Free The Wisherman by Danielle Page B

have a schedule on Sunday.” Oliver wiped the sleep from his eyes, sat up, and shot Paul what he hoped was a deeply irritated look.
    “You weren’t sleeping anyway, I bet.” Paul said.
    Oliver rolled his eyes. “No, I really was. I promise you.”
    “How could you sleep after that? I’ll have nightmares forever about the dragon masks alone.” Oliver looked at Paul, contemplating whether or not he should tell him what he’d seen. But as he looked at Paul, face open and inviting, he found that he couldn’t do it. It was probably just a joke, anyway.
    “I can’t believe you actually did it.” He said, instead.
    “Me neither.” Paul smiled.
    Oliver had seen the older boys’ smirks, deep and practiced. The Dragon Run must have been an initiation rite as old as time, meant to scare every new student, Oliver reasoned. He would ask them about it later, and they would tell him that they carved the tree for extra effect.
    "We should go into town . Malachi said he’d go, but I couldn’t wake him up.” Paul complained.
    As soon as he could pull on his clothes , Oliver was on the path towards the tiny, tiny town of Wynton, Massachusetts. The red and gold leaves fell in a flurry from each tree he passed, creating a natural gingerbread trail from Delafontaine to the town. The air was crisp, and Oliver had wrapped himself up with the blue and white Delafontaine scarf. Paul had instructed them to take the narrow trail behind the school, which was obviously not meant for walking. As Oliver tripped over the occasional tree branch, he looked around to see if he could spot any of the locations he'd been at the night before. But, the forest in the daytime looked completely different, friendly even. There was no trace of the dark pressure Oliver had felt the night before and he began to wonder if what he’d seen was a simply a figment of his imagination.
    The path widened, and Oliver found himself stepping into the town. The town of Wynton surrounded The Delafontaine School. There was one four lane road that ran down the center of the town, with wide sidewalks on either side. A large green area, the town commons, sat further off the road. Oliver followed Paul to the left sidewalk, while the rare car idled past him in the opposite direction. There was no one else on the street as far as the eye could see.
    The first store on the left was a quaint tea shop named Ava's. Oliver stopped to stare in the window at a small electronic teapot that was scooting around the window display, but Paul pulled him away. The next shop was an old bookstore---Wynton Books, the sign said in fading blue and white letters. He felt a tug at his arm, and he reluctantly followed Paul further down the street. They passed an empty café, and the smells of bread and pastries wafted through the open front door, causing Oliver's stomach to growl.
    "Ah, look at this!" Paul exclaimed from a bit up the road. Oliver rushed over, his stomach aching with hunger. He pressed his face to the glass storefront, hoping to see pizza, a display of cakes, anything edible at all. To his dismay, however, the glass display only held one poster that had a single almond shaped eye on it.
    "We have to go inside." Oliver looked over at Paul, who seemed like he was nearly salivating. "A fortune teller. A real live fortune teller. I haven't seen one of these since I was a kid, at this traveling carnival. It had fortune tellers, and the world’s smallest man. Real live carnies."
    "She's not a real fortune teller." Oliver looked back over at the sign, his eyes now catching the tiny print at the bottom that read: Fortunes are not guaranteed true. One's destiny can always be manipulated.
    “Man, it’s real if you believe it. That’s all that counts.” Paul stood in front of the door, his feet jittering with excitement, and he beckoned Oliver over. Oliver sighed, and reluctantly, his feet were carrying him through the front door.
    He stepped inside the shop, and he immediately inhaled