The Winning Situation

Yesterday, while strolling through the mall, I passed by a lotto outlet and witnessed the longest line I have ever seen. The jackpot prize had ballooned to a staggering 340 million pesos, drawing in more hopeful souls than usual. Even those who had probably never placed a bet in their lives seemed to be queuing up, dreams of sudden fortune dancing in their heads. For a brief moment, I considered joining the crowd. But then, reality set in—I have the worst luck when it comes to raffles and games of chance.

And I have proof.

The last—and only—time I won anything in a raffle was so long ago that I can barely remember the year. Honestly, I’m not even sure if I was truly the lucky one in that scenario.

It all started after my six-year relationship came to an end. My ex-girlfriend left to work in another city, and though we had parted ways, we somehow stayed in touch. A couple of years passed, and she came home for a short visit. One day, she called and asked if I could accompany her to buy a new cellphone. There happened to be a cellphone exhibit at a mall, so off we went.

As fate would have it, the exhibit came with a raffle.

I had no interest in filling out a raffle coupon, but she insisted. In the spirit of keeping the peace, I relented—on one condition: she had to keep the stub.

A week later, she flew back to work, and life went on as usual. Or so I thought.

Three months later, I received a registered letter. Apparently, I had won a raffle. Naturally, my first reaction was confusion—what raffle? I was convinced it was some kind of scam, so without a second thought, I tossed the letter into the trash.

The next day, the utility man handed the letter back to me, thinking I had discarded it by mistake. I decided to give it another look, this time paying attention to the details. The letter mentioned a cellphone exhibit. That’s when it hit me—I had entered that raffle after all.

I immediately called my ex. “Hey, remember that raffle we joined? We won a trip for two to Hong Kong.”

She was surprised but then asked, “Do you still have the raffle stub?”

I reminded her that she was the one who kept it. She sighed, saying she had changed wallets since then but promised to look for the old one.

The next day, she called back, triumphant. She had found it and would send it over.

That’s when reality set in. A three-day, two-night trip to Hong Kong—with my ex? It felt… weird. Not the kind of rom-com scenario I wanted to live out.

So, we did what any two practical people would do—we converted the prize into cash. I offered to send her the full amount since, technically, it was her phone purchase that secured our winning ticket. My name was just a placeholder.

But she refused. “I won’t take it if you send the full amount,” she said firmly.

In the end, we split the winnings down the middle.

Moral of the story? Sometimes, luck finds you in the most unexpected ways. And sometimes, winning doesn’t mean a free vacation—it means a story to tell and a lesson in generosity. Also, always check your mail before tossing it in the trash. You never know when you might have just thrown away a trip to Hong Kong—or, you know, 340 million pesos.