It’s just a game
“The goose that laid the golden eggs” , a famous phrase from Aesop’s Fables which my mom used to read to me when I was young. I should have remembered the story, and how it ended…
It all started with a boy walking into the classroom, his style was impeccable with expensive looking outfits. I was mesmerised.
It has been two months since I last saw him and when he came back all I could see was the fact that he was draped with all kinds of luxury brand clothing and accessories. The whole class stopped and observed his regal appearance. Maybe it was the expensive clothes but he seems to be taller even while he’s sitting down, and his face glowed like the bright sun. And then I heard the shocking suggestion.
“Mate, do you know what roulette is?”
He blurted out gambling like it was nothing, his audacity as a minor had startled me for a bit. He went on to say that all his items came from his gambling money, the winnings he had by playing the game, I wasn’t sure whether it was legal or not, but the truth of the matter was that the game could bring me fortunes that I’ve never had before, and I also had family in mind, what if I could win heaps of it and made sure our family didn’t struggle for money? The thought had ignited my hopes and desire to perhaps join his endeavour.
As I listened to his words, I could paint a picture of a life beyond imagination where it allows me to spend money whenever I want to. Hence, without any hesitation I grabbed his arm.
“ Can you teach me how to do it?”
He answered but he had this odd expression of happy smile, but the smile seemed ominous.
And it was the moment where I dove into this world of greed, trusting only his words, without knowing what sort of horror was about to unfold before my eyes.
Surprisingly, perhaps beginner’s luck on my side, I tasted victory early on. The rush of triumph surged through my veins, it was the first time I ever felt that way, and it was rather addictive. I wanted to play more, earn more, to save my family from destitution. I felt invincible. With each win the grip of addiction had more hold on me, my first ever vice, looking back, I was blinded by the rush of adrenaline and the thinking of “how easy it is to make so much money”, I was mesmerised the entire time and even the friend who had brought me to this place thought I was in a dangerous state of mind.
I didn’t just lose track of time, I lost the concept of time itself due to the addiction that had at the time fully settled in my head. The absence of clocks in this house didn’t help either.
As the stakes grew higher, so did the winnings . How could I resist when the pile of money laid right there in front of me, it was there for the taking. I found myself unable to turn away, compelled to continue placing my bets as if my shoe were glued to the ground on the roulette table.
What was started out of curiosity and the desire to take big winnings had turned into an obsession. selling the very foundation of my existence, my family money.
I rushed towards the nearby bank in a frenzy. Fortunately, the bank was located within a mere five-minute walk, yet the unusually glaring sunlight, which felt almost piercing beyond its brightness, urged my steps to quicken towards the bank more than usual. What if the bank had been just a bit farther away? What if I had taken a moment during my walk to ponder reality? Eventually, I found myself in front of the ATM, clicking familiar numbers and withdrawing the money for the bet.
The roulette wheel spins endlessly, its hypnotic motion exacerbating my sleep-deprived confusion. Each bet was filled with adrenaline and desperation with the chips clustering and trembling on my hands which were stained a deep red from unconsciously gnawing at my nails, and my eyes were swollen from a sleepless night. My heart pounded in anticipation as both fortune and ruin lie just a single spin away.
As the roulette wheels, the door was opened. In an instant, the elderly man in his fifties and alongside the young girl, frantically started to put money into their pockets and tried to escape. Figures in navy clothes, they were police.
In the midst of the chaos, I stared at the roulette wheel only.
0, zero, nothing, nada, I had spent the entire savings of my family…
I couldn’t accept the situation. Why had my money disappeared? Why? A rage overwhelmed me, I started to scream with animosity. Then, the police moved in to arrest me, and my hands were cuffed. I couldn’t keep track of the anger I spat out. It all felt surreal, like being trapped in a nightmare. Yet, behind the police, I caught sight of two familiar faces. It was my parents.
Tears poured down from their eyes, and so did mine. I began to realise the consequences of my actions and my heart was pierced like a bullet. I lost everything. I ruined everything because of my greed and selfishness.
Now, sitting in a dark room alone, I can still vividly see my parents’ horrified faces towards me and myself, engulfed by a deep greed.
By: Yejin Lee
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