It was the middle of the day. The sun stood at its peak height, showering an ordinary small town that sat atop a hill with powerful rays of light. The small town was unusually crowded today, packed with people of all sorts. This was especially true for the marketplace, the street was bustling with people, some were shopping for various goods while others stood around as if they were waiting for something to happen.
"Now, watch closely."
In the marketplace, a group of people stood in front of a young lad, their eyes were fully focused on an ordinary looking red ball in the youth's hand. The young lad grinned showing slight dimples on both cheeks as he proceeded to tuck the red ball under a cup in the middle of the three cups on the table. With rapid hand movements, he shuffled the cups for a quick moment before coming to a rest as he confidently looked at the crowd.
"Anyone wish to have a go? For only five coppers, you will have a one-in-three chance to win all my earnings for the day! Remember, it's a one-in-three chance! There's a high likelihood that YOU can win this fortune!!" The young lad shouted loudly as he slowly stepped aside to display a small pile of coins behind him, his amber-colored eyes darted back-and-forth expectantly as he watched the people's reaction.
Looks of greed and desire surfaced on many of their faces as they attempted to count the number of coins in the pile from afar. There was at least twenty to thirty copper coins, and... And...
Something shiny stuck out from the collection of coins causing the entire crowd's eyes to grow wide as they stared with disbelief. Within the pile, was a shiny silver coin! A single silver was worth 100 copper coins alone! That could feed ordinary families for weeks, maybe even two months if used sparingly! The gazes of some men in the crowd flickered with light, and they slowly began to reach for their pouches. Suddenly, a gruff voice came from behind.
"I will!"
A burly man that was a foot taller, and three times wider than your average man walked out from behind the crowd, and placed five coppers on the table. The man lowered his back to take a closer look at the three cups. He furrowed his thick brows in deep concentration as he occasionally rubbed his bald head while intensely observing each cup one by one. The young lad couldn't help, but feel a bit anxious as he watched the burly man move from cup to cup.
"That one." The burly man finally came to a stop, and pointed at the cup furthest to the left. The young lad let out a sigh of comfort as he lifted the cup off the table revealing nothing underneath. "Close one, Sir. But it looks like you just missed it!" The young lad spoke as politely as he could while he reached out to take the five copper coins.
"Wait." The gruff voice sounded out again.
The young lad was frozen in place when he heard the burly man call out. Sweat ran down his back as he looked up to face the burly man. "Yes?" He asked with the best smile he could muster.
"One more." The burly man pointed towards the remaining two cups on the table.
The young lad inwardly complained, "Jeez, why didn't you say so in the first place? And, why is it so hot today!" He was sweating non-stop as he wiped sweat off his forehead with his patchy shirt.
"Certainly, Sir! But this time it will cost 20 coppers, not just five," he tried to sound as reasonable as possible, seeing the burly man frown. "Because, you see, since there are only TWO cups left, you have a MUCH HIGHER chance of winning. Do you still want to play?" The young lad heavily stressed to show the difference.
The burly man continued to frown as he listened. He gritted his teeth for a while before he reluctantly sighed, nodding his head. He pulled out his pouch, and added twenty coppers to the five already on the table
"That one." The burly man pointed to the cup on the far right. The young lad moved his hand over the cup to lift it up when he was stopped by a large hand.
"Wait, let me." The burly man used his large fingers to pinch the cup up only to find nothing, but air beneath. The man raised his thick eyebrows in shock, he could have sworn the ball was suppose to be under this very cup. He was certain of it, that this time he was right. Suspicious, the burly man set his eyes onto the very last cup as he moved his big arm.
Sensing something was amiss, the young lad swiftly raised the last cup revealing the ordinary looking red ball. The burly man was stunned when he saw the red ball come out from underneath the cup in the middle as if it had never moved. No matter how he thought about it, something felt off yet he could not pinpoint exactly what it was. Feeling tricked, but because the result was being shown right in front of his eyes, the burly man had no choice except to accept the fact the ball was, indeed, under the middle cup all along. Giving the young lad one last glance, he walked off despondently.
Watching the back of the burly man disappear in the distance, the young lad couldn't help, but feel a little bit of sympathy as he saw his biggest customer of the day leave. Though the burly man looked somewhat scary, he was actually a pretty nice guy.
When he turned back to the copper coins on the table, he could not help but light up in glee. "Twenty-five copper coins!" He crackly laughed. "Business is sure booming today! Wonder what's the special occasion, so many people are visiting at once. It's been a long time since I made so much money." The young lad said with joy, swooping the copper coins into his burlap sac.
"Anyone else wanna test their luck?" The young lad asked the rest of the crowd. Despite seeing the burly man's failure, many other people were still very eager to have a go as they stepped up to the plate.
"Alright, folks. Let me set the table, and I'll be right-" The young lad paused. In the corner of his eye, he could see a disturbance not too far away. Several rather beefy men with mohawks were breaking what seems to be the remains of Uncle Bai's stand. Uncle Bai was kneeling on the ground, crying as he begged a big man with a red mohawk to stop.
"Wait, why do those guys seem so familiar?" The young lad softly spoke to himself, lost in thought. He snapped his fingers in realization. "Righttt, they're the Mohawk gang! What are they doing out here in a remote-" The young lad did not finish his sentence as he rapidly began stuffing all his belongings into his burlap sac without hesitation.
The customers stood there with a blank expression on their face, confused as to what was happening. One second the stand owner said he was setting the table, and the next second he goes packing his pile of coins, everything with immense horror in his eyes as if he had seen a ghost. One kind elderly lady decided to ask the young lad out of concern, "Are you alright there, boy?"
"NO! I AM NOT ALRIGHT! I'M ABOUT TO LOSE MY LIFE!!!" The young lad cried. Everyone on the street looked at him, including the Mohawk gang.
"IT'S HIM!!! GET HIM!!!" The big man with a red mohawk yelled. Instantly several beefy mohawk men began charging towards him.
"Oh shit!" The young lad took out a large yellow straw hat, placed it atop his head, and ran off as fast as he could with a hefty burlap sac hung over his shoulder, and a table under his arm.