His whole life flashed right before his eyes. He was blinded by the headlight of the oncoming vehicle. He had no idea that he would be in such a predicament because of how the day started.
Greg opened up his eyes and turned to the right side of the bed where his digital alarm clock was located. He watched the blinking red lights as he tried to read the time, it was just 4:44 in the morning and it was too early for him to get up, but he still did. He poured himself a glass of water and settled in front of the television.
There was nothing on it but early news. Something pulled his sight down to the lower third of the screen wherein they flash the headlines, the weather, and the winning numbers from last night's draw. He couldn't pinpoint what it was but he could swear that there was something familiar in what he was looking at.
He placed his hand inside his pants and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. He held it upright and as he tried to compare what was written on it against the numbers from the TV, he could not find a single difference. And when he realized what he was looking at, he pinched his cheek hard to make sure that he wasn't dreaming and it hurt like hell. It was the very first time that he was so happy to be hurt. He jumped and down while trying to hold out his screams of joy.
But still, the thumping and stomping were too loud for an early morning. A violent knock on the door made him stop. "Geez! Stop that!"
"I'm sorry Mr. Perkins," Greg said.
In his mind, this was his ticket to move out of this trash of an apartment, he could finally live the life he felt that he was meant for. No more bills and no more odd jobs to do. He went online to confirm how much his winnings will be, it was just a whopping $4,444,000.00.
"I didn't know that the number would be my lucky number," he muttered to himself.
All the excitement and the adrenaline pumping through his body made him a little bit hungry. So he decided to go to that Chinese place that serves his favorite Congee. He knows that it serves food 24/7 so it doesn't matter what time of the day he craves food.
As soon as he got out of the building door, there was a cab on the curb who just let out a passenger. He immediately got in and instructed the driver for the directions. He felt so lucky since he knows how difficult it was to hail a cab during those strange hours of the day. Guess lady luck is really looking her way.
He got to the restaurant and there were just a few customers eating so he was served as soon as he sat down. Lucky! Usually, he would fall in line just to be seated. His food was served and it was time to dig in.
He was done eating and the server gave him a fortune cookie for dessert. He cracked it in the middle and ate the parts that came off. He unrolled the piece of paper inside and it read " You are lucky". He smiled upon reading the text because he felt that he couldn't really be happier than today. He felt that everything good he did had paid off.
He paid his bill and left a very generous tip for the server. He wanted to share his blessings. He went on his way with a full tummy and a grateful heart.
He walked the streets and the city was just waking up. It was around 8 in the morning when he reached the building where he could process the claiming of his lottery winnings. He was on the side of the street looking up at the tall skyscraper across the street. That was the building that would make him filthy rich.
He looked at both sides of the street because he didn't want to waste his fortune by dying in an unfortunate car accident. He had seen too many movies about luck running out at the very last minute. He walked proudly and slowly, he stopped in his tracks when he heard shouting from behind him. He looked to the right side and there was a truck raging toward his direction, he would be safe if he would just make the final step to the island in the middle of the street, but when he turned back, he saw a kid crouched on the pavement who had seemingly tripped.
It just happened so fast but for Greg, it was the longest second of his entire life. He dashed toward the kid and pushed him to safety on the side of the curb.
His life flashed right before his eyes as he was now lying there with his consciousness fleeing away from him. And at the end of it all, looks like Greg's luck has finally run out.
This short story is my entry to The Ink Well's weekly prompt that you can find here : Fortune.