A Run of Luck

This is a work of fiction. No real people, places or events were used. Copyright ã 2011 Plot Roach.

A Run of Luck

By Plot Roach

After a run of bad luck, Samantha was finally on top. In the last month she had lost her job, her apartment and even her pet dog. The car broke down three times, and she had a meltdown almost every other day. It seemed like she was either headed for an insane asylum or the streets at this run of luck. But this morning everything had changed. She had bought a lotto ticket by chance, scratching off the silver material to reveal a five hundred dollar win which the store attendant cashed for her immediately. The first stop was for a coffee and a bagel at her favorite cafe, while she was waiting in line, she struck up a conversation with the man behind her in line. They talked for a while and she gave him her phone number. They made a date for the following Friday and she had a hunch that he would actually show up instead of the steady stream of male losers who made promises and 'lost' her telephone number.

When she got to the front of the line, they declared her the millionth customer and she was given a membership card that promised free drinks for life. She smiled and disbelieved her run of wonderful luck. Her drink tasted better than it ever had before, the sun shone brightly upon her. And even morning traffic seemed to clear up around her and allow her to be early for work, instead of being late.

Once at her desk, the head manager of the office made mention of what a hard worker she was, and promised her a raise after next week's employee evaluations. At lunch, a coworker picked up the tab, and the waitress offered her a free piece of pie. back at the office, word had gotten out about her imminent promotion and everyone congratulated her, even those she knew gossiped negatively about her for years.

This day just can't get any better, she thought. The rest of the day was a breeze, and she finished all of her assigned work long before quitting time, allowing her to get a head start on the next day's caseload.

She went to the parking lot, her keys in hand when the stranger approached her. Oh no, she thought. He's here to steal my car. But he walked towards her with a slow but purposeful stride. If he was going to attack me, shouldn't he have rushed me before now? she thought, keys still in hand, as well as her canister of pepper spray.

She waited and he seemed to take forever to cross the parking lot. "What do you want?" she called out when he was ten feet away. "I have no cash and if you rape me, you'll get a disease!"

"First," he said. "I don't want to get sprayed in the face with pepper spray. Second, I didn't come for your car. And third, I know that you don't have any diseases."

"How do you know that I don't?"

"Because I know everything about you, Samantha Greer."

"How do you know me?"

"I'm your guardian angel, and I'm here to help you."

"Yeah, like I never heard that one before."

"No, really. I've watched over you since you were born. I was there when Rosalie, your mother, gave birth to you -she had to have a cesarean, and wasn't too pleased with it. I watched you grow and helped you through the hard times. I was there with you when Nana Bella died and you ran away from the funeral. I was there when you smoked your first joint behind the cafeteria in the eighth grade. I was there for your first breath in life, and I will be there for your final breath before death."

"Why are you here now?"

"It's time."

"My death?"

"You still have another thirty minutes, but it will happen tonight."

"How?"

"An aneurism. I arranged that. I'm sorry you've been having a bad run of luck lately, but I wanted to save up some good luck to spend on your final day, to make it the best that I could. Including a painless death."

"Now what?"

"I thought we would wait here. Your body will be found moments after it happens. You always had a fear of animals feeding on you after death, so I kept that in mind."

"What am I supposed to do now?"

"I arranged for enough time to watch your last sunset. Would you like some company?"

"Yes. Don't leave me now. I've felt like I've been alone all my life."

"I was always there, even though I couldn't talk to you until now."

"Because I'm about to die?"

"Yep. Any other contact, and you would have believed that you were going insane."

"And I'm not now?"

"Unfortunately, not."

So they stood by her car, watching her last sunset and as the stars wheeled out from their secret places and danced upon the sky, he held her hand. It was as painless as he promised, and she no longer felt alone.