WEEK 373
Heather stared at her Lottery ticket and wondered if...


...she would even remember this life when everything changed in the very near future. All the dreams that she had would now be realities. Her job? Kiss that goodbye. That piece of crap car sitting outside the apartment? Let them tow it. Eddie, her long-time boyfriend? He can read about it. He never gave her the attention she deserved. Come to think of it her boss never appreciated her either. She just deserved more than this life. Yes, that's right. This life had short changed her all around but now all that would change. Just the idea of telling all those people who had never been grateful for all that she did excited her. They would all be sorry. It was definitely time to give this life a makeover. Today she wouldn't even call into work. Just skip it and head for the Walmart to pick up her new glasses.

by JC Johnson, Land O Lakes, FL

...she won the prize...

"Hmmmm", Heather holds on her chin and with BIG eyes she screamed, "Oh my God!...gracious God!...I won ! I won!..." jumping and running from one side of the room.

Her daughter Baby rushes in to see what's happening.."Hey mom...what's happening here!...you scared me with your screams!"

"Oh, Baby! We won...We will be rich!...We can now travel all over the world!..."

Baby was so surprised to see her mom reacting that way. "Mom, let me see the tickets." She stares on the ticket and tries to compare with the winning numbers from the newspaper...and she held her breath...looks at her mom...she doesn't know what to say...

"Hey, Baby, why? ...Am I right...we won right?...hey...speak up sweetie..."

Baby is still speechless...then suddenly she found the courage to speak up after several clearings of her throat. "Mom,you missed the last digit...your ticket number ends with 8 while the winning number ends with 6, Mom, we're not winners!

Her mom began to panic and grabbed the newspaper and the ticket from her daughter...then she began to scream out loud...and she collapsed...

by Arlyn A. Siador, San Fernando City, Philippines

...she was dreaming. Surely this could not be....not now, not to her. Why just three days ago, a two year long tailspin had culminated in her finally losing everything. This couldn't be happening though, could it? Heather remembered him coming to her, as if in a deep dreaming sleep, coming to her with the proposition. She remembered that upon waking up, shaking, she felt a horrible emptiness that she had blamed on her recent losses....and the fact she was in fact waking in a shelter. Thinking back now, she also recalled conceding to his deal. Remembered every terrible, horrific, unspeakable contingency. As she stared at the cursed ticket, she only wished to take it all back. It was then she felt a slight, ice cold touch on her neck and her the words as if whispered by the air itself "It is time to begin, child". She began to weep as she stood and grasped the blade she knew would be in her bag...

by Tomas M. Villarreal, Elmhurst, IL

...her idea was going to work. She had been told her whole life that she was a brilliant talker and could convince anyone of anything. Heather quickly nodded and walked into the car dealership.

"Anything I can help you with?" said the handsome young man asked with a pasted smile.

"I need to see the manager, please."

Disappointed that he had so quickly lost a potential customer, the man walked away. A minute later an older gentleman approached Heather. She wiped her sweaty palms on her lucky red shirt and then shook hands.

"How may I help you?"

"I have a proposition for you concerning this lottery ticket and that red convertible," she motioned her head.

He recognized the expensive vehicle. "Yes?"

"Tonight's lottery ticket for that car," she started.

Within an hour she had him convinced. He took the ticket in hand and watched her disappear in the new car.

by Donald Stidham, Cleveland, TN

...anyone had heard her scream after she had exposed the jackpot amount on the ticket.

A quick glance around, revealed that nobody else in the cafe was paying any attention to her, so perhaps, her scream had only been in her mind.

But then, everything started shaking violently, and one of the other patrons was calling her name!

"Oh sure," Heather thought in a panic, "I hit it big, and an earthquake kills me!"

The shaking got more intense, and the voice, more urgent. "Heather, time to get up, you'll be late for work!"

When Heather finally opened her eyes, she saw her roommate, Amy, standing over her. "I've been trying to wake you for a couple of minutes. I even tried shaking you, but you would'nt wake up!"

"That's OK, Amy, I'm staying home today. Suddenly, I don't feel very well."

Perhaps she could reclaim the $500,000 in her next dream.

by Stewart Lindsay, Buffalo, NY

...she was going to win or not, she was finished scratching her lottery ticket and looked at it closely, she started to scream with excitement, she was screaming out "I won, I won!" She was so excited, but then she didn't know how much money she got, so she looked at it closely again, she started to pout, she didn't win, well she did, but she only won five bucks. She looked at it and threw it in the trash, then kicked the trash can.

"Liars!" she yelled at the window and outside, she was so mad that she kicked her metal table, then her favorite show came on, she smiled and jumped on the couch and forgot all about the ticket.

by Alixandra Cherry, Shrewsbury, PA

...that six million dollar jackpot could be hers. It was no secret to anyone who knew Heather that her life was falling apart around her; six million would solve a multitude of issues.

"Hurry up, the news is ending and we'll see the lottery numbers." Sam yelled from the den.

Holding the ticket tight she ran to join her husband, who had lost his job over a year ago. They both sat in front of the TV in anticipation as the little white balls of fate made their way up the tubes. After all five balls and one red power ball were corresponding with all of Heather's numbers she leaped up from her chair exclaiming, "We won!!"

"Are you sure?" Sam pulling the ticket from her grasp. "What are we going to do?" Sam asked.

Heather smiled, "Move far away from here, leave everything, we can buy a new life."

by Ranae Cherry, Shrewsbury, PA