The Short Story Lottery の小説・ストーリー

Frank coughed as Felix continued to twist his collar tightly. “Who is Wren?” he gasped. “Let go of me, you madman! You’re going to give an old man a heart attack. I got the watch because I got lucky with my gambling," Frank sucked in a ragged breath and fumbled in the pocket of his jeans. He pulled out a brightly colored slip of paper and threw it at Felix's face. It was a lottery ticket.

The lottery would continue, random chance determining who lived and who died. And Hart hated every second of it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

“The same tradition that ensures your father continues to receive treatment.” I want to flip the desk. I feel like shouting in his face. Instead, I simply stand there and took everything in, like a poison, because he is right. The elders have the upper hand now, and I am the paying for it because Dad needs the treatment. By the time I walk out, my heart feels wrong, and too tight. The whole damn town is already dressed up for the Lottery. Banners hanging from lampposts. Shops full of “mate gifts.” Everyone is smiling like it’s Christmas instead of a sale on human lives.

Soon, the day the lottery numbers were to be drawn arrived. Just like last time, my lottery ticket hit the 100-million-dollar jackpot. I was finally about to claim my prize and take back everything I had lost. But when I got home from school, I sensed something amiss. The moment I stepped inside, Mom slapped me across the face. My cheek burned hot. "If the toilet hadn't clogged, I never would have found your lottery ticket in there." She smiled coldly at me and shook the lottery ticket in her hand. Vincent looked thrilled. "Mom, I told you she hid a lottery ticket. None of you believed me!"

My family was going on a beach trip for summer. My mother came up with the whole itinerary two weeks earlier. My father booked a room with a view of the sea. My brother picked the surfboards, while my sister went with the dresses for socials. I was helping them pack up the night before the trip when I saw the tickets on the coffee table. There were only four of them, and they were for my father, mother, brother, and sister. They didn't get one for me. My mother saw me, and she froze. "Oh, I forgot all about you." My brother didn't even look up. "She can just stay at home." My sister said quietly, "Maybe I shouldn't go, then?" My mother quickly took her side. "No. You've been looking for

Queenie and Clifton’s eyes opened wide the moment they heard that. Especially Queenie. “How much did you win?” she asked in an anxious hurry. Mr. Winters’s eldest sons, the adults, thought that it was quite bold that a young girl like Queenie would ask such direct questions. She simply couldn’t suppress her suspicions. Mr. Winters had always said Gerald was a nice young man, and he intended for them both to be betrothed. But who would like a poor guy like Gerald? So, Queenie rejected him. When she heard Gerald say that he had won the lottery, she felt a jolt run through her body.

The Ghost Escort, who was still haunting the mall, also felt that something was off. "Wasn't this good fortune a bit too much today?" "Didn't know what was nearby, be careful." While they were talking, a voice suddenly came from over there. "I won the lottery, first prize!" "Mom, that carp in front just jumped over that hurdle in one go, it jumped so high!" People always said kids say whatever's on their mind. But Raven felt really complicated after seeing all this. The good thing was, the owner really did almost recover, but the worry was that it might happen again.

For me, it was a small stuffed elephant Ryan had won for me at a fair when I was four. It was ratty, but clean, and the same good luck charm I’d had with me throughout every single phase of life, from the day he proudly presented it to me at that fair. He was eight at the time, missing a few teeth, and when he handed it over, his chest was swollen with pride for having won it. “Okay, everyone.” Craig’s voice boomed from the front of the massive office—bullpen, I corrected myself mentally. “Insert your name as a username, and a computer-generated password will pop up. You’ll need to change that password to one you’ve chosen yourself before you continue.”

As I held my feverish daughter in one arm and stood in a kitchen that reeked of acrid smell, I stared at the empty snack packets piling up on the floor and then at the photos of Edwin and Diana. I'd reached my breaking point. I clutched Primily tightly and stormed out the door. Betty's shrill voice chased after me. "Where do you think you're going? You have nowhere to run to, you orphan! My son will never look for you! You and that useless brat will come crawling back anyway!" I held onto the winning lottery ticket in my pocket, determined to seize the chance to start over.

Morning sunlight spilled through the thin, patched curtains of Everleigh’s small room, painting the worn floorboards in muted gold. She had hardly slept the night before, tossing and turning, her mind clouded with thoughts she couldn’t escape. Today was the lottery. Her stomach twisted as she pushed herself out of bed. The little cottage felt too quiet, too small. Even the birds outside seemed to have gone silent, as though the whole world held its breath for what was to come. She ran a hand over her blanket, as if holding onto it could somehow shield her from the unknown.