Lottery
Eight-year-old Tariq opened the door to the deli and it jingled. Behind the counter, Mrs. Choi craned her neck and frowned.
“You again?” she said, “You better have...”
Tariq reached into his pocket, pulled out some crumpled dollar bills and showed them to her.
“Five dollars,” she said.
He nodded assent, counted out the dollars and handed them to Mrs. Choi. Along with the money, he handed her a thin strip of paper with specific numbers he had chosen. She clucked her tongue at the added effort but punched them in any way and rang him up for the lottery ticket.
He felt an uncanny excitement as he looked at each number. He spent his last dollar on four pieces of ginger candy and walked out of the deli, clutching the ticket in hand. Going straight back home, Tariq showed it to the stranger waiting in his room. The stranger looked much like Tariq with short-cropped curly hair and hazel eyes, but he wore glasses and had a beard. He examined the numbers closely, then handed it back to Tariq.
“Tomorrow, you will be rich. Take care of mom, just for tonight. Don’t let Sid anywhere near her. Lets keep her alive this time.”
He ordered Tariq to bolt the door and helped move the couch to block the entrance completely. He walked back to Taqriq’s room and entered the closet. Tariq waited for ten seconds and went to check the closet but the man was gone. He then went into the kitchen and scoured the cabinets for food. He prepared a bowl of cereal and milk and carried it over to his mom. He woke her up from a deep sleep, her hair unkempt, vomit crusted on the side of her mouth, reeking of piss and sweat. She ate the cereal hungrily.
Tariq heard a loud thump on the door as Sid tried to break it open. He jumped with every bang. He kept a baseball bat at the ready by the side of the bed. After a few minutes, the bangs stopped and there was dead silence. He picked up a blanket and covered both himself and his mom. They both laid down to sleep his frail body against hers. His belly rumbled but he ignored it.
“Tomorrow, I will be rich,” he muttered and fell asleep.