Jackpot

Episode from Japanese Dream by Hidemi WoodsAudiobook : On Sale at online stores or apps. Apple, Google Play, Nook Audiobooks,  43 available distributors in totalHidemiWoods.comThat casino was old and forlorn. Inside, it had the outdated concert  hall where gaudy revues and magic shows used to be abundant. Since the  casino lost its popularity and customers, the hall had been used as a  makeshift break area. Those who used up money for gambling and no longer  had anything to do sat there sparsely with vacant eyes, producing a  wretched atmosphere that perfectly matched the whole casino. My partner,  my mother and I was resting there after we lost most money. As it was  too gloomy to be sitting in the break area, my partner suggested that we  should use up the scarce rest of our money and leave the casino.Each  of us sat in front of our favorite slot machine. On the screen of my  slot, I came close to win with two matched pictures but the third one  didn’t come up in every turn. My mother and I quickly ran out of money.  Further down the floor, I saw my partner still playing. I left him there  and went back to our hotel with my mother.It was the last day of  our stay and I started packing for checkout. The hotel looked out on the  waterway that connected the hotel and the casino. For a brief break  from packing, I went out on the balcony of our room and watched the  waterway. Then I noticed something gigantic floating far up the  waterway. It was slowly flowing toward the hotel. The closer it got, the  more monstrous it became. It approached near enough to tell what it  was.A tall, triangular-shaped white condominium was carried on a  massive barge. Tied behind it was a white enormous sailing ship. They  were carried carefully from the direction where the casino located.  Considering where it came from and how unusual they were to be carried  along the waterway, I assumed that they were some prizes of the casino. I  called my mother to the balcony and we wondered what kind of person had  extremely good fortune like this.The barge and the ship stopped in  front of the hotel, right under our balcony. There was the third boat  tied behind the ship. A man was sitting in it almost buried in numerous  boxes and bags. It meant he was the winner. I gazed at the man with the  biggest possible amount of envy. And I gasped. The man who won all of  those was no other than my partner! I couldn’t shout, couldn’t scream  but was just speechless. I saw my partner getting off the boat and being  welcomed by the hotel staff. He gave them some instructions and they  hurriedly moved around. Soon, there was a knock on the door of our room.  The bellboys brought countless boxes of shoes and bags of brand clothes  into our room. Finally my partner came in. He said calmly, “It’s time  for checkout.” I told him that I hadn’t finished packing and he said,