Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-33756381-20181118014419

May 23, 2006 was the worst day of my life. That’s the day I lost my wife.

I was at my favorite restaurant with my wife enjoying an incredible dinner, with excellent service, and great scenery. It was a… perfect night.

The restaurant was Asian themed so naturally we got fortune cookies. Me and my wife had a little ritual we did often being that this was both our favorite place to eat. In the ritual we switched our fortune cookies and read them to each other. Not that complex at all, it’s just that.

But this time when she was about to read mine she slightly hesitated. Then she put on a fake smile and said, “Something good will happen to you.” I laughed a little at this fortune because it was so vague.

Then I was about to read hers when I noticed the weird message. It was almost disturbing. It read, “You should not confuse recklessness with confidence, Lauren.” Now this is a regular common fortune that I’ve seen before but when the fortune said “Lauren,” I almost flipped my shit. Lauren was my wifes name. I made a cringe worthy smile and said, “You should not confuse recklessness with confidence, La--” I cut myself off. I wasn't about to freak my wife out about this. I was thinking that I could throw the fortune away and forget about it.

I was successful. But after dessert we got two more fortune cookies each. I don’t know why we got two but we did. It might have just been a mistake. Reluctantly we switched again. She again made a weird and worried face and read a basic fortune with both of the two.

I then opened one of hers and it said, “Mike will leave you in two weeks.” My jaw almost dropped when I read this to myself. How did this cookie know I was planning on leaving my wife and more importantly how did it know my name! It took me a little bit of time but I read my wife a cheesy common phrase that comes from fortune cookies, and went on the second cookie placing the first note in my jacket pocket. The second cookie said, “You will kill yourself in the restaurant bathroom, Lauren.” I felt like I was going to puke out the desert I had just eaten but was able to hold myself together.

I was about to read off another fake line and get the hell out of that restaurant when my wife suddenly got up and said, “Excuse me I need to go to the bathroom.” I almost hopped out of my seat to stop her, when I realized how stupid this was. I figured someone that worked here was just playing I prank on us. A sick prank that I would make sure they payed for. I let her go off to bathroom. I waited for her anxiously still with thought of the fortune in my mind and my own head constantly reminding me that this was just a stupid prank.

After about six minutes I got a little worried and decided to check on her. I walked quickly to the bathroom. With every step I was getting faster until I was practically sprinting. I basically knocked down the door to the woman’s bathroom. I started looking around for Lauren but she was nowhere to be seen. I then kicked open each staw until I discovered her.

There she was. Dead. She used one of knifes we were given for our stakes to cut her wrists wide open. Blood was all over the floor and the walls of the staw. The expression on her face was emotionless. I clung to her dead corpse crying silently. I blamed myself for not doing anything after I read those fortunes. I should have left the restaurant right then and there. I blamed myself and even to this day I still do.

Then I noticed three little pieces of paper in her pocket. I pulled them out and read all three of them out loud to myself. The first said, “Something good will happen to you, Mike,” the second said, “Lauren doesn’t suspect that you are cheating on her with the nanny,” and the last said, “You will be happy without her, Mike.”

After I read those fortunes I cried harder grabbing the knife from my wife's dead corps I was tempted to kill myself right there. But I didn’t. I took all the fortunes and tore them up. Then I called the police and went on with what life I had left.

That was four years ago. I have never forgotten and don’t think I ever will. Not like I’ll be alive much longer anyway. I’ve got a stake, knife right next to me and plan to use it after I’m done sharing this. I hope I see my wife again but I doubt I’m going to the same place in the afterlife as her. 