Serendipitous Money

• Sinali Seneviratne, Grade 10, Presbyterian Ladies College
• Short Story
• 2015

Excellence Award in the 'The Write Track 2015' competition

The succulent relish of tender chicken lingers in her mouth for several seconds. Her fingers glide over the mouse, her eyes leisurely absorb information being fed to her by the computer screen. She mindlessly pokes her fork in the air, blindly trying to pin down another piece of meat, as her eyes remain glued to the screen. She calmly takes a sip of water from her glass, the coolness permeating through her.
Suddenly, the sweet tang on her tongue begins to taste acerbic. Her eyes dart across the screen, as a blinking neon sign hogs her attention. “Click now to receive three million dollars! Just click on the link… you have thirty seconds.” The girl begins choking on the water; her coughs coming out as strangled whale sounds. Before her brain can process a single thought, the girl becomes enveloped by darkness. The screen then momentarily blackens, before surging to life again. A luminous, ‘30 seconds,’ written in a triangle, and a link, is all the screen shows. A second later, ‘29 seconds.’ “It’s a timer!” she wants to shriek, but the words die in her throat.
In her haste groping for the mouse, she sends her glass of water plummeting to the ground. Changing her mind, she instead lunges for the computer’s power button. She holds it down for what seems like eternity. She glances expectantly at the screen, and scowls.
‘15 seconds.’
The computer seems to be mocking her futile efforts. Drowning in a sea of despair, she smashes the keyboard violently, her fists balled up in consternation. Nothing happens.
’10 seconds.’
All sanity drains from her leaky resolve. Out of options, she freezes. She hears nothing but her hammering heart, and feels nothing but her mind drifting into an abyss of sorrow.
‘1 second.’
She is immediately dispelled from her stupor. Without thinking twice, she quickly fumbles for the mouse. Her hand grips it like a vice. Panic flaring in her chest, she clicks the link. She becomes swiftly aware of a deep, bottomless chasm, which has inexplicably appeared in her screen. Dazedly, she reaches in. Her fingers brush upon something. It feels papery and makes a slight rustling sound. She pulls her hand out to reveal a $100 note! She reaches in for the second time, and withdraws her hand with another $100 note. Countless minutes pass, and the girl has repeated the procedure innumerable times. She eventually reaches in once again, only to end up with nothing. She gawks at the mountainous pile of $100 notes in front of her. Could this be three million dollars?
As abruptly as the lights shut out, they turn back on. The girl goes rigid, like a deer in headlights. She blinks nimbly, adjusting to the drastic change of lighting. The place appears as if nothing has happened, except for the money, still sitting on the desk. The girl clutches her aching head, before falling onto her bed, asleep. She hopes she was dreaming, but she wasn’t.