The Child of Ultimate Luck

What really embodies and illustrates luck? To most individuals, luck is just an abstract way of expressing an unlikely sequence of events. Some consider luck divine intervention set by fate. For a young boy named Theo, however, luck was a reality that absolutely ruled his life. When Theo was born, several miracles occurred: a patient suffering from brain tumours found that they had disappeared after a singular round of treatment, a blind young girl suddenly discovered that could see and a man lying in a comatose state for a decade suddenly jolted up in his hospital bed right before the family decided to pull the plug!

Before the birth of Theo, the parents were simply modest citizens with average jobs. As soon as they had Theo, both parents randomly received a sizable raise and soon, other strange incidents began to transpire. For instance, while on a road trip to visit relatives, a bunch of caltrops were randomly scattered on the road and they punctured the tires of many cars, but amidst the chaos, the parents discovered a deep sinkhole several hundred metres ahead which could have caused the demise of all those involved.

As years went by and many more potent fortunes were presented to the parents, they realised that the source of their good luck was Theo. Greed began to creep into the hearts of both parents. It started small but successfully with the father making minor bets with his friends and the mother doing a side business with cryptocurrency. This escalated rapidly for the father began to actively gamble thousands, then hundreds of thousands while the mother completely monopolised the online trading market. Each parent competed ferociously to ensure that Theo remained beside them during these transactions, to keep the good luck from escaping. Unsurprisingly, heated arguments ensued between the once happy couple while the terrified Theo hid in his room.

The inevitable divorce and custody battle that followed left Theo feeling hollow for he knew that they wanted him not out of love but to gain riches. Theo escaped the place he once called home and abandoned his parents at 7 years of age. His innate luck was instrumental in sustaining him through these days. Whenever Theo needed some basic necessities, he stumbled upon heat packs and ready-to-eat meals that lasted for weeks. Eventually, Theo decided to help others with his luck, sharing his rations with random homeless people in the area and he felt great doing it. However, these blessings of his did not fulfil what Theo truly desired, which was to be treated as more than a tool that granted the wishes of others.

During one of Theo’s nights in an abandoned tent, he dreamt of a place unfamiliar to him. In this place, two faceless beings urged him to follow them. The confused Theo complied and followed the strangers into an alternate world where Theo was tasked to survive as an adult without the use of his luck. This proved to be a herculean task for Theo, but the two strangers guided him well. In this world, Theo grew up and went to school. He felt the same pain of failures and setbacks that others did, fell in love and had his heart broken, went to university and got a job, struggled to make ends meet and pay bills. Despite these challenges, Theo felt for the very first time, true joy. The faceless beings remained with him throughout this time and advised him whenever the need arose.

After several years, Theo was told he had completed the task and passed the test. The faceless strangers congratulated Theo on his efforts as they opened two gates. They explained that the left gate would allow Theo to be re-born as himself once more and live out a normal life whereas the right gate would allow Theo to rest in the afterlife. Theo chose the right gate. As the trio walked through the right gate, the faceless duo finally revealed their identity to Theo. They were his parents who then begged his forgiveness and embraced him tightly with tears streaming down their face. The world had moved on from this family and they also moved on from the past into an unknown future.