Week 5 Storytelling: Dan and His Luck

Dan was sitting in his chair, browsing his social media accounts. For a moment he glanced over to the classifieds, but quickly brought his eyes back to his screen. Maybe later, he thought to himself. He knew he needed money to pay several overdo bills, but he was too busy to get a job, in his view. I'll look through them tomorrow. 

Then his phone rang; It was his brother, Sherman, calling. Sherman was the owner of a successful restaurant in town. Dan had previously thought about working there, but hated the idea of working under his little brother. "Hey, Shermanistan! Whadup, brother?" Dan said with a forced enthusiasm.

Sherman's deep elegant voice replied on the other end, "Oh, not much. Just finishing up for the day, thought I'd invite you over for my house party tonight. I haven't seen you in so long, and knowing you, you probably need to get out of the house for a bit!". Sherman was always the brutally honest type.

"I don't know... I'm pretty busy right now," Dan replied, "I'll see if I can make it out there a bit later."

"Brother, come over! I'd like to see you."

"We'll see."

After a somewhat awkward silence, Dan heard Sherman sigh then say, "Alright, Dan. If you need anything, just give me a call. There's always a place here for you. And a job."

"Thanks. bye!" Dan said forcefully as he hang up the phone. He hated when Sherman talked down on him like that. I'm perfectly able to find a job on my own. I don't need his help, Dan thought bitterly. Sherman always seemed like everything went well for him. Dan had the exact opposite of that, and it drove him crazy.

After he cooled down a bit, he felt sorry for the way he snapped at his brother. He decided to make it up he'd go to the party. So he stood up, got dressed, and went on his way.

When he arrived at his brother's house, he saw a small woman cutting the lawn. She was elderly, but strong looking. She stood straight and proper as she moved the mower over the grass. Dan had never seen her before, and didn't know Sherman to be the kind of man to hire someone else to cut his own grass. As he walked by, she smiled and said, "Hello, Daniel."

Dan was thrown off for a moment. He forced a smile and said, "Hello, Ma'am." and continued walking toward the door. Eventually, curiosity got the better of him and he turned and asked, "Do I know you?"

"Oh, no. You know my sister, though. I am Sherman's luck, I watch over him. My sister belongs to you, but she is lazy and youthful. She sleeps under a bridge. The address by the bridge is 134 Proverb lane."

"Proverb lane? That's not too far from here! I'll go wake my luck, and then I'll have everything my brother has! Dan quickly ran to his bike and started peddling, but he got only a few feet before his chain broke and the bike ceased to work. I knew I should've replaced that earlier. I really need to wake my luck up! He thought.

As he walked down the street, he came across a young man staring at a small gold coin. The man looked distraught, so Dan asked him what the matter was. "My father died and only left me this stupid trinket. What am I to do with this!" The man replied.

Dan smiled, "I'll tell you what. I'm going to wake up my luck. When I do, I'll ask for some advise for you!" And he merrily walked on.

Soon after, he met a very beautiful woman sitting on the street curb. She was wearing an elegant dress and had her hair done up. Dan stopped and asked, "What is such a lovely young woman doing sitting on the curb?"

She said holding back tears, "I just got stood up again. I'm never going to find love!"

"I'm going to wake my luck! When I do, I'll ask if there's anyway I can help you." Dan said to reassure her, and started away once more.

In time, Dan was on a busy street when he met a poorly groomed man on the sidewalk. The man asked him, "I'm so hungry, but got no money for food. Anyway you can help me?"

Dan assured him that he would ask for help from his luck for the man.

Finally, Dan found his luck lying under the bridge. She stirred when he nudged her, and asked drowsily, "What is it? I want to sleep more."

Dan asked her, "Miss, I've come to get you to work. Also, I have several questions for you."

He asked her about the people he met on his way, and this was her answer:

"The young man with the coin, tell him that it is worth millions, as it is a relic from a long gone civilization. For the young lady, tell her that she must look for a man that will do something for her when he expects nothing in return and will care for her. For the poor man, tell him to rob the next fool who trusts a stranger. Now, go. I'll be with you."

So the man ran gleefully back to the young man, and told him about the coins value. The man was overcome with joy, and offered to give Dan a portion of this great discover, as he would've thrown it away otherwise. Dan replied, "No thank you, sir. I'm lucky now, and have no need to split money with you."

Dan then went to the young lady and informed her of what luck said. She said, "Well, you did that for me, and you seemed concerned for me. Would you like to meet up sometime?"

Dan declined stating, "Sorry, miss. You seem like a great lady, but I'm lucky now, and will surely meet my true love soon."

After that he went to where he met the poor man, and didn't see him. From an alley way, he heard his voice beckon him. So he went into the alley and found the poor man. Dan said, "My luck said, 'rob the next fool who trusts a stranger.'"

"Good advise," the poor man said as he pulled out a knife, "I think I'll follow it." and he stole what money Dan had left.

Infuriated, Dan went to find his luck, but she was gone. He went back his brother's home and knocked on the door. By now, the party was over and everyone was gone. His luck answered the door. Dan asked her, "Where were you? You told me all the advise for these other folk, but haven't helped me!"

"I was with you when you denied the money, turned down that lovely lady, and decided to walk into the alley. Believe it or not, I have very little to do with what happens to you. I can set you up for success, but your foolishness will get in the way!"

Dan opened his eyes. He found himself in his chair, his phone on the ground beside him. He had a missed call from Sherman. Dan got up and went to his brother's house. The party was going, and Sherman was talking with some of his friends. He turned and saw Dan approaching him. Before he could say anything Dan said, "I'd like to ask for a job."

Sherman blinked in surprise and said, "Well... of course! we can get you started as a dish washer and see where it goes from there! But let's not discuss this now. Here, meet some of my friends. This is David, Sam, Sherry, and Lisa."

Dan's eyes froze on Lisa. She was the girl from his dream. She gave him and shy smile. It was in that moment he realized, luck was with him, but it was up to him to make his dreams come true.

Author's Notes: The original story and mine differ in mostly the setting, the people he meets along the way, and the ending. The original setting was in ancient Persia, but I wanted to modernize this tale a bit. The people in the story originally were a gardener, a king who is secretly a woman, a thorn picker, and a wolf. I removed the thorn picker because his part of the story offers no opportunity for the protagonist to foolishly ignore. The king became Lisa, the beautiful girl, because I wanted to give the character a romantic interest that he would've been with because he likes her, not to become a king. The wolf and gardener became the man with the coin and the poor man, and they served the same function in my story. Except, the poor man didn't kill Dan, unlike the original story. The ending was a bit cheesy, I'll admit, but for good reason.  I understand waking up and it all being a dream is cliche, but Dan's luck is a symbol of himself, thus he is sleeping and only wakes up when he realizes he can't count on luck to make his life better. I hate it when the foolish characters die at the end of stories because I feel like there wasn't any growth, just death.

Bibliography:Persian Tales, translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer and Illustrated by Hilda Roberts (1919).

Image: (Top) Dan starts on his Journey. 'Making Light of a Dark Situation' by Ross2085. Source: Flikr
(Bottom)Dan needs to wake up and make his dreams come true. 'Asleep at the Wheel' by Aaron Jacobs. Source: Flikr