Sorry, that's not mine.

Recently, I have received e-mails from a number of people unknown to me informing me how fortunate I was to have struck gold without purchasing any mining tools or entering a gold mine.

Wow! Very soon I would be able to afford the Mercedes which had until now been appearing only in my dreams. I would be in a position to purchase the beautiful double-storey bungalow which could perhaps attract some pretty gals to visit me. With the huge sum of money available through this lottery win I would be able to furnish the bungalow with the best luxurious furnishings any person would envy. Wow! Wow! And Wow!

Wait a minute. Not that I do not believe I can have such fantastic luck. I can consider myself one of the luckiest guy in the world. And that was confirmed by one of the most beautiful girl in the world. (Sh! I’ll not tell you who that is. It’s my secret, okay?) But then, I am also one of the most down to earth guy who just does not believe in getting something for nothing, especially when it comes to cash. How in the world could I be winning a lottery I never bought?

That is a question which tells me somebody must be pulling my legs. And which stranger would be so good as to do that? Certainly, that is not possible unless I am willing to close my eyes, go to sleep and cook up such a dream. After all, such things come from dreams. But the unfortunate thing is, I hardly ever dream. Usually, I am too exhausted when I drop my head on my pillow to have such a luxury. So, no dreams, no belief that first-prize lottery tickets with my name and email address written on it would drop from the sky; therefore no hope whatsoever! Delete the e-mail. Forget it, I am not their sucker.

But then, there are some who would jump into it, hoping some mistake by some person had resulted in their good luck. Who knows? Then when Ai Wei here reads about it, he would regret his whole life not grabbing the cash when somebody wanted to drop some into his lap. Maybe but no;not this guy!

Hah! Through others experience, I have sufficient knowledge to be a wiser man. You see, I have read in newspapers of people who, like me, have been told about their lottery being the first-prize winner; how these people had to sent a sum of money in order to have certain procedures carried out so as to transfer the huge sum of money into their account. Sorry, but eventually it was the informers who struck it rich and not the owners of the non-existing lottery.

Well, others can always hope. However, I would like to caution them. As for me, there can never be any such luck. It just is not possible! Period! You know, this guy is stupid enough to believe what is mine will be mine and what is not mine can never be mine; even if a kind stranger were to be good enough to hand some cash over.No wonder my mother used to tell me “Son, you are not born with a silver spoon in your mouth. So, forget it! Stop dreaming.”

In my heart, I told her, “No, in my mouth is a golden spoon. Just you wait and see.”

“Gosh! I’m still waiting. A little bit better but nothing golden yet.” Was that her voice?

"Hey, I still have many more years to go. Wait and see, okay?"