Lottery Numbers

Lyssa Medana

I check the lottery numbers religiously every Wednesday & Saturday, not the Tuesday & Friday ones, they don't count.

I note the numbers down in a little book, waiting, watching for a pattern to emerge.

My workmates tease me 'You need to check the numbers against your ticket' they say 'not just write them down in a book' .

I smile at them, they are nice enough, not malicious, they just don't understand.

Night after night I pore over the numbers working out all the variables, there must be a pattern, there must. Sometimes a pattern begins to emerge but it fades away when more numbers are added. Still I continue to work on them, to study them.

I have a girlfriend, her name is Maddie, she's what my mum would describe a as 'One o' them hippy dippys'.

She listens when I tell her about the numbers, but I'm not sure she believes me. Mind you, I don't always believe her when she tells me that my aura keeps changing colour.

Eventually I find the pattern I've been looking for & everything falls in to place.

The following day I give my notice in at work. I don't tell them the truth, well I do, sort of, 'I'm going travelling, with Maddie'. I get teased a lot, jokes about taking plenty of condoms, I just smile, they don't understand.

I meet up with Maddie in the town centre, she's carrying a rucksack. 'Why'd you bring that' I said 'I told you, you won't need anything'. She starts to argue, so I let her bring it, she'll see when we get there.

We catch the bus out of town & when we got off we start to walk, it's a good hour or two & Maddie starts to complain that her feet are hurting & she needs to rest. We stop for a while but then set off again,we mustn't be late.

The time & the place were quite clear, we have to be punctual. I wonder if anyone else will be there, if anyone else has seen the messages.

But no, we were the only two there, unless, I panicked, we were late & they'd all gone.

We wait in strained silence, what if I've got it wrong, what if we've missed them.

Darkness falls, Maddie starts to grumble, suddenly she falls silent, a bright light appears, accompanied by a thrumming noise.

I was right, they are here, Maddie & I are lifted up in a beam of light.

Suddenly we are inside, a voice speaks 'Welcome, enter the door ahead, there you will meet with the others who were able to work out the patterns & follow the clues'.

We enter a large room, there are about a dozen people there, all smiling & chatting together.

The voice speaks again 'We will arrive in Alpha Centauri in a few hours, until then make yourselves at home'.

Maddie stares, open mouthed, 'You didn't believe me when I said I was getting messages from outer space, did you' I reach over & gently shut her mouth.