How I Met The 99% Luckiest Woman in the World the Evening Before She Was Set to Die

The sun was finally setting for the day. The presence of summer was nearly enough to make me forget about my troubles. Here I was, thirty, unemployed and still asking my mom for rent money. I was about to head back to the apartment to continue job searching when I smelled it. I hurried down the street and turned the corner right into the park. It was two acres long and every inch of it was covered with exciting vendors and chattering people. Tungsten lanterns swung from trees and sparkled off the waters of the reflection pools. White smoke from sizzling food carts steamed into the air. The summer solstice festival. “Come right in sir, come have a seat at my stall,” a grizzled old man shouted. His cheeks were flushed with heat. His stomach was rotund. “Yes, I'm talking to you! You’ve got the look of a man down on his luck, come on over.” As I took a seat he asked, “What’s been bothering you son, is it a woman?”

“No, Today I...”

“Bwahaha, I’m pulling your leg! Sure you have problems. Every person on earth has one or two, but tonight we forget about problems. Have a drink instead,” the old man placed a tall beer in front of me.

“I appreciate it, I dont have the money though.”

“Ahh, don’t worry, just pay the favor forward, he chuckled. I cracked the can open and drank the whole beer in one go. “Uh-oh, we got a drinker on our hands.” The old man passed me drink after drink, he was clearly enjoying this. “Alright one more for the grand prize!”

“I can’t,” I stammered.

“Alright I’ll let you off,” he chuckled. I wobbled up from my seat and planted my feet firmly on the ground. I was good to go. “Make sure you stop by the shooting booth. Fortune may smile upon you.” I thanked the old man and walked off into the crowd.

The shooting booth sat in the middle of the park and had the biggest chinese ball lantern I had ever seen floating above it. It was made of old yellow paper and shined softly casting shadows across the lawn. “Step right up and take your shot!” I heard a familiar voice shout above the crowd. It was the old man again.

“Hey old man, you sure are working hard tonight.” The old man looked at me confused.

“It’s not nice to pick on a man’s age now. Damn youngins can’t even start a proper conversation,” he said. I was confused, this was definitely the same man I had met at the entrance.

“I didn’t mean disrespect. Are you working two booths?”

“That’s my brother you idiot. He looks nothing like me. Here take a good look,” the old man said leaning in. There was no difference at all.

“Ahh of course, sorry.”

“Just don’t make the mistake again. You smell like alcohol. There is no answer in beer, but there is an answer at my booth, come take a shot.” I sat down at the booth and grabbed the wooden rifle. The range had some great prizes. Everything from stuffed animals to gaming systems hung from the walls. I took aim at one of the small red targets.

“Hold it,” The old man said. He held his hand out expectantly. “It’s twenty dollars a game.” I reached into my wallet and handed him two ten dollar bills. I took aim.

“Hold on, there are a few rules. You have five shots. If you hit two shots you get a stuffed animal. If you hit three shots you can take any prize that you see on the booth walls. If you hit four consecutive shots you get the grand prize, but if you miss your fourth shot you leave with nothing.” I knocked down the first three targets with ease. I could see a bead of sweat forming on the old man's brow. I shot the old man a smile as I took aim again. As I pulled the trigger a woman sat down beside me throwing my aim off by a hair. The old man's eyes widened in anticipation. A slight breeze rustled the fairground. The bullet grazed the target causing it to wobble and tumble over.

“Alright,” I yelled, leaping into the air.

“Wait here one moment,” The old man grunted as he walked around back.

“That some aim that you’ve got,” the woman said. She had long flowing black hair and a mischievous grin. I couldn’t tell if she was older than me or just had a mature look about her.

“It was definitely a close call.”

“If I hadn’t thrown your aim off the wind would have taken your bullet.” I was ready to dispute her when the old man returned carrying three small black boxes. He opened them on the table. One had an expensive looking diamond necklace, and in the other, an all paid vacation voucher. The third box remained closed.

“How much is the diamond necklace worth?,” I asked.

“You can probably trade it in for a couple thousand,” the old man replied.

“A couple thousand?” That would pay rent for a couple of months. I reached out to take it but the woman placed her hand on top of mine stopping me.

“What’s in the closed box?” she asked.

The old man was silent. The lady removed her hand from mine and scratched at the wood of the booth with her nails like a dog pawing at a door.

“You should take the closed box,” she said. She looked at me with full confidence, as if she had already opened the box up herself.

“I’ll take the third box,” I said. The old man handed me the closed box.

“Congratulations, and tell that idiot brother of mine to not send anymore brats my way.” I started to pull the lid off the box but the woman stopped me. She shook her head and pointed to a secluded tree.

The tree had a single lantern hanging in its branches. It gave off just enough light to see in the dark with some help from the moon. The woman looked at the box intently. I took the lid off. Inside was a small black book. I pulled it out of the box and held it up for her to see. It was made of soft leather and couldn't have had more than a few hundred pages.

“Oh come on. Open it already,” she said. I opened the book. Tucked away inside the pages were hundred dollar bills. I flipped through the book. Twenty thousand dollars in total. The woman smiled confidently. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Twenty thousand dollars in a book. “I knew it! I am the world's 99% luckiest woman after all,” the woman said proudly. What did she mean by the world’s 99% luckiest woman? She might have had a few screws loose but nevertheless, I split the stack of money in two.

“Here, thanks for the help,” I said. “ I don’t know about the wind thing, but I definitely was going to take the necklace.” She just laughed.

“I’m okay. After all I’m the world’s 99% luckiest woman, what do I look like taking from someone who’s down and out,” she said.

“Is it that obvious?” I asked.

“Very much so. You have to smile more. Like this see,” she lifted the edges of her mouth up with her fingers making a huge smile.

“I wouldn’t feel right,” I said, pushing her share into her hands.

“I don’t need it, besides tonight is my last night here anyways.”

“What do you mean?”

“After tonight I’m going into a hospital for a very long time. I have to get treatment”

“Oh,” I said. I had definitely dug too deep. “Maybe you can use it when you get out?” She just shook her head at me. “I’m sorry,”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“What are you going to do for the rest of the night?”

“Hmm, I’m not too sure yet. I’ve been to most of the booths.”

“How about we go out on the town? let's see if we can burn through this cash in one night,” I gave her my best smile.

“Now that sounds like fun. It might be tough though. You do know you are dealing with the world's 99% luckiest woman right?”

When you go out on the town with the world’s 99% luckiest woman, it really is impossible to blow twenty thousand dollars. We did everything from eating at expensive restaurants to just flat out giving money to strangers. But no matter what we did, the money always found its way back to our pockets. Outside of the ridiculous amount of luck, there was a question lodged in my brain like a nagging splinter. How could the world's 99% luckiest woman be dying? Even now I can remember what she told me at the casino that night. “When you desperately want something from the universe, you have to ask. It seems simple enough, but most people are filled with pride.” As she spoke she surveyed the roulette table. “I'll teach you properly, watch closely. You have to pick something to emulate. Another human won’t work. I like dogs. Dogs ask without shame, they know their place in the universe.” She reached her right hand over the table and scratched at the wood. She paused, as if waiting on an answer, and placed 10 orange chips on black seventeen. Ten thousands dollars worth of chips on a thirty seven to one chance of a payout. The casino host set the roulette wheel in motion. All eyes were on the table. A gasp went up. Black seventeen had hit. The woman ran and danced atop the table, singing out to anyone who would listen.

In a single night I went from calling my mom for rent, to holding a three hundred and fifty thousand dollar check in my hand. Unbelievable. “What a night,” the woman yawned. “I really am ready to get home now.” We sat at the bus stop waiting for the last route.

“There has to be some type of surgery or medication we can afford with this money,” I said.

“Do you really think something like money is an issue for me?” She asked. I tried to muster a reply but the words died in my mouth. “I’ve known about this for a long time. Try not to think about it too much,” she said gently. Here she was consoling me like I was the one dying. I wiped my eyes and looked at her. Tears were pouring down her face. Her eyes were bloodshot and for the first time she looked vulnerable. We hugged like we had known each other forever. It didn’t occur to me until after how strange this woman was and how sad she must have been. To be all alone at a festival on her last night.

“The bus is here,” she said between sobbs. I stood up, she stayed seated.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“No, I actually don’t live far from here.” She pointed in the direction of some highrises.

“Can I visit you?”

“Not a good idea,” she said with a watery smile. “But wish me luck.”

I still think about her every summer. I never got her name, or her number, or even the name of the hospital that she was admitted to. The committee that sponsored the summer festival was facing bankruptcy. I was able to buy the rights to the festival with my small fortune. With a little luck the festival became profitable again. I spent my days working in the office approving or disapproving vendors and filing papers. One evening, as I powered off my desktop I heard a scratching sound at my office door like a dog pawing at a door. Like someone pleading with the universe. I walked to the door and opened it.