LUCK

She didn’t win. But she gave away the prize.

Surely luck would find her.

There was that saying.
If you want to win the lottery, you have to buy a ticket.

So she did.

Weeks passed.
Then months.

Nothing.

Still, she kept buying.

The tickets came home and pinned themselves to the fridge with her favorite magnet.

One week, she stopped at a store she didn’t know.
A different corner.
A different cashier.

She stood in line.
Paid her dollar.
Took the ticket.

As she turned to leave, she noticed a girl at the back of the store, moving slowly along the glass doors of the drink coolers. Looking. Never reaching.

Her mother called.
The girl took her hand.

As they passed, she placed the ticket into the woman’s palm.

“For you,” she said.
“Good luck.”