I wouldn’t normally have walked into the travelling fair that night. I’ve always found those things a bit creepy, but tonight I was hoping for a date with destiny.

As dusk slowly crept in, some of the rides were already packing up, ready to move off to their next destination. There seemed to be more staff than customers on site. No one looked like they were having fun. Just small groups of long faces and bowed heads.

One gaudy booth seem to stand out from the rest. I know friends who had visited fortune tellers, but I’d never believed in any of that stuff myself. I’m more into numbers and percentages. Things you can count on.

But here I was. In for a penny…

I pulled back the curtain and stepped inside. Instead of the usual mystical woman with a tarot pack, I found a familiar-looking pop star sat behind a desk. On the desk were neatly stacked piles of banknotes.

I gave the impression of surprise, and the man smiled. “Welcome! You’re the first person that’s come in all day. I thought I’d have to give it up as a bad job!”
“You’re telling fortunes now?”
He looked genuinely embarrassed. “It’s like this. My accountant tells me that the more money I give away now, the less I pay in tax. Crazy, eh?”
I nodded. What else could I do?

He slid the whole pile over to me. “Have the lot, pal. And the briefcase, you can take that too. There’s exactly a million here. My only condition is that you don’t tell the press. They’d have a field day!”

We shook hands and he disappeared into the gloom. Walking back to town with the briefcase, I had an extra spring in my step. Working for the Tax Department Tip-off phone line has it’s advantages. But I had given him my word to keep this quiet. I guess no one has to know. After all, I’d hate to get anyone into trouble…

Photos taken by iPhone 4S, and altered with Snapseed and Photo Toaster Apps. Photos and story written for the ‘Phoneography and Non-SLR Digital Devices: Editing and Processing with Apps’ prompt, hosted by Sally W. Donatello at Lens and Pens by Sally.

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