The Luckiest Man Alive

Tim Hopkins was the luckiest man alive. 

Without fail, he would find himself receiving great fortune day after day. Tim was the person that everyone disliked whilst growing up, the sort that could fluke an exam and get excellent results. He had the face to match, one that knew it was privileged. His rat-like features complemented his lean physique, yet somehow everyone found him attractive. On the surface, there was little wrong with Tim. He had everything. But not everything could make him happy. 

One ordinary day, Tim decided he’d had enough, and had to change his luck. He was tired of getting promotions handed to him. He won the lottery twice, seeing himself hundreds of thousands richer. With girls on both sleeves, he was living the bachelor life that many would aspire for. However, that was the issue...it was a bachelor life. Tim had never been in a serious relationship, and this was his curse for his seemingly perfect life. Women loved to be around him, for sure. However, he could never land anything that stuck around. Everyone ultimately found themselves feeling inadequate in comparison, and were threatened by Tim and his good fortune. 

This was his wish, to find someone who he could call his partner. He’d received all the typical feedback thus far. “Oh, you’ll find someone when it’s right” or “Plenty of fish in the big sea, Tim” were favourites amongst friends and family. Tim, however, chose not to believe this. Instead, some forces above must have instilled this luck within him and they could take it out. After receiving little help from the various shamans, psychics, priests, witches and anyone else who claimed to have a sixth sense, Tim had to widen his searches. Whilst watching TV one night, as if by luck, an advertisement for a documentary was being shown. It was a monastery in Tibet that claimed to house spiritual healers, and the advert showcased a young woman who arrived at the monastery blind, but was healed by the mere vicinity of the building. Tim, being a skeptic, scoffed at this. However, what could he have to lose? 

So he booked the first flight he could to Tibet. 

Of course, he got a discounted flight. First class.

⟷

Standing before the monastery, Tim’s doubts began to sneak back into his mind. He was aware that countless stories are told about tourists flocking to places like this, only to be met by a scam artist and a gift shop. Glancing around, he couldn’t see a gift shop, so something was looking up at least. In the distance, he could hear what he believed to be wailing. It was something akin to a fox, but sounded more human than animal. As he approached the threshold of the building, his eyes adjusted to the darkness within and he saw the source of the noise. There was an elderly woman, holding a middle-aged man in her arms. They were both knelt before a wheelchair, but to Tim’s surprise they both stood with ease. Other people in the monastery were in awe, applauding and cheering at the two of them. People are buying this shit?, Tim thought. 

The monastery calmed down after that, returning to near silence. There was no obvious figure of authority, or healer, as Tim was expecting. He wasn’t sure what to expect, as he came here on a whim from an advert. At the very least, he expected an elderly monk to approach him and ask him what his ailment was. However, no one came. Tim took in his surroundings, and the building itself was incredibly beautiful. The ancient architecture was unlike anything he had seen before, and regardless of this trip proving successful or not, he was glad he visited. 

Tim was brought out of his trance by someone tapping on his shoulder. He spun around and was faced by a female monk, to his surprise. She had a shaved head and the bluest eyes possible. She smiled at him and outstretched her hands. Tim looked down at them, confused. She gestured he should take them, so not wanting to be disrespectful he gently took her hands. As he did this, he noticed a few others in the building turn and look at them, both monk and tourist alike. Was he the next showcase and spectacle of the day? First the elderly woman in her wheelchair and now him. Tim felt nothing, of course, other than mild embarrassment and wishing he was on his flight back home already. Suddenly, the woman stood before him closed her eyes and looked to the ceiling. Tim, unsure if he was meant to follow suit, also looked to the ceiling. A few seconds later, she released her grasp of his hands. 

The room was quiet. Tim wasn’t sure how to react, so he slowly opened his eyes and took in the room. The female monk smiled and backed away, giving him space. 

“Has it worked?” Tim asked, breaking the silence in the room. He was met with no response, instead a few tourists broke eye contact and looked to the floor. Tim had done  a bad thing by speaking out loud. 

Before he could say anything else, he was ushered out the way he came in and the doors shut behind him. He was back in the bustling street now, and the noise was deafening in comparison. Guessing it didn’t work, but not expecting anything less, Tim took one last look at the failure of a monastery. He figured he’d be lucky for the rest of his life, and perhaps that was simply how it was meant to be. 

He stood tall, despite being thrown out of a highly religious building, and turned to face the street. He took a step forward, ready to return back to his life of wealth and women, sure that his problems would naturally fix themselves. At least that’s what he hoped, because after all he cou-

-the car didn’t have time to stop before it hit Tim. He went flying across the street, laying motionless on the concrete. 

The monastery had clearly worked, and cured Tim of his good fortune.