Brilliant Bry *：歡樂吧！生命

「Romance will come your way soon.」

我妹離開舊金山的那一天，拎了三大包的幸運餅乾（fortune cookies）上飛機。重量是沒有多少，不過體積大概有她隨身行李的三分之二強。我也不知道怎麼這一次她那麼愛幸運餅乾，直嚷著要帶回去台灣邊吃邊玩。這是我們某一天陪著她從聯合廣場（Union Square）附近，Grant/Bush街口那家星巴克一直傻傻地走到Stockton街上，在Broadway和Vallejo之間的一家不起眼，名叫美美（Mee Mee）的小糕餅店去買回來的。

越過了整個中國城呢！九個半街口！

一面走著，我們一面嚷著買幸運餅乾的路上真是不幸運極了！走到腳痠肩膀累的……（雖然我們也心知肚明這跟早上在聯合廣場附近血拼比較有關係！）然後我妹就會哄著大家，「等下就吃幸運餅乾呀！就會幸運啦！」

結果那三大包的餅乾從買下來那一刻到我妹提著上飛機之間可是原封不動。

雖然我不是期待吃了幸運餅乾可以帶來什麼幸運，但是每次去舊金山的時候在中餐館遇見幸運餅乾還是會很好奇地打開看看裡面小籤子上寫了些什麼！（是吧！我總是這樣配合演出！）

我上飛機之前，表姊塞給我另外一牌的幸運餅乾。我想大概就像不同廟裡面出的不同籤詩吧！回到荷蘭之後，把那些完整的分給同事們。同事當然很高興地掰開來看看餅乾裡藏著的名堂。我手邊剩下的是幾個有損傷的，就不好再拿出去分給別人。

打開第一個，裡面寫著「Romance will come your way soon.」我著實有開心了一下。

原來，我還是那麼好被取悅呀！

My sis took 3 huge packs of fortune cookies with her from San Francisco to Taiwan. They’re really not that heavy, but they occupied almost 2/3 of the space in her hand luggage. I have no idea why she wanted so many fortune cookies this time. She said that she wanted to bring them back to Taiwan for fun. We walked all the way to a small bakery called Mee Mee on Stockton between Broadway and Vallejo from Starbucks at Grand and Bush.

We did walk all the way through China town, bloody 9 and a half blocks.

While we were walking, what we could think about was how unfortunate the road was to this place that sells fortune cookies. Our feet were tired, and shoulders weary. Although we all knew that it was more to do with the crazy shopping we’d done that morning around Union Square. Then my sis would say, “Oh, we’ll have some fortune cookie later, then we’ll become lucky!”

Yeah, right. Till the day she departed from San Francisco International Airport, those 3 big packs of fortune cookie remained unpacked. So I’ve always enjoyed finding out the hidden phrase when fortune cookies are served in the Chinese restaurant in San Francisco.

Although I wasn’t really expecting to be lucky after having some fortune cookies, but every time when I am in San Francisco, I am always curious about what’s inside the cookies. So I’d break it up and see what’s within.

Before I flew back, my cousin gave me some fortune cookies of another brand. I thought, not in a serious way, that it’s probably like different oracles from different temples. So I took them with me back to the Netherlands. And I gave the sound ones to my colleagues. They’re quite happy to break it up and see the labels inside. I kept those slightly cracked ones to myself.

What I found in the first one reads “Romance will come your way soon.” Honestly, I was surprised, or flattered, actually.

As a matter of fact, I am still so damn easily entertained.