Lottery

The story of that critical moment that changed the extent of life

Spain’s biggest sport after bullfighting and football is the lottery. Almost every week, some kind of lottery comes out. But the biggest lottery is the one which is drawn a few days before Christmas. The biggest prize of this lottery is about 50 million pesetas. i.e. 1250,000 dollars. And tax is also waived on this amount.

Tickets for that lottery are sold throughout the year in Spain. Every ticket has a number and that number is divided into 100 parts. That is, each ticket is divided into 100 parts. Now it is the wish of the buyer whether he should buy the whole vehicle of that number or buy only a part of it. The cost of this one portion is around one dollar.

At the time when the lucky draw of prize tickets takes place, on that day no one eats, drinks, or does any other work in the whole of Spain.

The other day I was walking through the El Parade area in Madrid when I noticed a big blackboard outside a restaurant with the numbers of the prize tickets for this lottery written in chalk. And a crowd of people gathered around that board. People were desperately checking the prize ticket numbers with their ticket numbers.

Like every Spaniard, I had a part of a ticket in my pocket. When I took out my wallet from my pocket, I felt my hand trembling. I took out a part of the ticket from my wallet and checked the number. My ticket number was 141415.

Generally in this type of lottery, my prize was rarely drawn. But this was the first coincidence of my life to be left with one number from the first prize number.

If the prize ticket number had been 141415 instead of 141414, my share of the prize money would have been twelve and a half thousand dollars.

And then I remembered when and where I had bought my share of the ticket. As soon as I remembered this, I felt as if I had won first prize. My heart started jumping with joy.

Last summer I went on holiday to the Balearic Islands. There is an incident from those days that one night I went to a small bar while walking.

This bar was named “Tow Line” and was located in an area called Palma di Melor. This is a cool and calm tavern. The wine was also cheap and good. The owner of this tavern was a young man named Hernando. Hernando was extremely popular among his clients.

I really liked the atmosphere of this place. Then I came to know that the bar was owned by Hernando but his wife Maria took over all the management. Not only this, but Hernando was also in Maria’s hands along with the tavern. I also happened to see Maria during that time. Apparently, she looked stronger than her husband.

Maria’s voice included a crackle like lightning. And she used to watch the entire atmosphere of the bar with the eyes of an eagle. If Hernando tried to put on a businesslike smile at the sight of a Swedish beauty, or if he tried to lend wine to an old customer, Maria would reprimand him or give him a scornful look. So he would become a scared cat saying “as you wish darling”.

But that summer night, Maria had gone to visit her mother in the village. Hernando seemed completely changed in Maria’s absence. He had a strange twinkle in his eyes and was singing sweetly to his customers with a guitar in his hand.

Meanwhile, a ticket seller was selling lottery tickets. entered the bar. When Hernando caught sight of the man, he called him over and asked what numbers were being sold this year in the Christmas Lottery. That person kept many bundles of tickets on the counter. Hernando quickly turned around to take stock of the tickets.

Then suddenly he picked up a bundle and shouted

“That’s it. That’s my lucky number.”

I happened to be standing near the counter at that time. Hernando, uncontrollable with joy, grabbed my arm and said,

“Look, my American friend, I was born on the fourteenth of this month. And this ticket has the date of birth written three times, 141414.”

The ticket vendor habitually bowed his head and was about to tear away a hundredth of the bundle when Hernando screamed.

“No,” said Hernando, snatching the bundle from the man’s hand.

“When nature shows its mercy to a person, the wise do not act procrastinating on such occasions. I want to buy this whole bundle of hundred tickets. I cannot share my lucky number with other people.”

On hearing this, there was silence in the entire bar. The price of that whole bundle used to be a hundred dollars. And for a small bar owner like Hernando, it was a lot of money. During this, this voice emerged from a corner with suppressed laughter.

“What would Maria say?” At this, Hernando trembled for a moment but then said in a fierce voice,

“I will do what I want.”

And he did what was in his heart. He emptied his entire cash box. Even then the cost of the bundle could not be fulfilled. He went to his house which was behind the bar. He paid the ticket cost by bringing the amount from his accumulated capital and handed over the amount to the ticket vendor. That night almost everyone in the bar had bought some sort of ticket. I bought one-tenth of the next ticket number 141415.

And now, while walking down the sidewalk of El Parade, my mind was thinking about Hernando, and what would he do after receiving such a huge sum of money. Will he leave his grumpy and irritable wife? Will he sell his bar and live the rest of his life like a prince?

Several months after that lucky draw, I happened to visit Balearic Iceland once again. My plane landed at Palma’s airport around noon. From the airport, I went straight to the tow line. There was no apparent change outside the tavern.

When I entered the bar, I caught sight of Hernando. He was busy reading the newspaper sitting alone at a table. He jumped from the chair as soon as he saw me. At the same time, a smile appeared on his lips.

“Welcome, Senor.” He said in his characteristic accent,

“You have appeared after a long time.” And then without me saying anything, he moved towards the counter.

When he turned around, he had a glass full of my favorite white wine in his hand.

“Many many congratulations!” I waved my goblet and said,

“I offer this goblet to your good luck.”

Then when I told him I was surprised to see that there was no change. A faint smile appeared on his lips as soon as he heard this.

“Ah, Senor!” Hernando said with a cold sigh.

“A lot has changed here. Do you remember the incident that night when I bought a whole pack of lottery ticket numbers?”

A customer at the time quipped,

“What will happen when Maria comes back and finds out that I have spent a large sum of money buying a bundle of tickets on my own?”

I nodded my head in agreement.

That customer’s guess was correct. Maria had come from the village and, when she learned about my extravagant spending, she became mad again. She cursed and shouted at me, and insisted that I somehow sell all the tickets and get the original amount back.”

I was quietly listening to Hernando’s words.

“In the end, I had to bow down to Maria’s wishes, Senor.”

Hernando shrugged helplessly. “No man can fight the storm day and night. Sometimes he has to accept defeat.”

I was well aware of Maria’s nature. So, I could well imagine the situation. It was really difficult to compete with that woman.

“But reselling those tickets was no easy task, Senor!” Hernando said.

“Many people had already bought tickets from the ticket vendor from whom I had bought the bundle. But on that occasion, my friends and my customers helped me a lot so I sold ninety-nine tickets of the bundle except one to my friends and customers. However, Maria, out of her generosity, allowed me to keep one ticket. So I had that ticket.”

“If this incident had happened to me, I would probably have committed suicide,” I said.

“It would be a torment of the soul for me to think that people’s days should be changed on the tickets I bought and I would be left empty-handed.

“That was my first reaction after the lucky draw of the lottery tickets, Senor,” Hernando said, shaking his head.

“But then I thought who had those ninety-nine tickets? They were all my friends and my customers, and to whom did they owe the joy of winning the prize? It’s me! Hernando.

I came in front of those people as a star of their good fortune. Those people have started appreciating me. My business is now brighter than before.”

I glanced across the bar at Hernando’s words. All the tables around were empty. Hernando understood the meaning of my eyes.

“The beauty of this place is to be seen after dusk, Senor,” Hernando said, waving his hand.

“It’s hard to find a place to sit here at night.”

“So don’t you regret losing a lot of money?” I asked.

“I had a ticket too. My friend.” Hernando said.

“I got five million pesetas from the first prize money. I bought a car and some clothes with that money. I deposited the rest of the money in the bank.”

“That’s all right,” I said,

“but when you think about it if you had the whole deck and all the prize money was your share, how many dreams could you make come true with this money?”

A smile appeared on Hernando’s lips again.

“If that were the case, I might not have achieved what I have achieved in the absence of the award.

And that’s something I could not achieve even after spending trillions of pesetas.”

I was shocked to hear this. My emotions definitely showed on my face.

“You have asked me what my feelings will be after losing such a huge amount?” Hernando said in a strange tone.

“But haven’t you thought how my wife must have felt on that occasion? She was the one who forced me to sell ninety-nine tickets out of a lot of tickets. Can you imagine her feelings and emotions?”

I really got thinking. Till now I had not even thought about Maria.

“Everything has changed now, my friend,” Hernando said leaning on the back of the chair.

Whenever Maria talks rudely to me or tries to say something wrong, I just say it. “One four one four one four”.

On hearing this, her mind goes towards the wealth which had gone out of our hands due to her stubbornness. She is immediately embarrassed and falls silent. And starts stealing eyes. What can she say? Nothing!”

Hernando poured the remaining wine into my empty glass and said. “Therefore, Senor, in losing the prize money, I have found a prize that few people get and that cannot be bought with the greatest wealth in the world. Almost every husband in the world longs for these blessings. But this gift comes in the share of some lucky ones. Even the biggest treasure in the world looks small in front of this gift. And this gift is that happy married environment that I have achieved.

My domestic life is an example of peace and happiness.

And Maria has become a faithful and obedient wife. This revolution has come because of not getting that reward.

Hernando turned in his chair and called out to his wife in a loud voice. “Maria.” Hernando’s tone was commanding.

I turned around and looked at the back door, following Hernando’s gaze. The curtains at the back door rustled, and then Maria entered.

I kept looking at Maria.

This Maria did not feel at all like the previous Maria.

That Maria’s walk, style of talking, and each and every act were sly.

But this Maria was seen to be a simple and common house woman. However, I noted one thing in particular. There was no sign of despair or heartbreak on Maria’s face or eyes. She was looking cheerful and happy. There was dignity in her gait. She was looking like a perfect obedient wife in every aspect of her life.

“Maria” Hernando made a cursory glance at Maria as she approached. “Get us some more wine, please.”

A smile appeared on Maria’s lips. “I’ll get it now, my love,”

Maria replied humbly and picked up the glass and walked towards the counter.

I kept looking at Maria in such a manner as if she was the eighth wonder of the world.

THE END