Chapter 2
Friday couldn’t come fast enough. Miles’ mom wanted everybody to go to the carnival as a way to celebrate her getting the job at the Pub. Miles’ dad didn’t want to go though. He did his fake snore and rolled over on his Swiss cheese sofa. He admired his mom though. She always tried to better herself.
Miles stood at this one tent that said “Fortune Telling”. Now Miles didn’t believe in magic or anything but this intrigued him. Nothing like this has been there before. Miles slipped inside to see a woman sitting at a table with long purple fingernails and a matching purple scarf wrapped around her head tied up in a huge knot on top on her head. She had one eye closed shut, covered by wrinkly skin. It made him want to gag.
“Come closer if you want to know your future…,” she said. Her voice reminded him of a crow.
“Well what is it?” Miles said trying so very hard to sound brave.
“One fortune for one price,” she said with a smile.
“I ain’t got any money,” he said.
“Hmmmmm,” She sat quiet for a couple seconds then smiled. "Oh, I’ll tell you anyway. Sit.” Miles reluctantly sat down in the cushioned seat across from her.
“Give me your palm…” she said. Miles reached out and gave her his right hand and showed out his palm.
“I see you’re poor.” She said and eyed his palm closely. It isn’t hard to tell Miles was poor from the way he dressed. There was a hole in his back pocket and mud on the other. Then she said something that made his head spin. “Death and money and greed are what I see. That’s what your future is.”
“Wait! I’m going to die!?” Miles shouted.
“That is all I see. I do not know if it is you that will be dying, but oh yes I see it. It is coming soon. I can feel it around me, you should too.” She said. Miles shook his head.
“I’m glad I didn’t pay for this.” He whispered.
“You couldn’t anyway ‘cause you are poor” She said and laughed.
Suddenly there was a man yelling outside of the tent saying “Where is that old hag! I’ll burn her! That stupid witch, how dare she?” Miles didn’t know the voice but he knew it was bad and he was coming for the Fortune Teller. Miles turned and looked at the entrance way of the tent and the man stepped it with an angry look on his face. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were wide with fire. Miles glanced at the woman but she did nothing.
He stepped forward and began to speak.” How dare you! You told my brother his wife was cheating on him! How dare you mess up their love like that?” the man yelled. The man was Bill, a neighbor of Miles.
“I do not lie sir, I speak the truth. Sit and I will speak your fortune.”
“The hell with you, you old bag! Tell my brother you were lying and you’re a joke before I kill you.” He said.
The woman laughed. “Your name is Bill ain’t it? Your wife is cheating on ya too.” She said smoothly. She had no fear, none what so ever.
“Witch!” He screamed and suddenly he lunged for her. It was so fast Miles didn’t even see him move. Miles panicked as he watch Bill smack and punch the woman in her face. The craziest thing was that the woman was laughing. While blood spilled from her nose and mouth, she laughed. Miles wanted to help her, but he was shaking so bad. That man was definitely crazy, he could attack Miles next. Miles searched the tent for some kind of weapon and his eyes found her crystal ball on the table. He grabbed it and it was at least 10 pounds. The woman’s laugh was growing lower and wearier. Yet the man never stopped hitting her. Miles brought down the glass over his head, ready to hit. Bill suddenly stopped and looked up at Miles and a flash of fear showed up in his eyes. Miles felt the man’s fear but then he did something he never thought in a million years he would do. He killed a man.

Chapter 3
Bill laid dead on the floor with his skull cracked opened and blood covered every inch of the woman, Miles, and Bill. The woman got up and hugged Miles so fast he almost fell back on top of Bill’s lifeless body.
“How do I repay you? How!? You saved me! I tried to show him I was strong so he would leave but he wouldn’t!” she cried. Miles blinked and leaned away from the woman.
“I killed him! I only know that I shouldn’t have done that.” He said. The woman walked away and flipped over her table onto the floor and opened a secret compartment. Miles couldn’t see what it was she took out.
“I should go. I- I...,” he stuttered. Boy was his momma going to whoop him now! The woman came over and grabbed his hand and put money in his hand. Miles, with a quick glance saw at least three twenties. Miles gasped.
“Take it! I will take care of the body, I will bury it; just do not tell a soul of what we have done. You were never here! Never! Understand!” She shouted. Miles only nodded his head. He was too worried about how he was going to spend the money she gave him.
“Run,” she said. Miles did. He ran out of the tent so fast his head spun. He ran smack into his mom.
“Miles Shame! What do you have all over your clothes?” She was talking about the blood.
“Mom! This boy was eating a hotdog and he called me a name that um... I forget, but anyways he spilled ketchup on me and now I’m a mess, so I came to find you and now I found you. Can we go home now? I really want to go home,” he rambled.
“Now we have to! I got to get those clothes washed,” she said and grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the carnival. They walked fast and his mom was talking to herself the entire time.
“Mom. Do you miss Mattie?” He asked. She never talked about Mattie to Miles, but she talks about him to herself.
“Miles, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of him,” she said as they entered the trailer park. They approached their trailer when his mom tried to open the door and it was locked. That door was never locked.
“What the hell!” She said. “Your father never locks this door.” She began calling his name and the lights went on in their trailer and there was distant whispering. Miles decided to walk around to the other side where he saw two women wearing their under clothes slipping out of his parents’ bedroom window.
“Mom!” Miles yelled and the women looked at Miles with hatred in their eyes. The woman glanced at each other. Their worried and confused expressions caused Miles to laugh. His mom came around the back and paused when saw the two women. His mother gasped and next thing he knew, she attacked them. The woman shrieked and tried to make a run for it but no one was out running Mama. She started pounding the hell out of them while Miles watched. Miles thought he recognized them both. He knew he has seen their faces somewhere around Darley Green. Miles had to blink twice to realize who the two women were. He watch as the woman screamed as his mom beat on them. He smiled at the fact that they were Bill and his brother’s wives! That old lady sure wasn’t lying about their wives cheating on them.

Chapter 4

Miles probably spent every dollar on food. Pizza, cheese steaks and he bought the train set as well. Miles had about ten dollars left. No one asked him how he got the money and he didn’t bother telling them. They were all too concerned with the antics of their father. His dad soon left after mom kicked him out.
While walking home from school, Miles saw the Fortune Teller outside on the side walk with large boxes and a “For Sale” sign. She saw him and she smiled. He walked up to her and asked what she was selling.
“Goldfish, magical Goldfish,” she said. Alright, Miles thought to himself, this lady is officially crazy!
“Magical?” Miles asked. “There is no such thing as magic!”
“Yes, there is. They will only show their magic to those who are worthy. They make everything better. Every desire you have, they will grant.” She said. She held up one and it was in a small glass bowl and it was swimming back and forth, and round and round.
“They’re a gift from the Sun, people would say, and the Gods. You’re lucky to have one,” she said with a smile. “But you must feed it, every day, and twice a day. Can you do that? If you don’t their power will fade!”
For some reason Miles believed her. He nodded his head. He gave her the ten dollars and she gave him the glass bowl.
“Thank you for everything. You are worthy of everything you get.” She said and Miles ran home holding the bowl carefully. He hid the bowl under his bed and he made a wish.
“I wish I would have money all the time," he said. Miles knew it was crazy but he kind of believed her and wanted to believe her.
The next day Miles wished for a girlfriend. Miles found fifty bucks two days after that and at school a girl gave Miles a letter saying she had a crush on him. Everything seemed to be going great for Miles. He had a secret goldfish that granted wishes whenever he wanted! Miles saw a poor old man one day while walking home from school.
“Please. Food. Please lad,” he asked, Miles kicked the man and ran home. No way was he going to give that man money. His greed was getting the best of him. He thought the man can get a job. When Miles got home from school his mom was crying.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Mattie’s dead! He wrote me a letter saying he was coming home, but he died in a car accident! He was nineteen!” she cried. “Don’t ever leave me Miles!”
Miles began to cry even though he didn’t know Mattie that well. “I won’t mom, I promise.” Later that night Miles asked his goldfish for his mom to be extremely happy.
The next day his mom woke the three of them up with a smile on her face and said “Breakfast is ready!” Miles could hardly believe his eyes. His mom just woke them up with food all ready to eat. Troy and Danny were confused with what was happening. All three of them got dressed. Inside Miles was jumping with glee! This goldfish really worked, that lady wasn’t crazy! When Troy and Danny left their room Miles went under the bed and saw his goldfish not swimming like it always was. Miles took the bowl out from under the bed and tapped the glass. Nothing! Then he remembered what the woman said “the fish needed sun and food and Miles has given it neither. He was too busy giving himself wishes he forgot to feed the fish that was granting them!
Miles was sad for the rest of the day. His wishes would not be answered anymore. That woman was gone. She had to leave town and she would have never given Miles a second chance. The woman was right. Miles was greedy. She was right about everything. Miles’ mom saw Miles so upset and asked him “What’s wrong?”
He told her about the goldfish, but not the killing of the man part! He told her that he wished her to be happy because she was devastated about Mattie’s death.
“Honey, I’m happy because Mattie is happy. He is in heaven now. I’m not with your lowlife father anymore because I want to be happy. You should be happy too,” she said.
“Now my wishes won’t come true anymore,” He said.
“Wishes do not come true. You must not leave anything up to just asking for it. You must work for it. If you believe in something it will happen!” She said. A little while later Miles saw the woman and he asked her for another magical fish.
“Those fishes weren’t magic boy! I just say that so suckers will buy them. Your wishes came true because you believed they would! I hoped it would help teach others responsibility!” she exclaimed.
“So they’re just regular fish?” Miles asked.
“Yes. Now I’m leaving town. Good luck in your life. I hoped you have learned something,” she said. Miles did learn something. You must work for things in life to get what and where you want to be or you will never get there! So to Miles, things were getting better, but for Danny and Troy, well who knows!