He crumpled the piece of paper and tossed it to the side of the table, and continued to wait. .
After another half hour had passed, Charlie's patience had given way. Frustrated, he got off his chair, grabbed his coat and walked out the door of the restaurant. Just as he stepped out on to the road to hail a cab, a car coming toward him suddenly swerved uncontrollably straight into his direction. Without a second to spare, Charlie leapt toward the sidewalk, just barely avoiding collision. His head hit the pavement, casting stars before his eyes. As soon as he recovered, he sat up to look around and noticed that he was surrounded by people but the car was nowhere to be seen. Shaking like a leaf, he stood up, trying to understand what had just happened. People around him were also beginning to disperse. Trying to regain his composure, he began walking in the direction of his office. .
Being the paranoid person that he was, he couldn't help but wonder that what had happened was strangely enough just what the fortune cookie had said: danger to his life. .
"It can't be! " he muttered to himself, "It's absurd! I must be losing my mind!".
Just then it struck him. Hadn't something similar happened just yesterday? He had been driving to his office in the morning, passing an under-construction area when the jib of a crane had swung unexpectedly towards his windshield. He had to honk his horn for a good five seconds to make sure the operator stopped it. Could these events be related? .
The series of spooky "coincidences " were giving him the heebie-jeebies. It seemed like everyone was plotting against him. Carefully avoiding eye contact with any passerby, Charlie hurried on his way, longing for the safety of his office. .
Finally he reached the final block. He could see the blue reflective windows of the building he worked in. Only when he was a few steps away from the entrance did he finally beginning to calm down.
