Lon Kei's Fortune

Waking up that morning was a bit of a pain. More than usual for Lon Kei. They sat up in bed listening to the racket that was their home. They lived with their parents and siblings in a small two bedroom house with a garage. Looking at the clock they gasped upon seeing the time. It was nearly time for morning class. Hurrying through their morning routine, face cleaned, shower, hair combed and teeth brushed, they struggled to leave the house with their younger siblings pulling at their shirt and begging for their attention. Giving them a couple headpats round and kissing their parents, they grabbed their bag and slipped out of the house just in time to see their best friend since childhood, Mira, walking halfway down the street on her way to the meeting spot. Seems like she was running late as well. Running to catch up with her, they didn’t notice someone rounding the next corner ahead of them and slammed into something solid.

Falling back they lost hold of their bag and so did the person in front of them, who’d dropped theirs as well. A gruff voice shook Lon Kei to the bone as they looked up blinking, staring at a rather semi hulking figure that seemed to snarl,

- “Watch where ya goin kid..”

- “sorry..”

The person grabbed their bag looking as if they were in quite the hurry as Lon Kei picked up their own. As they dusted themself off, Mira who'd seen the commotion, came running up to them.

- “Hey, you alright? That was a bit of a nasty fall wasn’t it?”

- “Yeah...but i'm ok...not that bad of a scuff...”

Mira then took to examining them. After shoving her caring and worrisome hands away, Mira stopped the fussing with a bit of a huff and took a step back with a smile.

- “Come on, we will be late, we may have to run a bit..try not to fall this time”

Lon Kei couldn't help but roll their eyes as they picked up their bag noticing it felt a little heavier, but it was probably just a little soreness from the fall. They began matching Mira’s pace with ease. They could certainly run well, and had even gotten into college on a track scholarship, but they had no real intention currently for doing much else outside of their classes, besides a part time job also took up a lot of their time and it was hard to keep up with sports. But they had enjoyed running since they were young, having seen the Olympics at one point or another. It had inspired them to start running track themselves and they’d done so all through primary and secondary school. Now they simply used those skills to compete with Mira when they were both late for school. As they breezed down the sidewalk like two birds in flight they finally made it to the front gate. Slipping into the campus with badges on full display, they said their breathless goodbyes and went to their respective classes.

Upon sitting down and heaving open their bag, they gasped, a bit more audible than they meant to as the professor looked up from the page they were reading with the class.

- “Something you would like to share with the class young Yiro?”

With a face that would outshine any tomato at a farmer’s market, Lon Kei shook their head, closing their bag once more. It was rather unbelievable, and didn't seem real, more like a dream if you asked them. They went through the next couple of classes absolutely stunned by the contents of the bag. They kept it clutched close to their chest and throughout various classes seemed to be in a daze and the teachers would call them out. This left their face growing redder and redder.

By the last class of the day, they were exhausted from the constant embarrassment their daze had put them in. They even passed Mira, who had been waiting by the entrance in an effort to get home quickly not sure they should tell anyone about the contents of the bag till they were absolutely sure it was real and not some dream or a bunch of fakes. They even called into work sick, which was odd and strange in any case to their bosses and got the rest of the day off. Getting home they were a little more stressed when they got to their room, which happened to be in the garage, as they were bombarded by their siblings to look at pictures they had drawn and play games with them. After mass eviction of their little guests they locked the door and dropped the bag they'd been clutching for dear life all day, unceremoniously on the bed. Almost afraid the bag would vanish if touched, like the little mermaid dissolving into foam, they hesitated for nearly an hour to open it. When they finally did, they stumbled back in complete shock at the heavy contents of the bag. Upon touching it, using an expert's eye of spotting the deepest fakes, they could confirm it was real...it was real and they were touching it....then panic set in. This had to be the bag of the person they bumped into that morning...and what if it was stolen...if so...then they could be in trouble by just touching it...and they'd had an iron grip on it all day...or what if that person came back?! They could hurt them or their family...maybe it was better they keep this to themselves...and what if they went looking for the owner maybe...keep it and give it back upon finding it...though...the possibility that...they could help their family...and solve some problems...no no, they would have to find the owner and they needed their parents help to do so.

The next day happened to be a free day and they got Mira to agree to take the young ones out to play while they spoke to their parents. After a quick count it was confirmed, it was real, and there was a lot of it. But nothing had been robbed lately and the news was clear of anyone trying to find anything lost and valuable. They vowed to keep it with them and find the person it belonged to, and being a free day, they had a lot of time before work to search. And search they did, after having a rough, very rough, sketch drawn of their mystery person, they travelled all over town searching and looking, all the while their mind flitting to the possibility of what these valuable items could do...and thinking of their hospitalized sibling...but they needed to find the person soon as time was winding down and Lon Kei couldn't miss work that evening. As their search time came to a close they realized they’d ended up near their job and decided they would try again the next day when they got the chance. Slipping into work and into the locker room to change, they stowed the strangers bag in their locker locking it to be safe. After changing and clocking in they stepped behind the counter. At around 30 minutes into their shift, the door dinged and a familiar figure stepped through the door. They had been writing something and resounded the usual greeting before gasping as their eyes widened and they said with a start;

- “Y-you! I've been searching everywhere for you! I have something of yours please wait here!”

The stranger set what was really Lon Kei’s bag upon the counter as they waited, and when Lon Kei returned, the stranger was gone, but in place on top of their bag was a note that stated, “You are young, and good at heart, the contents of the bag are now yours. The whole $20,000, is yours to do as you please with. Do not ever lose your kindness and good heart.” After reading the note, Lon Kei realized that they were sobbing. The worked the rest of the shift with an overjoyed heart. Upon heading home they told their parents the good news and showed them the note, and they too were so awash with emotion they themselves began praising their gods and good fortune.

Meanwhile, somewhere around a corner in a semi dark alley, a stranger chuckled and struck a name out of the small black book they were holding, Lon Kei Yiro. Then, just as sure as they seemed to be there, they were gone.