Oscar's Lottery Ticket, Tale #6

0:12 Speaker: Oscar's Lottery Ticket written and read by Maria Rodriguez Bross.

0:40 Speaker: Oscar bought a lottery ticket before pulling out his gun in the bodega.

0:49 Speaker: It was a measly pick three ticket and not his usual drawing.

0:55 Speaker: And since it was different, Oscar let the lottery machine pick the numbers.

1:03 Speaker: And when he saw what they were, he shouted, "Can anyone spare me change?" while waving a nine millimeter.

1:19 Speaker: No one moved, but instead stared at him, wondering how it had come to this.

1:30 Speaker: After all, Oscar was the one who shoveled snow off the sidewalks when the city failed to do so.

1:39 Speaker: He'd carry bags for neighbors with aging knees.

1:44 Speaker: He'd lug his bootlegged generator to anyone needing to ensure their food didn't spoil after the electricity failed.

1:54 Speaker: Many witnessed him in the summer carrying cases of beer for the parties and passing the offering basket along the pews of the church.

2:11 Speaker: So Oscar brandishing a gun was difficult to process.

2:18 Speaker: He had lost his job.

2:21 Speaker: But it had been years since he last worked.

2:26 Speaker: Others noted his wife had fled with their six children, but that had happened some time ago.

2:35 Speaker: "He applied for disability for his time in the military," said another, "but he's still waiting for approval.

2:45 Speaker: But most agreed that Oscar was simply engaged in a financial dispute with the bodega owner, who had made a fuss about what was owed at six o'clock in the morning when customers were still rubbing their eyes.

3:05 Speaker: Seeing that gun caused the customers to gasp into wakefulness.

3:14 Speaker: Many crouched down where they stood or took cover in the narrow aisles, hoping Oscar wouldn't see them.

3:25 Speaker: But no matter where you were in the bodega, you would have seen how the owner had his palms facing up and asking if anyone could help Oscar out.

3:37 Speaker: A woman in hospital scrubs was the first to march over with her two kids in tow.

3:44 Speaker: Oscar backed up to let her through, especially since she had to dig deep into her purse just to pull out some loose change.

3:54 Speaker: She dropped it on the counter and said, "Gotta get my kids to school and get to work".

4:01 Speaker: Despite her bold gesture, Oscar didn't back down.

4:07 Speaker: He pointed the gun at Don Alfonso, who then dropped his cafecito on the floor when Oscar approached.

4:17 Speaker: The clatter of the metal striking the floor, accompanied by a splatter of hot coffee across Oscar's clothes caused everyone to scream.

4:28 Speaker: But all the bodega owner did was say, "Can anyone help clean up this mess?" And that's when everyone inside the bodega noticed the swarm of onlookers outside bundled in their coats and obscuring their faces with hoods and scarves.

4:50 Speaker: They stood behind the windows, feeling protected and morbidly fascinated by the scene unfolding within.

5:01 Speaker: None dared enter the bodega, but the customers inside could hear the Ay bendito and the poor Oscar comments.

5:14 Speaker: This chatter eventually turned into arguments of why a godly man would turn on them.

5:21 Speaker: The animated crowd made Oscar's nostrils flare with each hard breath.

5:29 Speaker: Despite the cold wind blowing the front door open and giving everyone inside a chill, Oscar's skin blotched into red patches.

5:41 Speaker: "He has the malo in him," said Don Alfonso.

5:48 Speaker: That statement silenced everyone except a little kid who asked "Who's Malo?" The woman wearing hospital scrubs pointed and said "He's bad" and clenched her teeth.

6:14 Speaker: Don Alfonso trembled, but his arthritic fingers managed to place money on the counter.

6:24 Speaker: And when Oscar saw this, his lips quivered, and he reinserted his gun back into his pocket.

6:34 Speaker: The bodega owner nodded, gathered the charitable money, and placed it in his cash register.

6:43 Speaker: And that's when Oscar snatched the grocery bag and stormed out of the bodega.

6:50 Speaker: The owner scanned the counter and then widened his eyes.

6:55 Speaker: "Wait! You forgot your lottery ticket!" Oscar hesitated and leaned back, but never had a chance to grab his ticket.

7:07 Speaker: A vehicle rolled onto the sidewalk, forcing the crowd to step aside, and that's when everyone witnessed Oscar face down being handcuffed and shoved into the back seat of a police car.

7:21 Speaker: It didn't take long before the crowd dispersed and Oscar's misfortune became old news.

7:32 Speaker: But late that evening, a woman changed out of her dirty hospital scrub and put her kids to bed.

7:43 Speaker: She then watched the live pick three drawing on her phone.

7:49 Speaker: When she sighed, yawned, and laid her chin on the palm of her hand, she saw the first number drawn.

8:00 Speaker: And not too far down the block, Don Alfonso sat in his rocking chair, watching television, and right before he fell asleep, he saw the second number drawn from the corner of his eye.

8:20 Speaker: Some said he sat up straighter than he had in years.

8:25 Speaker: At the same time, the bodega owner microwaved an unsellable sandwich, but it dropped onto his lap before his first bite.

8:37 Speaker: A mishap caused by seeing the third number drawn.

8:42 Speaker: The lottery announcer read the numbers six, six, six and Oscar lay awake in a prison cell not knowing that just down the hallway was a small wall-mounted and muted television proclaiming his ticket to be a winner.