[ilikeoldchangke]

I looked again at that number, unable to believe my eyes.

I returned my phone to my dad and I kept thinking about it.

Impossible. This doesn’t make sense. I looked around the restaurant, trying to determine is I’m on some hidden camera trick show. Aside from a hot babe who was looking over my way a couple of times, no one seemed interested at our table.


I sent my parents back in a taxi after dinner and went up with them to grab some of my old clothes. My mum kept telling me not to clear everything out of my old room.

“It’s not as if we are going to rent out your room, just leave them here if you want to. “ She said in a nonchalant voice even though I knew what she was trying to tell me.

I gave her a hug, knowing that she still harbour hopes that I will move back and stay with them.

“Ma, I’m too old to be leeching off you all.”

“Nonsense, you will always be my little boy.” She said while trying to sound irritated when I know it was just an act.

I said goodbye to my parents and took a bus back to my place. The first thing I did; I went to the papers


I opened it up to the lottery section and it’s right there. The results.

I rubbed my eye and pinched myself to make sure I was not dreaming. I used my phone to check the latest result on the lottery website and compared it to the newspaper print.


“Bloody hell.” I mumbled to myself.

It’s exactly the same.
All 23 sets of 4 digits are the same.

How the fuck is this possible ?

My eyes immediately went to the results for the lottery draw the next day.

1st prize is 6051.


4th November 2018.
7am

I went for a morning jog in Botanic garden to see if I would bump into the newspaper vendor again. This is mind boggling.

I’m beginning to wonder if this is a prank.

I did not see the vendor.

I went home for a shower and took a bus to the supermarket for my weekly stock up. There is a lottery booth at the supermarket too and I hesitated for a second before entering it.

It was then I realised I have no idea how to do it.


Thankfully, the instructions are plastered on the notice board.

I think I attracted the looks of a few punters when they saw me trying to read the instructions how to place a bet.

I shaded the number 6051 on the betting slip.


Then for the bet amount. I hesitated again before turning to the uncle beside me.

“Uncle, if bet $1, how much will I win ? “

The uncle with a gold watch on his wrist was expertly shading a stack of betting slips. He gave me a look before replying.


“ Young man, if want to gamble, go big or go home. $1 if first prize only $2000. Where got enough? Like that might as well don’t gamble. “ He said before turning away.


Ok, if $1 equates to $2000 in winning, then if I put $100, that’s 200 thousand.
1000 is 2 million.


Ok. Sounds good. 1000 sounds a bit overboard, so I placed a 100 bet.

I shaded the box and placed my bet. After I got my betting slip, I felt silly all of a sudden.

“I can’t believe you are doing this Jerry.” I said to myself. “ How low have you become?”


I have never placed a bet before in my life and now because of a stupid newspaper, I wasted $100 on a piece of paper.

God, I have never felt more dumb.

After the grocery run, I went home for a bit of housekeeping.


Dinner is a simple meal of salad and chicken breast. I had forgotten all about the lottery ticket until my mum called.
She told me she will treat me for dinner the following week because she won the lottery. $150. Some consolation prize because she bought the number from the receipt of our meal the night before in Orchard.

It made her so happy and I decided not to remind her that she probably spent 10 times the amount on the bets before she won something.

I hung up the phone and went to the lottery website. I almost fell off my chair when I saw the updated results on the betting portal.


I refreshed the screen 5 times and I stood up in shock, causing my chair to fall over.

“FUCK!” I shouted in my house as I stood 3 metres away from my screen.

The usually calm and composed me just totally disappeared.


“FUCK this shit. FUCK!” I don’t know what came into me as I cursed audibly and started doing the Cha Cha dance in front of my laptop.


Why Cha Cha ? Because I was walking forward, cursing twice before backing away again. Then I rinsed and repeat.

I looked at the date stamp on the site. The date is correct.
1st prize 6051.

I could not breathe as I covered my mouth with both hands.

“what the fuck. What the fuck ? “ I kept repeating to myself.


Impossible.

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down as I looked at my winning ticket. I literally put the ticket right beside the screen and the numbers were just fucking staring at me.

My mind started to go into overdrive. That’s $200000 right there, on a piece of paper measuring 40mm x 50mm.


I took out the newspaper again and flipped the pages so roughly that I started spilling the other pages all over the floor. No I’m not going to look at the lottery results.

I don’t care about the results or the 200 thousand at that moment.

Fuck the money. My heart was beating so fast I think I’m going to get a heart attack.

I went to the news about the stabbing and my eyes went to the date again.


It happened that night at Bukit Timah Food centre. The time is not revealed but it happened at night.

I looked at the clock in my living room.

It’s 7.30pm.


I grabbed my phone and wallet as I charged out of the house.

Running to the main road, I flagged a passing taxi and told the driver where I wanted to go.

“Hi, Bukit Timah Food Centre. As fast as you can please.”


My heart started beating really fast as the taxi turned onto Bukit Timah road, speeding towards the food centre barely 10 minutes away. I don’t remember feeling this anxious before in my life. Something triggered in me and my usually calm demeanor was shattered.

I was breathing with my mouth and sitting in the middle of the back seat with both my hands holding onto the seats in front.

“Going for dinner? “ The taxi driver asked as he overtook a slower driver.
He did not look too old himself, probably only a few years older than me.

“ No. I’m not” I replied.


“Meeting your girlfriend ah? Haha.” He teased, commenting on how anxious I look.

“No, I’m single.” I said while hoping all the lights turn green in our favour.


“If you are headed to the hospital, I would think your wife is giving birth or something, you look so anxious. Chill man, we’re almost there.”


The taxi overtook 2 other vehicles, and he did it while weaving in between the 3 lanes. He even flashed his high beam at a vehicle turning into the road before overtaking it aggressively. I reckon he must be having a slow day and I’m the first interesting passenger he picked up or something.


I saw him look at me through the rear mirror a couple of times and in an attempt to calm me down, he tried talking to me.

“ Yo bro, what do you do for a living man ? Just curious. “ The driver asked.


Right about then, the cab slowed down as vehicles from the lane we were on all started changing lanes. An accident has occurred up front. The cab made the change in lane just when I was about to tell him where I worked.

The words were about to leave my lips when I turned and saw the vehicles involved in the chained collision on my right. It’s not serious, just a few bruised bumper and when I saw the 2nd vehicle in the chained collision, goosebumps exploded all over my body.


It’s a vehicle with it’s company name proudly embossed over it’s side.

JDC. J Debt collection.


I felt the cab picked up speed and I honestly don’t know what the hell is going through my head when I answered the cab driver.


All I remember was seeing a series of images in my head before my brain made up the decision and my lips delivered the answer.

I saw the picture of Conor, Bobby, the money that needs to be collected and the stabbing that could be avoided.


That was all that flashed through my head as the cab sped past the junction just before the food centre.

“I’m a debt collector bro.” I said to the cab driver whose expression through the rear view mirror told me exactly what he wanted to say before he said it.

“You got to be shitting me.”


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