The Push
The old man stands on the corner of Seattle’s Pike and Washington. He’s dressed in a buttoned-up trench coat, bare ankles in black oxford shoes and a bowler hat that accentuates his look of senility. You don’t know him, but he seems to know you. He looks right at you and speaks.
“I don’t celebrate birthdays at my age.”
He leans against a lamppost, looks down the street, taps his foot impatiently.
“After 2,438 and a half years, they stopped being special.” He shifts his stance. “Course, I never dreamed I’d get this old, but it came with the job.”
“Here’s a tip, if a strange Greek in a dirty toga approaches you after one of Plato’s TED talks and offers you the job of Fate, say no.”
His lips twist. He thinks about his claim.
“Not that I haven’t enjoyed being around this long, but there’s a definite downside to this type of employment. I’ve never had a day off,” he sighs, “which has got to be an HR violation, and the benefits aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.”
He looks you in the eyes.
“You don’t believe me? We only just got a dental plan around the Renaissance. We wouldn’t even have gotten that if Leonardo da Vinci hadn’t berated the higher ups about the importance of proper flossing.”
“But I’m not here to talk about me. I’m here to answer your questions about fate, and I know just the one you’re most eager to ask.”
Fate looks down his nose to assume a professorial air.
“Is there really such a thing as free will, or is my whole destiny pre-determined?”
He grins.
“Ha. Like I hadn’t heard that one before.” His voice drops. “By the way, Destiny is a lovely girl, bit self-assured but makes a great meatloaf.”
“So, what’s the answer?” he says. “Eh. It’s a little complicated but goes something like this: you are free to make certain decisions while I, as Fate, open several doors for you. Each has a different outcome. You chose the door. I don’t interfere, not my place. I just open ‘em. If you don’t like the fortune you got from the cookie, that’s on you.”
Fate looks down the street again, smiles.
“Actually, here comes my next appointment, a perfect example. I’ll show you what I mean. You can see for yourself.”
Fate comes off the lamppost which is outside a corner café. Far down the street, a young man is walking toward the eatery.
“That’s Kai Lee. He works a soul-sucking, dead-end job, pushing paper for an insurance company. Great guy. He just never seems to get a break.”
Kai’s demeanor matches Fate’s description, shoulders slumped, head down.
“Two doors are about to open for Kai, and one, door number two, will be life changing. Want to know what’s behind it?”
Fate turns, looks at a young woman sitting alone at one of the café tables. “She is.”
The woman is reading a book, sipping a latte.
“That’s Cindy Wu. She’s sweet, encouraging and ambitious. She’s also Kai’s soulmate, the love of his life. They’re going to be happier than a kid at Christmas getting his first bike.”
Fate shrugs. “That is, if he chooses the right door.”
Kai is getting closer.
“The suspense is killing you, isn’t it.” Fate rubs his hands together. “Fine. I’ll give you a sneak peek of what’s behind number two.”
Kai sidesteps around an elderly woman going the opposite direction. “Pardon me,” he says. A beautiful bluejay passes overhead. Kai looks up, whistles to the bird. The bird chirps back as it flies by.
Kai smiles. He looks around. It really is a gorgeous day. Isn’t it? He hadn’t noticed until just then.
It’s been weeks since he felt this good. His attitude has been one big dark cloud lately. He didn’t realize his mood had sunk this low until his bad luck stopped pelting him for a minute. It felt nice. He took a deep breath. His chin rose. He was at once energized and engaged as he approached the café.
That’s when he saw her. She was a dream. To Kai, it was as if she glowed by the radiance of her beauty alone.
She was reading. She didn’t notice him. Why should she? An angel wouldn’t take notice of a mere mortal about to walk by.
Cindy ran a finger through her jet-black hair, drawing a strand behind her ear.
Kai let out a schoolboy’s moan. He felt everything go into slow motion. He was entranced. His mouth dropped open. His lower lip flapped in the breeze.
Was he drooling? Oh, God. How embarrassing.
Kai’s next step took him right into Cindy’s line of sight. He was actually grateful she was reading because he’d be mortified right now if she were to –
Cindy looks up.
Oh, no. She sees him.
Kai freezes. How can this be happening? Where is a hole he can crawl into?
“Hello,” Cindy says.
Kai is pretty sure she’s just said something to him. There must have been words, but he only heard music, a carillon of little chimes coming from the heavens.
He should say something.
“Are you all right?” Cindy asks. “Do you need to sit down?”
Her question manages to pierce the fog in his brain. “Do I?”
“You look like you do.”
“Do you want me to sit down?”
Cindy giggles. “Only if you want to.”
Kai hears more music. “Ok.”
He sits down. Oh, wow, he thinks. She’s right there, right there next to him.
“I’m Cindy.” She holds out her hand.
He’s a little too quick and eager with his response and handshake. “Kai. I’m Kai. My name is Kai.”
Oh, what’s wrong with him. What is he twelve? He’s never felt this awkward. He has to say something smart, recover some crumb of dignity.
“I love your book.”
“This book?” Cindy nods to the open pages before her.
“Yes. It was great. Such a sweet story.”
She closes it, slides it across the table to him with the cover face up.
Kai looks down at the title: “The Black Plague: Medieval Medicine’s Response to Viruses and Pandemics.”
“This book? she repeats. Cindy challenges him with an inquisitive look. “You thought it was sweet?”
“Absolutely. I laughed. I cried. It was amazing.”
Cindy giggles. The scene freezes.
“At this point, Loverboy is convinced he’s striking out. It’s a miracle he scrapes up enough courage to ask her out. It wasn’t exactly Moses-parting-the-Red-Sea stuff, but still a miracle.”
“They marry a year later, destined for a lifetime of bliss.”
“Cindy encourages Kai to follow his dreams. With her support, he quits his abysmal insurance job and starts an exciting career in the entertainment industry.”
A birthday party is going on in a suburban living room. A horde of little girls are gathered, wearing party hats and tiaras. Kai waddles in, dressed as a clown.
“The outfit is pretty good. He’s got the big, red shoes, striped pants and suspenders. But he didn’t get the makeup right. The black shadow around his eyes makes him look more Pennywise than Bozo.”
The girls scream. Five wet their pants. Three start crying, and one girl named Heather looks mean and sour, with lemon-puckered lips. She throws her dolly, Miss Future Karen, at Kai. It hits him right in the clown jewels.
Kai doubles over in pain. He recovers quickly, beseeching them. “Wait! Wait!”
He blows up several balloons, twists them in knots and holds up a beautiful pony. He repeats the process. This time it’s a wallet. Kai tells them it’s something called a trust fund. All the girls let out an “Ooo.” They move in closer.
“Kai always was good at origami.”
Kai and Cindy are sitting on a couch. A boy and a girl sit at their feet.
“They have two children.”
The little girl holds up a big, fat, bewildered, black cat.
“They have 2.5 children.”
The cat meows.
“So, that’s one possible future, and all Kai has to do is pick it.”
Fate turns to look at Kai. Now in real-time, he is walking up from the end of the block. He steps around the old woman again.
“Pardon me.”
He looks down at his shoe. He’s standing on a ten-dollar bill.
Fate grimaces. “Oh, hang on. Door number one. Don’t do it, Kai. Abort. Abort.”
The bluejay takes to wing, glides above Kai. Unsung, it craps on him.
Kai jumps back, swipes the payload off his shoulder. “Yuck.”
A gust of wind catches the bill. Kai runs after it, but another gust jerks it out of his reach. It spirals into the street and is taken up by the wheel of a taxi into the chassis.
Kai frowns. His brow furrows. “Damn it,” he curses.
He shoves his hands into his pockets. His head falls in defeat, a frequent posture for him, and he begins walking again. In a few minutes, he’s close to passing Cindy on one side and Fate on the other.
Fate rolls his eyes. “Oh, Kai.” He takes a worn, silver coin from his pocket. “I hate to leave things to Chance. He’s so unpredictable.” He flips the coin into the air. It ascends, reaches its apex and falls back to earth. Fate snatches it, slaps it onto the back of his hand.
Kai is there now. He doesn’t see Cindy. She doesn’t see him. Just one more step and he will have passed his future by.
Fate lifts his hand and looks at the coin. Its heads, Cesar Augustus. “Well, it’s been a slow day. What the hell. The emperor has spoken.”
He reaches out and gives Kai a shove. The young man stumbles sideways, crashes on top of Cindy’s table. She screams and jumps up.
The table tilts under Kai’s weight. Both topple over. Kai hits the ground. Cindy’s cup launches, dumping its contents right in his face.
Kai exhales a spray of latte and spittle.
Cindy peers over the tabletop, her eyes wide, her jaw tense with concern.
A big, fat, black cat runs up and starts licking the creamy foam off Kai’s face. He laughs and holds the furry lump at bay.
He looks up at Cindy. She looks down at him.
“Hello,” Cindy says.
Kai smiles. Cindy’s expression softens.
Kai’s voice answers back, “Hello.”
Cindy smiles. She hears only music.
The End
“I don’t celebrate birthdays at my age.”
He leans against a lamppost, looks down the street, taps his foot impatiently.
“After 2,438 and a half years, they stopped being special.” He shifts his stance. “Course, I never dreamed I’d get this old, but it came with the job.”
“Here’s a tip, if a strange Greek in a dirty toga approaches you after one of Plato’s TED talks and offers you the job of Fate, say no.”
His lips twist. He thinks about his claim.
“Not that I haven’t enjoyed being around this long, but there’s a definite downside to this type of employment. I’ve never had a day off,” he sighs, “which has got to be an HR violation, and the benefits aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.”
He looks you in the eyes.
“You don’t believe me? We only just got a dental plan around the Renaissance. We wouldn’t even have gotten that if Leonardo da Vinci hadn’t berated the higher ups about the importance of proper flossing.”
“But I’m not here to talk about me. I’m here to answer your questions about fate, and I know just the one you’re most eager to ask.”
Fate looks down his nose to assume a professorial air.
“Is there really such a thing as free will, or is my whole destiny pre-determined?”
He grins.
“Ha. Like I hadn’t heard that one before.” His voice drops. “By the way, Destiny is a lovely girl, bit self-assured but makes a great meatloaf.”
“So, what’s the answer?” he says. “Eh. It’s a little complicated but goes something like this: you are free to make certain decisions while I, as Fate, open several doors for you. Each has a different outcome. You chose the door. I don’t interfere, not my place. I just open ‘em. If you don’t like the fortune you got from the cookie, that’s on you.”
Fate looks down the street again, smiles.
“Actually, here comes my next appointment, a perfect example. I’ll show you what I mean. You can see for yourself.”
Fate comes off the lamppost which is outside a corner café. Far down the street, a young man is walking toward the eatery.
“That’s Kai Lee. He works a soul-sucking, dead-end job, pushing paper for an insurance company. Great guy. He just never seems to get a break.”
Kai’s demeanor matches Fate’s description, shoulders slumped, head down.
“Two doors are about to open for Kai, and one, door number two, will be life changing. Want to know what’s behind it?”
Fate turns, looks at a young woman sitting alone at one of the café tables. “She is.”
The woman is reading a book, sipping a latte.
“That’s Cindy Wu. She’s sweet, encouraging and ambitious. She’s also Kai’s soulmate, the love of his life. They’re going to be happier than a kid at Christmas getting his first bike.”
Fate shrugs. “That is, if he chooses the right door.”
Kai is getting closer.
“The suspense is killing you, isn’t it.” Fate rubs his hands together. “Fine. I’ll give you a sneak peek of what’s behind number two.”
Kai sidesteps around an elderly woman going the opposite direction. “Pardon me,” he says. A beautiful bluejay passes overhead. Kai looks up, whistles to the bird. The bird chirps back as it flies by.
Kai smiles. He looks around. It really is a gorgeous day. Isn’t it? He hadn’t noticed until just then.
It’s been weeks since he felt this good. His attitude has been one big dark cloud lately. He didn’t realize his mood had sunk this low until his bad luck stopped pelting him for a minute. It felt nice. He took a deep breath. His chin rose. He was at once energized and engaged as he approached the café.
That’s when he saw her. She was a dream. To Kai, it was as if she glowed by the radiance of her beauty alone.
She was reading. She didn’t notice him. Why should she? An angel wouldn’t take notice of a mere mortal about to walk by.
Cindy ran a finger through her jet-black hair, drawing a strand behind her ear.
Kai let out a schoolboy’s moan. He felt everything go into slow motion. He was entranced. His mouth dropped open. His lower lip flapped in the breeze.
Was he drooling? Oh, God. How embarrassing.
Kai’s next step took him right into Cindy’s line of sight. He was actually grateful she was reading because he’d be mortified right now if she were to –
Cindy looks up.
Oh, no. She sees him.
Kai freezes. How can this be happening? Where is a hole he can crawl into?
“Hello,” Cindy says.
Kai is pretty sure she’s just said something to him. There must have been words, but he only heard music, a carillon of little chimes coming from the heavens.
He should say something.
“Are you all right?” Cindy asks. “Do you need to sit down?”
Her question manages to pierce the fog in his brain. “Do I?”
“You look like you do.”
“Do you want me to sit down?”
Cindy giggles. “Only if you want to.”
Kai hears more music. “Ok.”
He sits down. Oh, wow, he thinks. She’s right there, right there next to him.
“I’m Cindy.” She holds out her hand.
He’s a little too quick and eager with his response and handshake. “Kai. I’m Kai. My name is Kai.”
Oh, what’s wrong with him. What is he twelve? He’s never felt this awkward. He has to say something smart, recover some crumb of dignity.
“I love your book.”
“This book?” Cindy nods to the open pages before her.
“Yes. It was great. Such a sweet story.”
She closes it, slides it across the table to him with the cover face up.
Kai looks down at the title: “The Black Plague: Medieval Medicine’s Response to Viruses and Pandemics.”
“This book? she repeats. Cindy challenges him with an inquisitive look. “You thought it was sweet?”
“Absolutely. I laughed. I cried. It was amazing.”
Cindy giggles. The scene freezes.
“At this point, Loverboy is convinced he’s striking out. It’s a miracle he scrapes up enough courage to ask her out. It wasn’t exactly Moses-parting-the-Red-Sea stuff, but still a miracle.”
“They marry a year later, destined for a lifetime of bliss.”
“Cindy encourages Kai to follow his dreams. With her support, he quits his abysmal insurance job and starts an exciting career in the entertainment industry.”
A birthday party is going on in a suburban living room. A horde of little girls are gathered, wearing party hats and tiaras. Kai waddles in, dressed as a clown.
“The outfit is pretty good. He’s got the big, red shoes, striped pants and suspenders. But he didn’t get the makeup right. The black shadow around his eyes makes him look more Pennywise than Bozo.”
The girls scream. Five wet their pants. Three start crying, and one girl named Heather looks mean and sour, with lemon-puckered lips. She throws her dolly, Miss Future Karen, at Kai. It hits him right in the clown jewels.
Kai doubles over in pain. He recovers quickly, beseeching them. “Wait! Wait!”
He blows up several balloons, twists them in knots and holds up a beautiful pony. He repeats the process. This time it’s a wallet. Kai tells them it’s something called a trust fund. All the girls let out an “Ooo.” They move in closer.
“Kai always was good at origami.”
Kai and Cindy are sitting on a couch. A boy and a girl sit at their feet.
“They have two children.”
The little girl holds up a big, fat, bewildered, black cat.
“They have 2.5 children.”
The cat meows.
“So, that’s one possible future, and all Kai has to do is pick it.”
Fate turns to look at Kai. Now in real-time, he is walking up from the end of the block. He steps around the old woman again.
“Pardon me.”
He looks down at his shoe. He’s standing on a ten-dollar bill.
Fate grimaces. “Oh, hang on. Door number one. Don’t do it, Kai. Abort. Abort.”
The bluejay takes to wing, glides above Kai. Unsung, it craps on him.
Kai jumps back, swipes the payload off his shoulder. “Yuck.”
A gust of wind catches the bill. Kai runs after it, but another gust jerks it out of his reach. It spirals into the street and is taken up by the wheel of a taxi into the chassis.
Kai frowns. His brow furrows. “Damn it,” he curses.
He shoves his hands into his pockets. His head falls in defeat, a frequent posture for him, and he begins walking again. In a few minutes, he’s close to passing Cindy on one side and Fate on the other.
Fate rolls his eyes. “Oh, Kai.” He takes a worn, silver coin from his pocket. “I hate to leave things to Chance. He’s so unpredictable.” He flips the coin into the air. It ascends, reaches its apex and falls back to earth. Fate snatches it, slaps it onto the back of his hand.
Kai is there now. He doesn’t see Cindy. She doesn’t see him. Just one more step and he will have passed his future by.
Fate lifts his hand and looks at the coin. Its heads, Cesar Augustus. “Well, it’s been a slow day. What the hell. The emperor has spoken.”
He reaches out and gives Kai a shove. The young man stumbles sideways, crashes on top of Cindy’s table. She screams and jumps up.
The table tilts under Kai’s weight. Both topple over. Kai hits the ground. Cindy’s cup launches, dumping its contents right in his face.
Kai exhales a spray of latte and spittle.
Cindy peers over the tabletop, her eyes wide, her jaw tense with concern.
A big, fat, black cat runs up and starts licking the creamy foam off Kai’s face. He laughs and holds the furry lump at bay.
He looks up at Cindy. She looks down at him.
“Hello,” Cindy says.
Kai smiles. Cindy’s expression softens.
Kai’s voice answers back, “Hello.”
Cindy smiles. She hears only music.
The End
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