68. Noi is chosen
Three months before camping on Larson’s floor Noi had received a mysterious letter. It said:
You are chosen. The spirits look upon you with grace. Your wishes shall be fulfilled. Your dreams shall come true. Riches and fortunes shall be yours.
It is not important who I am. I who write this am merely a messenger. I deliver the word from the spirits. You are chosen. You will become rich.
In the lottery this week the following number will win: 52
Pui
Noi understood what numbers the letter spoke about. Thais gambled on the last digits in the state-run lottery. The lottery was drawn once a week on live television. People could bet on all six numbers, or on the last three, or on the last two. In offices, schools, factories and villages all over the country people gambled on the end numbers of the winning tickets.
Thais tried all sorts of schemes to guess what the numbers could be. The lottery had only six digits. How hard could it be to guess them? Thais asked astrologers, fortune tellers and monks to predict the numbers. They read about what colour each number from 0-9 represented and how the numbers represented the movements of the heavens. Thais studied how “lucky” a number had been recently. They tried any sort of personal or supersticious combinations to win.
Can this letter be true? thought Noi. Did some higher power choose me? Why me? Maybe I have good karma from previous lives. Maybe the spirits like me. I am a nice guy. Or can it be a trick? I should ask someone.
Noi didn’t mention the letter to the other guys at the taxi stand. He feared they would steal his secret. Noi only told his older brother Lek.
- It is a load of buffalo dung, said Lek. You are chosen? You? You are not chosen for anything.
- But why did I get this letter? asked Noi.
- I don’t know, said Lek. But I don’t like this. It must be a scam. Who is Pui? If the spirits want to give you money why can’t they give it right to you?
- I don’t have the special powers, said Noi. Pui is a medium. He acts on orders from the other side.
- The other side? said Lek. Monkey’s ass! I don’t believe this. Be careful my brother. Someone is trying to cheat you. Tear up the letter and throw it in the khlong.
*
In the morning both Noi and the gold were gone. Larson was disappointed. This mafia story is far-fetched, Larson thought. Is this the best they could come up with? Lek’s trickery is too transparent. I showed him trust and he did NOT rise to the occasion. He could not keep a gold necklace any longer than he could keep cash. This proves I can’t believe what he says. Maybe Bjorn was right to warm me about this boy. But I don’t want to tell Bjorn that. He will get too smug. Bjorn will enter his I-told-you-so mode and that is unbearable, thought Larson.
Larson was torn between his sceptical mind and his heart, which was increasingly fond of Lek. Larson wanted to do something for Lek, something to get him on the right track. But I will confront him about the gold and this brother who showed up all of a sudden, thought Larson. The timing is suspicious. First I give Lek gold and then his brother comes with this loan shark story. Something isn’t right here.
*
Noi was thinking about the lottery. Noi had been waiting for something like this mysterious letter to happen in his life. One day it had to be Noi’s turn to be lucky. One day the gods had to remember him and take him out of this life where he barely had enough money to eat. Other people were rich, why could not he be rich too?
Noi considered Lek’s warning. But this was be easy to settle. Either the oracle would be right or it would be wrong. Noi had a feeling it would be right. He put all the money he had, which was a day’s earning from the motorbike taxi, on number 52.
Someone had a small battery powered radio at the motorbike taxi stand. When the lottery numbers came they turned up the volume to hear it above the traffic noise. The announcer read the numbers. Four, zero, three, seven, five, two.
Noi won 6000 baht.
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