out her keyboard, she watched as a tiny scratcher ticket slid off of it. Curious, she picked it up. The front of the card was black with a golden skull on the front. Red sparkling letters at the top read, “Lucky Damnation”.
“I don’t gamble though.” Trisha whispered. “I wonder if Marisela left it here.”
Looking around, the wind outside the window was still blowing hard and howling. Standing up again, Trisha grabbed the ticket and pulled it in tight to her chest and begin to look around her home. An uneasy sense had come over her and she knew that she wasn’t alone in the home. She knew there was someone there watching her. A part of her told her to step out in the wind and take her chances with the world, her fate in the home was more damning that anything the world could offer her. But the front door was a prison gate that she couldn’t muster the courage to open.
Walking down the hall, she clicked on the light switch and the soft light flickered to life. As she peered down the hall, she opened her mouth and called out.
“My…my husband is on his way home. He’s, um. He’s a cop and he’ll shoot you. Graveyard dead, buddy. Let’s just put this behind us. You can leave and I won’t tell him you dropped by.”
Trisha silently hoped to herself that whomever was in her home didn’t know the truth. She had never been married. She did date a cop a few years ago. But he let her know that she would never be good enough for him, let alone any other man. So she spent time trying to make herself into someone a man would want. But that never seemed to happen. Her mother said she needed to break free of the emotional abuse the cop had dealt her. But her mother was supposed to tell her how beautiful she was. After all, what kind of mother tells their own child they’re fat and ugly?
The soft silence that surrounded her seemed normal and Trisha shook her head. Maybe her mother had dropped off the ticket at some point to give her a few seconds of hope that something better could happen to her. Well, she was going to prove it wrong. There was no way that she was going to win a thing.
Reaching into the pocket of her blue jeans, Trisha fished out a quarter and pressed it to her lips. “From my lips to God’s ears.” She whispered. “Let this be my time”
Pressing the edge of the quarter to the ticket she slowly began to scratch away at the coating. Her heart began to beat harder as she quickly sped up and blew away the metallic curls that were left behind. Beneath them the words, “Congratulations” were written. It felt like someone hit her hard in the stomach and her eyes began to sting with tears.
Finally, life was going her way. Her body shook hard and she began to breathe heavier. She was overcome with the joy and emotion that surrounded her. Shaking it off quickly, she had to make sure it wasn’t just a dollar winner. She needed it to be that big ticket item she could shove in her mother’s face. With her hand quivering she continued to scratch away at the rest of the ticket, dropped the quarter, and heard it thump hard on her desk.
Her heart stopped for a moment and she gazed at the card and felt time stand still. She was able to look up for just a moment, before noticing outside the window, a gun pointed at her and firing. Falling forward her head hit the keyboard. A trickle of blood seeped from the wound and slowly beneath the scratcher ticket. In crimson red letters, the words “You’re Dead” were in bold. For once her fate was in the cards and this time it was accurate.
Chapter One
Marisela Gomez blinked her big brown eyes from behind her black veil as she sat somberly in the back of an old church. Her long black hair was pulled back in a respectful ponytail, while her long flowing black dress was plain and a respectful length for a funeral. She glanced at the tiny sliver watch her grandmother had given her. She liked the way it blended with her cinnamon colored skin.
The air was
“I don’t gamble though.” Trisha whispered. “I wonder if Marisela left it here.”
Looking around, the wind outside the window was still blowing hard and howling. Standing up again, Trisha grabbed the ticket and pulled it in tight to her chest and begin to look around her home. An uneasy sense had come over her and she knew that she wasn’t alone in the home. She knew there was someone there watching her. A part of her told her to step out in the wind and take her chances with the world, her fate in the home was more damning that anything the world could offer her. But the front door was a prison gate that she couldn’t muster the courage to open.
Walking down the hall, she clicked on the light switch and the soft light flickered to life. As she peered down the hall, she opened her mouth and called out.
“My…my husband is on his way home. He’s, um. He’s a cop and he’ll shoot you. Graveyard dead, buddy. Let’s just put this behind us. You can leave and I won’t tell him you dropped by.”
Trisha silently hoped to herself that whomever was in her home didn’t know the truth. She had never been married. She did date a cop a few years ago. But he let her know that she would never be good enough for him, let alone any other man. So she spent time trying to make herself into someone a man would want. But that never seemed to happen. Her mother said she needed to break free of the emotional abuse the cop had dealt her. But her mother was supposed to tell her how beautiful she was. After all, what kind of mother tells their own child they’re fat and ugly?
The soft silence that surrounded her seemed normal and Trisha shook her head. Maybe her mother had dropped off the ticket at some point to give her a few seconds of hope that something better could happen to her. Well, she was going to prove it wrong. There was no way that she was going to win a thing.
Reaching into the pocket of her blue jeans, Trisha fished out a quarter and pressed it to her lips. “From my lips to God’s ears.” She whispered. “Let this be my time”
Pressing the edge of the quarter to the ticket she slowly began to scratch away at the coating. Her heart began to beat harder as she quickly sped up and blew away the metallic curls that were left behind. Beneath them the words, “Congratulations” were written. It felt like someone hit her hard in the stomach and her eyes began to sting with tears.
Finally, life was going her way. Her body shook hard and she began to breathe heavier. She was overcome with the joy and emotion that surrounded her. Shaking it off quickly, she had to make sure it wasn’t just a dollar winner. She needed it to be that big ticket item she could shove in her mother’s face. With her hand quivering she continued to scratch away at the rest of the ticket, dropped the quarter, and heard it thump hard on her desk.
Her heart stopped for a moment and she gazed at the card and felt time stand still. She was able to look up for just a moment, before noticing outside the window, a gun pointed at her and firing. Falling forward her head hit the keyboard. A trickle of blood seeped from the wound and slowly beneath the scratcher ticket. In crimson red letters, the words “You’re Dead” were in bold. For once her fate was in the cards and this time it was accurate.
Chapter One
Marisela Gomez blinked her big brown eyes from behind her black veil as she sat somberly in the back of an old church. Her long black hair was pulled back in a respectful ponytail, while her long flowing black dress was plain and a respectful length for a funeral. She glanced at the tiny sliver watch her grandmother had given her. She liked the way it blended with her cinnamon colored skin.
The air was
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