A Gifted Lottery

Twins played outside of Juliet’s apartment building. They did not live here. Having read the lease agreement five times before signing, she knew the rules. No pets, no aquariums, no under 18 residents, and no carnivorous plants allowed. Though addendums existed for service animals; Juliet knew of none for service children. She made a note to later contemplate this as a viable treatment. Logic offered they were visiting family in the building; Juliet doubted this.

A secondary glance confirmed that indeed identical twins danced in the leaves below. No longer peering from the edge of the view, she stood directly in front of the windows to survey the oddity. Unaccompanied youth bounded about the leaves which once shielded the apartment’s window. Luckily the glare hid the suspicious scene of Juliet gazing down at child strangers.

Not feeling fit to leave the defenceless completely alone, Juliet made comfortable the window sill. She monitored the pair as she filled a little black book with messy ink. Sketches of the muses below throwing leaves upon pages of poems. Time passed and with it, Juliet wove tales of the guardians’ of her entertainment. How they’d become lost looking for directions; caught in a conversation with companions of old.

She waited, bated in breath for the reunion scene as the day fell to dark. Tired eyes rose to meet Juliet’s; illuminated by flickering street fluorescents. The sun’s rays receded leaving the watchful adult unshielded. The leftmost hand of four rose to signal hello. The perched figure above returned the gesture. A game of charades ensued. Hands opened and closed like flapping pages. Head tilted down followed by a pause. She made out furious writing at the end of a frenzied performance.

Folded pages drifted down on asymmetrical wings. The twins called out excitedly as they chased aeroplanes. As earthy hands clasped paper, a voice beckoned down the street. Three paper aeroplanes and two wanderlust youths disappeared from Juliet’s sight. She hoped they would appreciate her works.

A twin returned later, long after Juliet should have moved away. She watched as an envelope found home stashed in the base of the tree. After a light coating of leaves, the child turned their face towards the fourth floor. Eyes met in a still conversation. In the graduated toddler’s hand was a crumpled paper smudged with Juliet’s ink. A tiny finger pointed from the buried treasure to the adult and back again.

The sound of a horn jolted the two from a staring contest. They shared a humoured glance before the younger dashed away. A car departed, along presumably with the twins. Yet Juliet only gave thought to what stayed behind. An envelope developing an unsatisfying sog below a leaf pile. A gift left by the youth she’d shared the day with.

Collecting her keys, her coat, and her notebook the anticipation riddled writer took her apartment stairs in twos. The envelope retracted from the leaves hung limply from dew. The white paper turned opaque from water exposure revealed running ink and a half scratched lottery ticket. Time returned Juliet to the building and in the light of the elevator, she examined her commission. Large untamed letters deciphered to a thank you and the initials of S and P. She muttered on gratitude before taking out the half scratched ticket.

Perhaps the children had intended to be helpful. Regardless of intention, Juliet wished they'd left a coin as her elevator crawled to her floor. The early ding left her nose pressed against sliding metal doors as she rushed into the hallway. Her cold fingers fumbled with equally cold keys and locks. Depositing the ruined envelope, Juliet retrieved her lucky coin from the place beside her bed. Glittering flakes drifted from the ticket as she revealed four four-leaf clovers.

Wide eyes scanned the fine print of the winning lottery ticket. Scratching the prize section revealed more zeros than Juliet would have expected from a gifted gambling experience. She placed down the ticket and collected her notebook. On a new page she wrote the beginning of a to-do list, starting with: retrieve $20,000 lottery winnings.