Only For The Brave of Heart

“Come one, come all! Everyone is welcome to try out this game of chance! Will you be the lucky man or woman who can guess which piece of candy is safe to eat? You’ve got dozens of choices to choose from! But only one is safe! The others come with an unknown risk! Who will be brave enough to eat one of these pieces of candy and potentially win 2 thousand shackels!? Any brave souls willing to try? Come up and take a chance on this once in a lifetime opportunity!”

The market stall worker was trying quite hard to sell what sounded like potential poison consumption. I wasn’t sure the man knew it sounded like the contestant could possibly die if they didn’t eat the right choice of candy. Many people seemed interested but nobody was stepping up. I was interested myself but was hesitant like the other bystanders. I decided that if somebody else stepped up first, I’d do it too. So, I waited, looking in the surrounding crowd of people. I wasn’t sure if I was rooting for someone to step up or for no one to take the chance and save me a trip to the clinic.

No one was stepping up so the stall worker continued selling his death treats. “Come brave lads and lasses! Is no one courageous enough to try one of these candies and win 2 thousand shackels?”

No one stepped up still. Finally, the eclectic man said the magic words. “Never fear! These dozens of risky sweets are not poisoned or will harm you in any way! They are but unpleasant to eat! Any valiant takers?”

Finally, three males stepped forward immediately, and I decided to quickly jump in before everyone realized it was safe to play. Two thousand shackels was life changing money right there.

I was fourth in line but many more males and females lined up behind me. I doubted they’d all be able to play. The line was just too long. Once everyone was settled, each man before me took their pick from the selection of sweets before them. There were indeed quite a large number of candied morsels spread out on the long stall counter. The men quickly took their pick, seeming nervous but oddly confident they chose the right piece of candy.

It was finally my turn, and I took a long look at the treats before me. I honestly had no way to tell which were 'unsafe' and which one would be the winning sweet, so I decided to pick my personal favorite. I walked over and picked up a dark blue hard candy called a Polyberry. The strong berry flavor came from a multitude of local berries all mixed together in this delicious hard candied treat. I really hoped that if this wasn't the winning sweet, that whatever was added to it wouldn’t ruin the taste for me. I loved Polyberries, and they weren't always easily accessible considering their popularity.

It took a while for the stall man to set up the other contestants. Like I expected, only about two dozen more people were allowed to join. That left about a dozen pieces of candy remaining. I suppose this was to ensure the chance that perhaps no one would get the magical money winning treat.

"Okay all you brave souls, you may now eat the candy you personally selected! Don't think you can trick me into thinking your piece of candy is the winner, I'll know!"

This had the crowd laughing and a few of the contestants looked disappointed, like that had been their plan all along.

Every one of us seemed a bit hesitant, waiting for one of the other contestants to take a bite first. Eventually, one of the first men popped what looked like a Helix candy into his mouth, almost immediately throwing up. Before the next man could register that the first had thrown up spectacularly, the second man took a quick bite of his sugared floss as well, and started coughing and choking. Now, you would think this would make everyone else pause and hesitate to try their candy, but it seemed to make them wish to get it over with more.

All the contestants were eating their treats but me. I couldn't stop watching the multitude of people throwing up, choking, grimacing, spitting, and crying around me. Now I was quite a bit nervous. I certainly didn't want to just throw up here in front of this crowd of people or cry for my mom like the one guy near the end of the line was currently doing.

I decided I just needed to go for it and slowly lifted my Polyberry to my mouth. I took a deep breath and quickly deposited it into my mouth. It took a second or two before my tastebuds registered the candy. But when I did, I got worried. It tasted a tad sour. I was so nervous; I couldn't tell whether the sourness was due to the multitude of berry flavors or from some nasty thing put in the candy. All the sounds of disgust and groans around me started going to my head and I felt almost convinced I had a losing piece of candy. I couldn't figure out what the weird sour taste was! Was it something edible? Was it poison? Was I going to die now?

I was near hyperventilation and was working myself up to lightheadedness when I heard the stall manager scream in excitement.

"Oh my, everyone! We have a winner! The lucky contestant who chose the winning piece of candy!!! Come up here little lady! Come and get your prize for eating the only safe treat within dozens!!"

I was near tears when I realized everyone was looking at me. I froze and started looking around, only to realize the market manager was staring at me too.

"Wait... me?" I squeaked. "I won?"

A few in the crowd chuckled, but the market man looked bemused.

"Did you not get the normal piece of candy, little lady?" he asked.

"Uhhh.... yeah, I think I did." My face went up in flames, but I quickly walked up to the manager before he could tease me even more.

"Thank you all for coming today and to those who participated! I will be back again with a new game for others to win money next week! Please participate again next time!!"

As the crowd slowly dispersed, the man gave me a winning smile and led me behind the counter of his stall. He leaned down to a metal box that was nailed into the stalls shelving and had a hefty lock on its door latch. The man pulled a key from around his neck and unlocked the metal box. Pulling out a paper package, he handed it to me. I looked inside and became stunned at seeing all the shackel bills before me. The angry depiction of a bull on the brown bills almost mesmerizing me. The man really kept his promise.

I looked up at him with my mouth hanging open. He gave a hearty laugh and said, "Did you think I was a hoax? I keep my word! Now, because you won this time, you can no longer enter any future contests, but I hope you enjoy the winnings of this one!"

I nodded mutely, eventually managing to thank the man, and made it home in a daze. I finally had enough money to buy my parents a new house. It wouldn't be extravagant, but it'd be better than the dirty shack they lived in now. I went to bed that night happy that I came across such an opportunity and won!

After a couple of weeks, it finally came to light that the stall owner who I won the money from was hired by the new hospital on the East side of town, which was where the stall owner was set up. Most of the games he had people play involved food consumption and what he put in the loser's food were herbs and tinctures that caused stomach aches, uncontrollable diarrhea, trouble sleeping, and the like. The hospital wanted more people to come use their facilities and eventually prefer their services over the hospital in the West that had been open for many years now. I know I shouldn't condone the sneaky way they tried to get customers, but the money the stall manager gave me was real and I was able to help my parents with it, so I just kept my mouth shut about the incident and my winning. Eventually the hospital in the East had to close down, so I guess they got their karma. I just hoped I wasn't tied into it as well.