Christine Chin

The story about my wedding? Listen to it; it's quite original. A girl from the village, dressed very badly
and whose face was drawn with hunger, was the one who sold me the [ *tenth of a] lottery ticket, at the
door of a caf, late into the night. I gave her the enormous amount of one **duro. With what humility
and graceful smile she responded to my generosity!

[So he fell in love with a poor girl selling lotto tickets]

* In some countries, the lottery "tickets" are sold in "pieces." One "ticket" is a whole page, divided into
sections and a person can buy however many sections they choose.
** a "duro" is foreign currency (Spain)

" You are lucky, sir," she said with a clear and accurate pronunciation of the Madrid village girls.
"Are you sure?" I jokingly asked, as I put the ticket into my overcoat and pulled the collar up for
protection from the December cold.
"Clearly I am sure! You will see, sir! If I had money you would not buy this... The number is 1,620; I know
it from memory, my age (20), and the days of the month I have over the years (20 even). You can see
that I would buy it!"
"Well, daughter," I responded wanting to be generous, " dont worry, if the ticket is drawn.... half will be
for you."

A wild joy appeared in the black eyes of the girl, and will absolute faith, taking me by the arm, exclaimed:
"Sir, your mother and your father, give me your name and the address of your home! I know that in 8
days we will be rich.

Without regard to what she said, I gave her my name and address, and 10 minutes later I did not
remember the incident.

After 4 days, I heard the lottery list being shouted while I was in bed. I sent my servant to buy it and
when she brought it to me, my eyes came upon immediately the jackpot number. I thought that it was
ringing, but no, it was reality. There in the list, it really said 1,620. It was my decimo/ticket, the age of
the girl, lucky for her and me! There were many thousands of currency represented by these 4 numbers.
I felt so overcome with emotion that I could not say a word and even move my legs. That humble and
strange individual, who had never seen me before, had brought me luck, had been my pet (?). Nothing
more fair than to divide the pot with her; additionally, that it had been promised.

El decimo 35-70

Instantly I wanted to feel with my fingers the contact of the magical piece of paper. I remember
well; I had kept it in the exterior pocket of the overcoat. Where was the overcoat? I hung it here in the
dresser to see touch here, look there but nothing, the tenth of the ticket did not appear.

I called the maid in fury, and I asked him if he had shaken (tossed?) the overcoat out the
window I already believed that it had been shaken! But I had not seen anything fall from the pockets,
nothing at all in the 5 years that he did at my service I have never caught him lying. I look to his face; I
have always believed him, but now, I dont know what to think. I become desperate, I shout, I insult, but
its all useless. What happened to me scares me. Lighting a candle, I look in the corners, break closets,
examine the basket of old papers.nothing, nothing.

In the afternoon, when I had already stretched out over the bed in order to see if a dream
helped me to forget it all, the doorbell rings. At the same time I hear noise of discussion at the door,
voices of protest of someone that insists on entrance, and at the corner I see before me the girl, who
throws herself into my arms crying and with tears in her eyes.

-Sir, sir! See how I wasnt wrong? We have taken the jackpot.

Unhappy me! I believed I have seen the worse of the disgust, and now I would have to do this
cruel confession; I would have to say, without knowing how, that I had lost the ticket, that I couldnt find
it in any place, and that as a result the poor girl would have nothing to expect/hope from me, in whose
black eyes I feared to see shine doubt and distrust.

But I was wrong, well when the girl heard the sad news, she raised her eyes, looked at me with
deep tenderness of one who feels the pain of others, shrugged her shoulders and said:

-If thats how the Blessed Mother wants it to be! Sir, neither you nor I are born to be rich.

It is true that I could never find the tenth of the ticket that would have given the wealth, but
instead (in change) I found her, a girl of the village to who, after looking after her and seeing that she
was educated, I gave my hand as a husband and in whom I have found more happiness that what could
be bought with millions of the tenths (decimo).

Vocabulary-

A las altas horas wee hrs of the night El sobretodo overcoat

Al punto- instantly Empenarse to insist

El armario- dresser Encogerse los hombros to shrug the shoulders
El gordo jackpot Enganar to trick/deceive
Hallar to find Equivocarse to be wrong
Hondo deep La ternura tenderness
La riqueza riche Las senas signs
Los rincones corners Mentir to lie
Sacudir to fluff/shake Tropezar to encounter