A Stroke of Luck

As the night set in, Alex continued to sleep soundly on the couch, unaware of the serendipitous events unfolding around him. His mother, Mrs. Johnson had seen her drenched son come home earlier and felt a pang of concern. Wanting to take care of him, she decided to do his laundry.

Mrs. Johnson quietly tiptoed to Alex's room, careful not to disturb his peaceful slumber. She collected his wet clothes and was about to put them in the washing machine when her eyes fell upon the bracelet she had found earlier. The simple leather strap with the worn silver four-leaf clover charm seemed to beckon her, and without much thought, she slipped it onto her wrist.

A strange warmth spread through her as soon as she wore the bracelet, but she brushed it off as mere coincidence. She continued with her chores around the house, putting away the laundry and tidying up the living room.

After some time, as she was about to prepare dinner, she remembered that the daily lotto draw was on television.

Mrs. Johnson had a little ritual of buying lottery tickets every day, hoping that one day she might strike it lucky. But despite her persistence, her winnings had always been meager, usually just a few dollars.

With a sense of hopeful anticipation, she switched on the television and tuned in to the lotto draw. The numbers were announced one by one, and to her astonishment the numbers were matching one by one with Lotto ticket which she was now holding with all her might. After the number announcement finished, she realized that she had won the second prize - a 60-day all-expense paid cruise trip for two across Europe!

Excitement coursed through her veins, and she couldn't contain her joy. Mrs. Johnson jumped up and down, yelling in excitement, completely euphoric at the unexpected win. Her outburst of jubilation echoed through the apartment, waking Alex from his slumber.

Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Alex found his mother beaming with happiness, jumping with excitement in the living room.

"Mom, what's going on?" he asked, still half-awake.

Her eyes shining with joy, she hugged him tightly. "Alex, we won! We won a 60-day cruise trip for two across Europe!"

Alex's eyes widened in disbelief as he processed the news. "Are you serious? That's incredible!"

His mother nodded, her smile lighting up the room. "I can't believe it either, but it's true! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we're going to have the time of our lives!"

As the excitement of the lottery win filled the living room, the commotion attracted Lily, who had been studying in her room upstairs. She hurriedly made her way to the living room, still clad in a figure-hugging chemise that clung to her curves. Her disheveled but alluring appearance added an unexpected flair to the joyous scene.

"What's happening?" she asked, surprise evident from her eyes.

Mrs. Johnson couldn't contain her enthusiasm as she hugged Lily too, sharing the incredible news of their win. "We won a 60-day cruise trip across Europe, Lily! Can you believe it?"

Lily's eyes widened in astonishment, and her excitement mirrored her mother's. "That's amazing!" she exclaimed.

Caught up in the moment, she hugged Alex excitedly. However, in the haste of their embrace, their lips accidentally brushed against each other for a brief moment. Both siblings blushed, realizing the awkwardness of the accidental kiss. Thankfully, their mother was too ecstatic to notice the innocent mishap.

Overjoyed, Mrs. Johnson continued to share the news with the family, and as the excitement finally settled in, Mr. Anderson returned home from work. Hearing Mr. Jhonson coming in, all of them rushed to the door to tell him the great news. Seeing the unexpected excitement in the face of his family members upon seeing him, he thought out loud.

"Didn't know I was such a celebrity at home, that you guys would stand at our doorsteps to welcome me like a bunch of teenagers."

Mrs. Jhonson brushed his gloating remark aside and continued to share the great news. He too was elated to hear about the incredible stroke of luck.

"That's amazing! How did this happen?" he asked with a smile.

"You have been at it for such a long time, but with no luck! I guess, my charm finally worked at the goddess of Luck." he chuckled.

"Oh! Stop taking credit for everything good that happens in this household. It's thanks to my dedication that we won. Your charm works only on that clingy Mrs. Wellington." Mrs. Jhonson nagged.

While Alex's parents discussed this matter, Alex's eyes landed on the bracelet his mom was wearing on her wrist.

"Mom, that's an interesting bracelet you're wearing. Where did you find it?" he asked with curiosity.

"Oh, this antique looking thing? I found it while doing your laundry earlier. It seemed nice, so I put it on," she replied casually.

Listening to his mom's words and realizing that it is the same bracelet that the old man had given him, he couldn't help but recall the words he said about the bracelet.

"Take this. It's a symbol of luck. You might need it more than I do."

As Mrs. Johnson saw Alex in thought while staring at the bracelet, she assumed that he liked the bracelet a lot. So, she simply took it off her wrist and handed it to him without much thought.

Alex continued to ponder engrossed in his thoughts

"It's strange, isn't it?"

"Just after mom wore this supposedly lucky bracelet, she won such a huge lottery prize."

"Could this bracelet really be lucky!"

Lily nudged Alex out of his deep thoughts asking

"What happened to you? Why do you seem so lost in thought?" Lily enquired.

Alex shook off that idea and replied "It's nothing, I was just thinking how mom got so lucky all of a sudden."

The family continued to bask in the euphoria of their win, which continued in their conversation over dinner, Lily suddenly realized something and asked

"Mom, didn't you say the cruise trip is for two?"

"Yeah" she replied

As soon as she said this, the realization dawned upon all of them that the cruise trip prize was only for two people.

The excitement soon gave way to discussions, as they discussed their possibilities. The idea of sponsoring the trip for two by themselves was ideal but their bank accounts didn't allow for such an expense. At that moment, Mrs. Jhonson announce in an irrefutable tone

"Well, I'm the one who bought the lottery ticket, so I will definitely go,"

Seeing their mom's decision both kids used the best weapon in their arsenal, pretending to be heartbroken and making the most pitiful expression they could conjure. But she remained Un waivered to their acts and spoke

"Sorry, kids, but it's a lifetime opportunity and me and your dad's life is already 70% over, so we deserve this. But you can still ask him."

Mr. Johnson, being the doting father that he had been all his life, decided to draw slips of paper to determine the second spot.

Both the kids looked at each other meaningfully and nodded in understanding, deciding not to fight for the spot with their dad who had already given up on so much. Still, to keep the mood fun, they went with it, Alex even wore the bracelet just for fun, and test out if the bracelet was indeed lucky.

Lily drew the slip with their names from a hat, and Lily playfully announced the names with theatrical suspense. "And the second spot goes to... Dad!"

The room erupted into laughter as Mr. Johnson wore an excited expression. "Well, it seems we have our lucky winner," he joked, patting Alex on the back. "But don't worry, son. We'll bring back lots of souvenirs for you both."

Alex thought that winning the lottery was indeed a mere coincidence and had nothing to do with the bracelet being lucky. None the less he liked the feeling of warmth that he got from it and kept it on his wrist anyways.

Little did he know that the wheels of fortune have already started turning and his luck is about to turn his life around.

In the end, the decision was made, and Mrs. Johnson and Mr. Johnson would embark on the Cruise trip together. The rest of the night, the whole family continued to celebrate, and discussions continued on regarding their trip, arrangements for their kids while Mr. & Mrs. Jhonson will be gone and things to see and do.