The Corner of Luck - A Short Story Which is Not So Short !

John half-dragged his body along the sidewalk of the busy street; people watched him in pity, yet no one came forward to help. John stood straight taking support of the near by wall. With wobbling legs, he started to walk down the street. As he passed the mammoth red structure, he lifted his head to read the board written in bold letters “Azure Software Solutions.” His mind rolled back to the afternoon’s events.

“Madison wishes to see you John” the floor helper shouted across the hall.

John was working on a very important project from the past few weeks; it was a challenging task and so far, he has encountered many set backs. Now the call from Madison, who was the president of operations, was not a good thing. Saving his file, he moved towards her office.

“Come in John” a strict but clear female voice answered him as he knocked on the door.

John opened the door, standing at the doorway; he said, “You wanted to see me Madison?”

“Yes John, please take a seat, there are a few things I need to inform you” replied Madison, her voice cold with no hint of emotion.

John hesitated for a second; the last line rang through his head. There are a few things I need to inform you. This usually meant bad news. If Madison has something to inform, then you better be prepared for the worst. It was the standard unwritten rule about her attitude. John sat in the chair, directly opposite to her.

“We know you are having trouble working on the latest project. Our clients are pressing on me to deliver it sooner. I tried my best to buy time, but they are in no mood to hear my problems, so I have recruited a new candidate to do that job. And this is nothing personal; It’s just pure business. You can collect your month’s salary and leave your ID at the reception. Sorry John we have to let you go, we cannot afford to keep someone as a reserve.” Madison looked at John for any sign of anger or disgust. There was none.

John did not know how to react to the words. He was not only losing his job; he was literally losing his life. He moved  to New York in hopes of re-uniting with his ex-girlfriend. He had lost her and with her, his confidence, his self-respect and almost everything he held close. When at last he could not bear it, he had sold everything he had and moved to NY. After two months, he had located her and was about to meet her tonight. Now he had no reason to as he was once again jobless and still single.

“Watch it retard!” cried a homeless guy to whom John had bumped into.

He came back to where he was now, drunk and roaming pointless.

He did now know where to go or what to do. The sky was slowly turning darker. As the evening set in, NY came to life. John had been drinking since noon, yet he still felt he could use a bottle of vodka.

He climbed down the stairs to the subway station. At this hour, it was mostly deserted. He tripped on the last step and struggled to keep himself from falling. A tender, smooth pair of hands held him tight. John turned to see who it was.

The woman holding him smiled back, her warm polite face glowing with an unseen light. She was by far the most beautiful woman John had ever seen.

“Too much of drinking kills you.” She said taunting him.

“Well that’s good, because I have no reason to live.” He blabbered mostly to himself.

The woman helped him to sit on the stone slab laid for the passengers. It glimmered in the light picked up from the roof illumination.

“Why not?” she said, “Don’t you want to be happy, successful?”

John rubbed his eyes to clear his vision. She looked more beautiful now in the lights. It looked as though she was radiating most of it herself.

“Who are you lady?” John had no idea

the woman laughed cheerfully. “Don’t you know who I am? I am LUCK”

This time it was John, who burst out laughing, “Luck! Yeah as in lady’s luck? Or the luck which ruined my life?” He screamed.

The woman raised and circled behind him. “Come on John, I am your luck; I always been with you.”

John was startled to hear his own name. How the hell does she know my name? He felt an instant wave of panic, but  as it came, it was gone. He did not care anymore. He had nothing to loose.

“I don’t know how you know my name the so called “luck,”, but if you are here to mug me, I can tell you I have no money.”

The woman once again smiled like morning sunshine. “Mug you John? Why would I do anything like that? I am your own; I am here to help you.”

John’s cool evaporated “I don’t need your help. Just get the hell out of here. I am not about to be made stupid by some woman.”

The woman did not even look hurt.

“I think you don’t believe me John. Alright let me ask you something. You answer me correctly, and I am going to leave.”

John had no intention to listen to her, but since he had no option, and she would leave if he answers, he just waited for it.

“What do you think luck is?” came the question.

What do I think luck is? Oh yeah! I think luck is f**k, he wanted to say, but his mind searched for a better answer. After a while, he replied “I think luck is something, which comes to you like a surprise and solves all your problems. It does not come often though.” I am drunk. He said to himself. Or maybe  I am dreaming. If not how would I come up with something like that to answer a woman who appears to have gone nuts.

“Very good indeed, But why do you think it does not come often?” she countered back.

John lifted his legs and placed them on the stone slab. Slowing leaning back, he lied down. The alcohol inside his stomach had started to act. Yet he felt an urge to answer her, talk to her.

“I don’t know. You are the luck, you tell me.” He said with a small smile.

The woman just played with her hairs, clearly waiting for him to say something more.

“Alright, luck does not come frequently because it is not yours. That’s the nature of it, it comes when it wishes. And even if it comes, there will be someone or something to ruin it.”

The lady looked hurt this time. “I thought you were smart John, but you disappoint me. If luck was not yours, then why would it happen to you? Don’t you see it John? Luck is something that is entirely yours, you just don’t know about it, that’s all. When it strikes you feel lucky, and when it won’t, you curse it.”

Now he was extremely intrigued. She really had some sense in her. What she was telling was indeed right.

“What do you mean?” He said. The alcohol did not have any effect on him now.

‘Do you want to take a walk?’ she asked “I feel like I need a walk. Come on, I wish to show you something interesting.” The woman held out her hand.

John did not know what to do. Was it happening for real? This cannot be true. Nervously, he took her hand eying her one more time. The woman held his hand firm. With a stiff walk, she moved towards the exit which opened to the street above.

“Do you know what is up there?” she asked.

Is this some kind of joke? He thought. Of course, he knew what was up there. He had traveled across it like a million times. The exit opened at the corner of Marvel Street, where his ex-company was located. His favorite restaurant Justine Diners was also on that corner. It was there he had planned to meet his girl tonight.

As they reached the top of the exit, John stared at the sight in front of him in disbelief. He was now sure that he was dreaming or hallucinating from his drinking.

The corner was buzzed with life as always, there was the usual traffic and passers by. However, what’s new was, his boss Madison stood on the corner talking to someone. She looked like she was trying to convince the guy she was talking to. John was astonished to see her like this. Madison was not the type who would let her ego down unless the person she was talking to be someone with exceptional talent. She only compromised her attitude for skills, which was essential for her company.

He was curious to know who she was talking to. The man in front of her had his back towards him.

All the people at the corner looked extremely blissful. They chatted with each other, holding hands. Happiness was in the air.

His eyes caught the image of the slender figure inside the Justine Diners. Judith! His ex-girlfriend was sitting there with a candle lit in front of her. Directly opposite on the other side of the table, sat a man in charming black suit. From the view of it, she was apparently on a date. John felt his rage boiling inside him; he clenched his fists trying to hide his anger. He moved a step forward to take a closer look; a wave of nausea hit him. The man with Judith was none other than himself.

How could this be? Finally, he lifted his head to look up. A wooden plaque hung there written in valiant letters “CORNER OF LUCK.”

“So you know this place ayah?” called a soft woman voice closely next to him.

He jumped to the sudden question. For a moment, he had entirely forgotten the woman who had brought him here. He now turned to see her clearly in the bright sun light. She looked dazzling. He could not stare at her for long. He closed his eyes and turned away from her.

“Who are you? What is all this? Am I imagining things?” he had a lot of questions.

The woman just gave her mysterious smile again. Her face shone with more brilliance.

“No John you are not imagining things. This is what I wanted to show you. This is real. Don’t you want this life John?” she signaled to his date happening inside the diner.

He had no clue what was going on, but he knew one thing for certain. He was not crazy, and this woman was no ordinary.

“Yes I want this life very much.”

“Then why don’t you just live it John, what is the problem.” She asked him.

John hesitated for a second. “You think I haven’t tried? It’s just that I have no luck in it.”

The woman’s face displayed a hint of satisfaction “There you go; that’s it. Lack of luck is your problem right? Just a few minutes ago you dragged yourself in this very corner drunk and devastated. Now look at it. This is how the world is, when you know how luck works exactly.”

“How does luck work anyway.” John knew he was falling for this woman.

“It works only if you make your own luck.” The woman replied “Luck does not come to you naturally like that. You have to make it yourself. When you do, then luck starts to work for you. Believe in yourself John, you are much more than all this. These are all just byproducts of your success.”

“What about my girlfriend and that date.” He wanted to clear the clouds first.

“Aah! That’s  nothing. I just wanted to show you to make you believe. By the way, since you know your luck now, it’s all happening for real.”

John looked at the guy talking to Madison now. “And the person talking to Madison, is it me too?”

The woman did not bother to answer. She just nodded her head in agreement. John came near her; with shaky hands, he hugged her. Tears rolled down his cheeks.

“But why now? Why me?” he was still sobbing.

“As I said, I am your own. If something is in your hold, then they always toil for your betterment. Sometimes you ignore them and sometimes you don’t even listen to them.” Saying it, she gave a pat on his shoulder.

“Go on John, your life is waiting.”

John smiled. Shrugging his head, he walked towards himself who was talking with Madison. As he crossed the diner, he could see Judith laughing heartily placing a hand on his. He felt getting dissolved. In just that moment, he could see his body vanish. The next thing he noticed was he was standing in front of Madison.

“We are really happy to hire you back John. Letting you go was the worst mistake we have made. But you do know there was nothing personal, right?” she was saying.

THE END