The Lottery
Tessie Hutchinson woke up on the morning of June 27th and tried to admire the sunshine streaming through her open window. The finches chirped and the robins sang as she slowly stepped out of bed, but the screaming thoughts coursing through the back of her mind blocked the birds out. The dry, cracked floors groaned beneath her feet as she pulled a tattered robe around her frail body. One by one, she kissed her children, all nestled snugly to each other in the large closet they called a bedroom. Her husband was out of the house already, presumably at work, considering that's where he spends his days and nights. Bill spent more time away at work than he did at home, which barely mattered. When he was home, there was a deep void in his eyes and an absence of color in his voice. Life in general was falling apart one thread at a time and they were struggling to sew it all back together.
She set some water on the stove to boil for tea and began searching through the barren cupboards. "I have to feed the children," she thinks. "I cannot fail them. If I fail them, I fail as a mother." She eventually finds enough scraps to put together a breakfast of stale corn puffs with milk. Finding a package of bacon pushed to the back of the refrigerator, she lays each strip in a frying pan while thinking "We deserve this. The kids will be ecstatic!" A touch of guilt rushes through her as she realizes Bill probably skipped breakfast this morning in order to leave enough for the kids. He did this much too often. He was so giving and such a great father. Almost as if they could sense that breakfast was being served, the children ran through the hall shoving and laughing at each other. Bill Jr. was thirteen, Nancy was eight, and little Dave was just five years old, yet even with the age difference, the children were incredibly close. The young and naïve joy these children possessed brought a tear to Tessie's eye and a lump rose in her throat. She looked at the ground while serving them breakfast, ashamed at the thoughts still lingering in her mind.
The kids ate, still painfully unaware of how unhappy and desperate their mother was. She again kisses each one of her children and looks them in the eyes, telling each one how much she loves them. They respond with smiles and milk splattered chins, then continue to shovel food in their mouths. They soon take off to play with the neighbor children. "Mrs. Dunbar might be as worried as I am." She thinks. "What about the Delacroix's? And Mr. Warner! That shrew of a man! He's alone. He has no worries." It bothered her to think of what could happen to the community tomorrow. She had no choice to let her mind wander to the negative anyway.
Tessie takes the hot water off the stove, steeps her tea, and walks back to her room. Running her hand against the paint-chipped wall, she begins to cry. An undeniable misery clouds her mind and her soul sinks into an abyss of desperation. "Could I do it? Can I really put myself through this?" Tessie thinks. "I need my husband. Bill! Bill!" She rampantly cries out his name with shortness of breath and numbness of tongue. She collapses on the bed, spilling tea, and sobs. "How can I do this? But how can I not?" The price of this is too much to bear, but worth too much to pass up. "The lottery is coming tomorrow." She whispers. "The lottery. It's coming. Tomorrow."
She falls asleep, dreaming of fortune and family. It's a light sleep and she throws her arms, kicks her legs, and shakes her head unconsciously until her husband finds and softly wakes her. It's two in the afternoon, much too early for him to be home. She looks into Bill's eyes and silently begs him to tell her something, to tell her this doesn't have to happen. The wrinkles burnt into his forehead and the forlorn look in his eyes told her exactly what she didn't want to know. He kisses her slowly, pulls away and says, "Tessie. I was laid off today." She shakes her head, voice shaking "No. How? No." "They said they no longer need people of my position. They've found cheaper labor somewhere else." Bill says. "Tessie, we have to do it. We have to do the lottery. We just have to. I am so sorry." With this she screams, raspy and loud, and he falls to his knees crying. They support each other on the floor. Holding onto each other, they kiss, the taste of salt stinging their tongues. "This is so against our morals." Tessie says. "How can we do something so awful? Is this money really worth the price of family?" Red rimmed eyes and tear laced eyelashes blink to the fact that they are willing to pay the price. They're willing to try the lottery. At the same time, they say: "So who will it be if we win?" and the tears rush down their faces once more.
They spend the rest of the day demurely discussing options and decisions, still not accepting the fact that they would no longer be able to survive without money. They had no choice but to participate in the lottery, otherwise the whole family would starve. In hurried, hushed tones, they speak of the future and of the possibilities. "The lottery is tomorrow, Tessie." Bill says. "We have to be ready. We have to know what our decision is if we win." Tessie's eyes light up momentarily, realizing the amount of money they could win. "Bill. I talked to Mrs. Summer on the phone a couple days ago. She said the lottery amount is at $4.2 million! Can you imagine what we could do with that amount of money?" "Can you imagine what we'll lose? Bill says. "It's only fifty cents to buy a lottery ticket, Bill" Tessie says. Knowing all too well this is not at all what he meant, she turns her eyes down in shame, unable to admit to what they're about to do.
They wake up the next day. Its June 27th, the National Lottery Day. Bill Jr., Nancy, and little Dave come with them to the town square, where the lottery is held. They cast their eyes downward, avoiding the judgmental glares directed from the rich. It's a showcase of sorts. Walking inside, they allow simple tears to drop and pray silently that the fifty cents they just paid for a ticket wins. They are instructed to sit down in a smaller room, designated for ticket-buyers only. Each member of every family who bought a ticket is required to be there. It's a requirement of the National Annual Lottery.
Mr. Summer walks up on stage and explains the rules of the lottery, of which everyone already knows. Mr. Summer repeats over and over "Once you buy a ticket, whether you want to win or not, you are responsible for the ticket. If you win, you have to abide by the rules. You have to take the money. And you have to take the consequences." Tears are dropping down the faces of every adult, while the children sit restlessly waiting for it to be over. The children have no idea what the rules are, and don't care. They don't listen. Finally, Mr. Summer finishes rambling off the rules and tells everyone that the numbers will now be pulled. Adults hold the hands of their significant others and pray their numbers are called, all the while praying they aren't.
Bill holds their lottery slip, slowly reading the sequence of numbers that will decide their fate. Five. Seven. Seven. Six. Nine. Slowly, Mr. Summer pulls out the slips that are supposed to match with the sequence of numbers on the slips. "FIVE" Mr. Summer booms to the crowd. Sighs and hugs are exchanged, but no one can tell who has lost and who still has numbers to go. "SEVEN. SEVEN. SIX" Mr. Summer yells out as he quickly dumps three numbers out of the box. Bill's heart is a jackhammer and Tessie looks around with regret. The room gets smaller and hotter and she begs Bill to just take the kids out and leave, but he shushes her. They must follow the rules. They signed away when they bought the ticket. Mr. Summer calls out the last and final number. "NINE."
Tessie and Bill look at each other and sob. They've won. "Oh my God. We've won, Bill. We've won." They sob, numbly and ashamedly as the rest of the crowd files out quietly.
Mr. Summer approaches and takes them to a separate room. "Well. Congratulations Bill and Tessie. You've won $4.2 million. You know what you have to do to get the money. So who will it be? It really is sad to see you had to stoop to this level. You know I love every one of you." Bill has lost all feeling. With a lack of life and a lack of words he stands up and grabs his son, little Dave. "Go with Mr. Summer, Dave. You have to go with him."
Tessie stands up screaming as Mr. Summer leads Dave away from the room. "This isn't worth it Bill! Bill We can't! I can't! The other children are weeping, now piecing together the rules that they had simply ignored when Mr. Summer narrated them out loud. "If you do not win the lottery, you may leave, no strings attached and try again next year. If you win the lottery, the money is yours and you must claim it. In order to claim the money, which you are required to do, a member of your family, must be presented to me as a token of appreciation for the lottery money. This member of your family will be killed."
Tessie runs down the hallway, the realization of what they had done beating down on her, only to find a locked door. Bill is close behind, and begins to beat on the door. Crying, screaming, and hushed tones can be heard through the thin door, but no one comes to open it. BANG. A shot separates the sound of cries and complete silence. Tessie and Bill collapse to the floor.
They're $4.2 million dollars richer, yet they'll forever feel unfortunate. "It's not fair! They scream. "It's not fair! "