Pop Goes That Prediction
(My family and I are sitting around a table outside a caravan on holiday in Paris. I’m 12, and my sister is 3. She has been blowing bubbles, and creates a huge one which she manages to rest on top of the bottle of bubble fluid. She carries it over, sits with us, and speaks in a low voice.)
Sister: “I shall now be reading your fortune.”
Mum: “Okay, what’s happening in my future?”
(My sister waves her hands mysteriously over the giant bubble.)
Sister: “You will have a nice new car.”
Mum: “Good news!” *points at my 6-year-old brother* “And how about your brother?”
(My sister waves her hands over the bubble again, looks up, raises an eyebrow.)
Sister: “He is going to win a football match.”
Brother: “Yay! What’s going to happen to [me]?”
(My sister begins to wave her hands over the bubble again, at which point it disappears. For a second, her eyes open wide with shock. She looks me straight in the eye with a serious expression.)
Sister: *in a matter-of-fact tone* “Well, she’s going to pop.”
(Without another word she stands, picks up the bottle and solemnly walks away.)