THE OLD RING

“I’d like to pawn this ring,” Susan told the clerk behind the glass counter.

The clerk inspected it with his optical magnifying lens. He handed it back to Susan and said, “I’d give you 5oo bucks for it.”

“I was thinking more like 10 thousand.”

The clerk laughed. “Lady, this ring is too old.It must just rot in our pawnshop. No one buys this kind of jewelry nowadays.”

“But that precisely why I’m asking for ten, because it’s vintage and rings like those are in right now. I searched the internet last night.”

“Just a minute. I’ll talk to my boss.” He called his boss and the latter walked near them.

His boss studied the ring with his lens and said, “How much does she want for it.”

The clerk said, “ten.”

The boss looked at Susan and said, “Give the lady her ten.” He smiled at Susan and said, “I’m really sorry for the delay.”

The clerk complained. “But boss, we won’t be able to sell that in case she doesn’t come back to pay for it.”

The boss tapped the top of the clerk’s head. “Do as I say.”

The clerk massaged his head and got the money from his drawer.

The boss handed the money to Susan. “I’ll keep it safe for you Miss Susy.”

“How do you know my name.”

“Is this from Madam Lindy, the late Madam Lindy.”

“Yes, how do you know my grandma.”

“ I was the one who sold this ring to her. It was pawned by an old gypsy woman and she never came back. Your grandma said she’d buy it for you. She told me your name that’s why I know your name.”

“I see.”

“Your grandma won the lottery immediately after buying this ring. She was a generous woman. I think she gave most of the money away, to the needy people in this area. She told me this ring became her lucky charm.”

“I don’t believe in those things. In fact, that ring seems to bring bad luck. My grandma died after winning the lottery.”

“Well,I do. Thanks for pawning it here. I’ll take good care of it.

The boss locked the ring in his personal safe together with all his priced possessions. A week later he died of a heart attack.

He left a son Enrico who took over the pawnshop.

After two years, Susan’s finances became better and she went back to buy back the ring.

“I’m sorry,” Enrico said, “we already sold the ring. The pawn was good for only 1 year. We had the right to sell it already.”

“I understand, could you at least tell me who bought it so that I can buy it back from her.”

Enrico gave the buyer’s address and phone number.

Susan made a surprise visit. She promptly told the buyer why she was there. The buyer quickly went to her room to get the ring. “Here, you can have it back. This ring has brought nothing but bad luck to me. After I bought it, my husband left me for another woman and all the chickens in our farm got sick of some kind of virus.”

Susan wore the ring as she walked to the lottery store. She bought a ticket. Life had been very hard for Susan. For two years, she tried to save enough money to buy back ring. She could not remove from her mind the story that her grandma won the lottery after buying that ring from the pawn shop.

Susan won the jackpot price. She died on her way to the lottery company to claim her prize. She got hit by a bus.

Her daughter Margarette inherited the ring. Margarette developed a rare disease after inheriting the ring. The treatment for her illness was too expensive. Soon, the lottery winnings started to dwindle. She pawned the ring to Enrico to be able to buy medicine and to pay the doctors for further treatment.