RICHARD"Why? Dammit! Why?" I suddenly cried aloud, in a sudden burst of frustration as slammed my fists repeatedly on the steering wheel.A horn blared, and I turned to see a driver on the other lane give me a curious look. I stared at the road ahead, my hands gripping the steering wheel tightly as I drove home. My mind was in a whirl. I glanced at the passenger seat on which were two sheets of paper. The first sheet of was the result of the X-ray I had just done at the hospital. It showed the cancer was spreading really fast. I needed chemotherapy as a matter of urgency. But the cost...I shook my head. At the bottom of the second sheet of paper, the cost of the chemotherapy was written in bold font. It was a sum I could never afford, certainly not with the job I had. My wife refused to support me in footing the bill in any way. I was at a dead end, and would be a dead man if I could figure a way out.Finally, I got home. I walked into the cool, air conditioned comfort of the house

RICHARDI left the hospital, hardly knowing whether I was on my head or heels. The astonished doctor, after telling me that he had run the test three times to be sure of the result, had kept on asking me what I had done, to make the cancer simply disappear, and how I had known to come for a confirmatory test. I simply told him that I had just had a hunch.An elderly woman walking into the hospital looked at me oddly and gave me a wide berth as she hobbled into the building. I then realized that I was grinning from ear to ear. I didn't care though. I could not recall ever being this happy. The sky seemed clearer, the colors brighter. I was so elated that I felt like singing.Chuckling, I went down the stairs. My smile faded a little as I thought of the money in my account. I decided to carry out the system's task to see if it was all true. Buying a house from Royal Homes, the real estate company that sold the best and most exclusive condos, was a surefire way to spend a million dollars

RICHARD"The payment went through," Jake said half to himself in a tone of disbelief as he looked around the room.Gasps, and murmurs echoed around the room. Grinning from ear to ear, I reflected that I would gladly have given a million dollars more just to continue seeing the look on James's face as he stared at the screen."What?" he shouted. "How is this possible? Is this some kind of sick joke?" He dragged his gaze from the machine to me, and then to the salesman. I smiled, watched him wrestled with himself as he sought for an explanation to what just happened. "The machine. It is faulty. It has to be. Check, confirm if he actually paid that amount in. In fact, I want to check it myself," he ordered.Jake nodded, turned his computer so that it faced James before he refreshed the page for payment. There, right on top of the other deposits made that day, was my name in bold, right next to the amount I had paid- one million dollars. James stared and stared at the screen. Abruptly, he

RICHARD"And what's with that stupid smile you have on your face!" Amelia snapped when she didn't get the response she had anticipated."Oh that. I discovered that I've begun smiling a lot lately. Maybe it's because I'm happy.""Happy," she sneered and haughtily tossed her long, black hair over her shoulder. "You have no money, no home to come back to, and don't think for a moment that I'm going to take you back after that stunt you pulled the last time you were here. Even if you beg-""Beg?" I infused the right amount of surprise in my voice. "Whatever gave you the impression that I'm here to beg you to take me in?"She looked completely nonplussed at the idea that I hadn't returned to grovel at her feet. The same look was mirrored on the faces of her family members."Well, isn't that why you're here?" she asked.I shook my head slowly. "No. I just came to take my things. That's all."Amelia sucked in a breath. Her mother slowly rose from her chair."That is the best news I have hear

RICHARDI ignored Samson's taunts and kept moving. From my experience, I knew he wouldn't stop talking until he had exhausted all he had to say, and judging by how angry and worked up he was, he had quite a lot to say. So I tuned him out and pretended that his voice was just background noise. I headed straight for the exclusive shopping section. Just before I got there, a tall, pretty middle aged receptionist hurried from her desk and stood in my path. She shook her head slightly."Excuse me, Mr...""Richard."She gave me a cool, professional smile which faded a little as she glanced over my shoulder at Samson. He was right behind me, within touching distance and I could feel his breath on my ear. I shifted a little to the right."Mr Richard." The receptionist once more focused on me. "I'm afraid this part of the mall is reserved for exclusive customers only. Are you a premium shopper? I don't think I have seen you in this section of the mall before. But if you are a premium shopper,