I lost all my retirement money, house, an old car, wife and son. My wife left me when our son was a year old. She couldn't bear with my gambling habit knowing l never could change. I gambled with every single cent I had always hoping for the "LUCKY BREAK" that never came, first my retirement money, then my old car and finally my house all wasted on the false hope of a Big Wind Fall. Now, I am left with a few old shirts and two pairs of worn out jeans stuffed in a worn out bag.
For my 79th birthday, I had only a stick of cigarette I saved for the night. By mid night I would be asleep. Sometimes I was woken up by late night commotions like street brawls and pub quarrels and couples making it out on deserted mall stairs. I was never bothered and would not be bothered either. I once stood up for a young teenage girl who was almost gang raped. Probably a date with her boy friend to the pub gone ugly. I got beaten up instead and had to endure the aches and pains for many days.
Among the many daily shoppers, there was a woman could be in her mid thirties, always dressed in short skirt with tight round ass, sexy thick thighs and matching legs going all by herself. She never talked to anyone and seemed to have no one in her life. When ever she shopped here, she would always eye me from the corner of her eyes. I could imagine the message in her mind. Wasted old man, brainless gambler now destined to rot alone . You deserved it all. Huh! Who cares I reasoned to myself. I never begged, never robbed, never cheat and never stole so who cares.
It rained heavily that night. It was wet everywhere, drains overflowed. Shops and malls closed early though it was only around 9 pm. I was lucky today. A drug peddler friend gave me half packet of cigarettes. That I smoked slowly with nothing to look forward to. Then curled facing the wall slowly drifted into deep slumber.
A pat on my shoulder woke me up. I turned my head and saw a woman squatting near me. You lost something? I asked. Whenever people approached me, it's asking me if I saw their bunch of keys, umbrella, purse and even about certain car passing this area. They thought I must have seen everything that occurred here.