A lottery ticket flew by pedestrians as they hurried down the streets. No one noticed the small, insignificant piece of litter as it weaved its way in and out of the crowds. Rain was pouring and the paper began to get weighed down by the water. It floated to the ground as the wind died. It lay there sopping wet in an alley as people ran by pulling out umbrellas and yanking on coats.

It was hours before the paper moved again. A woman bent down and carefully held the ticket up to her face. She read the numbers several times then ducked into a rundown bar on the corner. The televisions were tuned into the lottery. The winning combination was about to be announced. Everyone gripped their tickets tightly. They were all hoping to catch a break for once in their lives. The announcer called the digits out.
"8! 3!"
Several shoulders drooped.
"7! 5! 9!"
People stood up and walked out.
"9! 1! 4!"
Only five people left, all clutching their tickets like a life preserver.
"2! 3! 9! 7! That's it folks!"
The remaining people slowly stood up and exited. The woman stared at her ticket.
"8, 3, 7, 5, 9, 9, 1. . ." she murmured, "3, 5, 9, 8, 1. . ."
She dropped the ticket in the trash and stared out at the rain. She would have another chance next week perhaps. Almost every week a new ticket blew into her alley. She didn't know where from but she felt that whoever was doing it wanted to help her. . .


It was Monday again and a man walked out of the general store with ten lottery tickets in his hands. One by one as the wind blew he let them go. He stood and watched as they all flew away.