Everyone in the city of Willowbrook knew Jack Bennett as a happy man *. He was neither rich nor famous nor powerful, but good fortune followed him like a shadow. He found a winner on the sidewalk rather than millions, but enough to pay off his debts.
Another time he collapsed along the way, missing the train to find out he had been scattering passengers for hours. He once stumbled on the street, landed in front of a cafe where he attacked the woman who became his wife. People said Jack was born under a happy star. But Jack always laughed and said: »Luck? perhaps. Or maybe you just know how to listen. You know, Jack deeply believed that luck wasn't just a blind chance. He believed it was a small thing to realize. The way the breeze changed before the rain, the feeling in her stomach was the familiarity that somehow they managed to come back as something was wrong.
One day, the city faced the worst flooding in 50 years. The river swelled, the houses were cleaned, and people were panicked. However, Jack had previously felt something in the wind, but warned his neighbor. He helped out with the sandbag house, moved his family uphill and even saved an old lady who was left behind on the roof. When the flood returned, people said he was lucky again. His house wasn't even touched. However, Jack shook his head and smiled. That's not luck, he said. You need to be careful. And to help others before they can help themselves. From that day on, people stopped calling him happiness.
They called him wise. And once a man who stumbled on luck, Jack became the man who shared it - and sometimes proves that true happiness lies in how they live.
