me exactly what he was going to say. I stood up to meet him as he came closer, and when he stood only inches away I wrapped my arms around him. For a moment, he returned the embrace. I closed my eyes and rested my head against his chest, and I let the rest of the world disappear. For a moment, there was nothing but the two of us, and the silent forest around us.

"Oh Audrey," He said, holding me at arm's length and looking me over. "I'm sorry."

He let out a long sad sigh and walked back through the forest completely alone. I stood in the middle of the path for a long time, not moving from the spot I'd stood when I watched him over my shoulder as he disappeared into the distance.

Most would have expected me to be worried about the three fortunes I'd been given some nine years earlier. With the day's events proving the first fortune to be true it was a reasonable concern, but I had not a single thought about my other two fortunes in that moment. I could think about only one thing.

"A sailor aboard a cargo ship," The mysterious woman had said. "Or so he will seem. You will eventually learn he is not the person you thought him to be." I remembered the hint of a smile on her sad face as she spoke this last part; the part that stuck in my memory on that afternoon. "But, you will fall in love all the same."

It wasn't long before I spotted him standing on a busy street corner. I shoved aside anyone that crossed my path, ignoring the dirty looks and confused stares of those I pushed out of my way. "Michael!" I called down the crowded street. I didn't care that wasn't his name, it would definitely catch his attention. Sure enough, no sooner had I spoken his false name, than he turned around.

"You should go back to the ship," He said. "No doubt they've begun to wonder where you've run off to."

"And what about you?" I asked, following as he continued to walk along.

"I've told you, I have to go back to Corsica."

I followed him as he made his way down the sidewalk and towards downtown. "I'm coming with you." I said, answering the unspoken question he'd posed as he looked at me over his shoulder.

"Audrey―" I didn't need to hear any more of his sentence to know he was going to try and talk me out of it.

"You won't be able to convince me to stay here." I interrupted. "I want to come."

"No you don't." He muttered, before turning back to stare at the crowded town street we were navigating, and inquiring quietly to himself whether it would be quicker to travel by land or sea.

"Yes, I do. Sam," We both stopped and looked at each other a moment, realizing that was the first time I'd used his actual name. " Sam," I continued. "If that is what your real name is. I―"

Evidently he knew how that sentence was going to end. "I am not the man you fell in love with." He interrupted. "You fell in love with Michael Pearson, a sailor, a man of no more importance than anyone else. As much as I may wish otherwise, I am not him." He had now stopped in the middle of the crowded sidewalk to look me in the eyes as he spoke.

"No." I said. The simple word confused him, with the meaning that it's confident tone carried. He said nothing, waiting for me to elaborate. I walked towards him, and he made no movement to back away. When his emerald eyes were only inches from my own, I continued to speak.

"I did not fall in love with a face or a name, or with one of these social classes that society places upon us as burdens we must carry throughout our lives. I fell in love with a good man. A man of kindness and great potential. He was clever and brave and not afraid to take a risk. He was trying to outrun his destiny, but learned he could not. Now he must go and face it, but cannot do it alone." I placed a hand to his cheek and turned his head so he had to look at me. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you are not that man."

He didn't speak, but the change in his expression was enough to tell me he knew that I was right. "You cannot deny it, and we both know that." I said.

I wish I could say that after that, as he realized the truth in my words, he expressed his feelings in some dramatic heart-felt way, but that would be a lie. What happened next was really quite simple.

He smiled and told me he loved me, and when I asked him again to bring me with him, he agreed.