Jackpot

Ykcul saw the page for the fifth time and yet could not get himself to believe it. He then put the Book down and walked to the table and pulled open the drawer. His hands went in and came out holding a piece of rectangular paper while shaking mildly. The paper happened to be a lottery ticket scheduled to be drawn that day. He put the ticket back after taking one long look at it. He went back to the Book.

"All your troubles are over. Your luck is about to change. The number you selected has brought you power and control. You will start a new life." the Book was still smiling at him with those words. It was no ordinary book. It was the Book of Luck. Ykcul consulted the Book every time he bought a ticket, which was everyday. All he had to do was close his eyes and point his finger on any of the 501 numbers arranged in a grid. The number he chose told him wat his future was, at least for that day. After all these years the Book had given him a different verdict, a completely different and unexpected one at that.

Ykcul had been buying lottery tickets for some four years now. He worked in a departmental store with a salary low enough to keep him complaining but high enough to keep those complaints to himself. He had no one else to feed so he spent freely. Ykcul however had one ambition, getting rich. The only way his brain saw that could happen was by winning a jackpot. So he spent a large portion of his salary in buying lottery tickets. Twice he had won meager amounts given away as consolation prize but that only succeeded in kindling his passion more.

Each morning he would consult his Lucky Book he had once bought at the suggestion of a fellow ticket-buyer who had introduced the luck factor to Ykcul. The Book would always say something that had some pessimism in it, or Ykcul thought so. Only twice had the Book given him tiny sparks of hope and on those days Ykcul had won something if not nothing. It was the success rate of the Book that made him awestruck this morning. The Book had never been so optimistic. It looked almost as if the Book itself wished him good luck. Ykcul thanked all Gods for smiling upon him and left home for work with the lucky ticket safe in his pocket.

There was a huge crowd at the newspaper stand that day. Every one of his fellow ticket-buyers looked speechless. So, the prophecy had been true after all. Ykcul could not handle the tension anymore as even his mouth failed to move as he commanded. Unable to ask anyone about the winner, he parted the crowd and entered the arena where his future was about to be announced. It took a minute for the headlines to hit home. Ykcul was as speechless as the others. He could not believe his eyes.
"LOTTERY TICKETS BANNED ALL OVER THE COUNTRY!!!"
The paper screamed at him.Ykcul thought he heard the Lucky Book chuckle.