SHORT STORIES

Luck

By Winlove P. Tulibas

Paolo is sitting alone in a park, his eyes were wondering, looking up blankly and thinking about what has he done for the past 2 months. He thought about his job he used to have, his parents who he used to call every day, and his life, of how meaningful has it become.

Paolo worked on a pawnshop as an appraiser and most of the time, his co workers envy him for he can pawn an item at the lowest possible price. For Paolo, he believed that he got this talent from his fortune teller mother and his herb doctor father whom he still stays with. Even though they are not so rich, he’s contented with his life for he has his parents with him. But if he’s given a chance, he can do everything to make their life better.

He once appraised a necklace which the seller said it was a lucky necklace and Paolo eventually bought it without any hesitations and found out that it made him lucky. He realized that whenever he says something he wants, somehow he gets it. He once proved this when he wished a bigger salary bonus from his boss and it was granted. And this was followed by different luck in the life of Paolo.  

Most of the time, luck favored him and he plans to try a bigger gamble to find out how much luck he has. 

He betted on the lottery for the first time which made him won 50,000,000 pesos and this is where he proved that the necklace really brought luck to him.

“I’m already rich, he said.” “I don’t have to work in that stupid pawnshop anymore. I can buy whatever I want. I’m sure my parents will be happy for this. I should inform them right away.”

Paolo told his parents about the lottery that he won which made his parents surprised and shocked for they didn’t believed that their son just won such a big amount of money. They told Paolo to save some of the money to the bank and to spend it in the right way. But Paolo didn’t obey his parent’s advice because he wants to buy many things which he can’t afford before and he wants to travel around the world. He wants to spend all the money for he believes that he can still win in the lottery again because he has the necklace and told his parents not to worry about it.

He became boastful and materialistic because of the money he has, not knowing that he already hurt some of the people around him.

“Now, I have a lot of money. I will not work in this pawnshop anymore. I will never see your faces again, Paolo said to his co workers.”

He resigned to the pawnshop in which he worked and told his co workers that they can do nothing else if the luck is really meant for him.

“Let’s see how far your luck leads you Paolo, a co worker replied.”

“Okay. Say anything you want. It won’t bother me anyway. All I know is that I have my luck right now, Paolo answered.”

He started spending his money by going to different places locally and abroad. The worse thing was when he went to Las Vegas and gambled much of his money but his luck never favored him and realized that he left the necklace back in the Philippines. When he realized that he lost most of his money, he decided to go back home in the Philippines.

 Paolo’s parents were not really happy about what he did because he spent most of the money gambling and he became extravagant. He thought he could get his money back by betting on the lottery again.

“I still have the necklace, there’s nothing to worry about. I can still win in the lottery again, he said to himself.”

 But to his surprise, he didn’t win any even if the necklace was on his possession.

Devastated with his hope to win the lottery, Paolo can’t seem to accept the reality. He is now broke and has little money to spend. He wandered around the city and ended up sitting in the park alone holding a rusted bracelet. He picked up his ringing phone and said:

 “Sorry ma and pa, I’m so sorry. I should have listen to your advices in keeping the money. I became extravagant and materialistic. Now I don’t have anything in my pocket and I lost my job for my stupid attitude. It’s my fault. I should have realized this before.”

“It’s okay Paolo, his mother replied. We can still start something new, something better. Now that you’ve realized that what you did is wrong, you can get a lesson out from it, that once luck favored you, spend it in a right way for there’s always a possibility that it will not come back again.”

“Do I still have a chance ma?”

“Of course son, you can still change what has been done”

Paolo goes back to the pawnshop which he worked before and hopes that he can have his job back. His co workers stare at him knowing that Paolo loses his luck and he can feel that he was humiliated. He talks to his boss about his job and apologize to his co workers of what he said before.

“Everybody deserves a second chance, his boss said.”

Paolo got his job back and was also forgiven by his co workers.

One morning, on his way to work, he met the person whom he bought the necklace from and the man said that:

“Have you had your luck yet?”

Paolo became speechless for a moment and later told his story to the man. 

After hearing the story, the man said:

“The luck only comes once. You have to be responsible how you spent it. If you spend it to others, luck stays. But if you spend it for yourself, it will teach a lesson.”

The Son

By Winlove P. Tulibas

Its pass 10 o’clock in the evening, Jason is running as fast as he can. His face looks anxious, troubled, and as if he is trying to get away from something .He temporarily stops nearby the building to rest and hide himself and to check if someone is running after him. When he sees no one, he then gets the black wallet he has on his pocket.

 He checks the wallet and found an ATM and calling cards, driver’s license, and an identification card that recognize the wallet’s owner as a bank manager/owner. Aside from the cards, he also found a big amount of money that is worth almost thirty thousand pesos.  He gets the money, the ATM cards without any hesitations and after getting it, he then throws the wallet in the trash for he already gets what he wanted and he didn’t need the wallet anyway.

Morning comes at exactly 8 o’clock; Jason is on his way to a friend Gary. They are planning to steal a BMW which is owned by a famous bank owner again. This plan will be their basis in coming up their ideas, techniques and strategies on how to steal the car later at midnight.

“Are you sure about this Jason?,” Gary said.

“Don’t ask me that question, in the first place, I know what I am doing”, Jason replied.

“Well, if that’s what you want.”

“I think it is.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“After getting to work, the bank owner usually passes by a small wine store, 10 meters from the bank. His driver will temporarily park the car at the outer edge of the road. What we are going to do is to make the driver get out from the car.”

“But what if, he won’t? This driver is not as dumb as the other drivers, dude.”

“Hahaha! What the hell! I’m not yet finished. Now listen, I will be the one who will talk to the driver, and will get his attention and while we are talking, all you need to do is to get in the car and operate it with the highest speed. Then we’ll meet at the secret place after I do my part.”

 “What if they caught us?”

“I will handle it.”

Midnight comes and luck favored Jason.

“What are going to do now with this car, Jason?”

“I don’t know. We’ll just keep it here.”

Morning comes; Jason hears news in the televisions and radios about the heist and waits for the owner’s part to say something about his stolen car but it just made him disappointed. It seems like the owner did not consider it as a big deal and that car thefts nowadays are everywhere and not new to him.

Disappointed and irritated, Jason plans again another gamble. But this time, in a more dangerous way and all by himself. He plans it by his own without asking the help of Gary. This plan is to rob a bank. He plans to do the action by midnight.

For him, he doesn’t care about what his friends think of him for he know to himself that he needs to  do this not just for the money but for himself also.

Jason told this plan to Gary but doesn’t have the plan to seek some help.

“Are you sure you don’t need my help? It’s really a dangerous action, dude”, Gary said.

“I’m sure about this. I can do this on my own”, Jason replied.

“But what if they caught you? You just place yourself in a very dangerous and embarrassing act”.

 “Well if that’s the case, I’m ready for the consequences”.

“What’s your plan?”

“The bank will be closed at 6 pm, but there will be security guards who will stay and will roam and check the bank later evening and at midnight. I will just wait for their coffee break to happen, and then I will sneak to the back door until I’ll get inside the bank”.

“I get it dude, but if you change your mind or if you need my help, don’t hesitate to call me, okay?”

“I will.”

Midnight comes.  Jason is ready for the act he planned. He wears black jacket and black pants with a black beanie cap and ski mask to cover his face. He also wears black gloves for him not to leave any fingerprints, a black backpack, and a belt to attach some of his gadgets that he can use in stealing.

 “Good luck to me dad,” Jason said to himself.

The bank was guarded well, 2 security guards taking turns to patrol the area. He waited until both guards are on their post for coffee break. He silently sneaked to the backdoor, and sooner got inside the bank. Jason is aware of the CCTV cameras but still continue to steal the money and put it in his bag. When contented to what he has stolen, he slowly leaves the bank using its back door. 

Morning comes. Most of the news in televisions and radios are all about the heist that happened in the bank. The recorded videos in the CCTV cameras proved the man behind the act is Jason Cruz who is the son of the bank owner.

Medias are everywhere, trying to get even short comments from the victim and the victimized. But the Cruz Family keeps this issue as private as they can without any cases on the part of Jason. Julio Cruz, father of Jason, now knew that the man behind his wallet, the BMW, and the stealing act in the bank is no other than his son Jason.

“Why did you do that son? What’s your intention? How come you stole money and car from me? I’m working very hard just for you,” Julio said.

“I’m doing this for myself dad for you to notice me. I did not steal just because for the money. I steal just to get your attention. To make you realized that you have a son, me, who is seeking for your guidance and love,” Jason replied.­­­­

“Well, you shouldn't have done these things. My attention and guidance is such an easy thing to get, and stealing is not the way”.