New York, 1995
It was a cloudy morning and rain was unusually heavily pouring; Caster upon noticing the rain stepped out immediately, from the small grocery store, to enjoy it. He caught a glimpse of a woman, probably in her mid-twenties, rushing towards the store trying to get in seeking a shelter from the rain. That woman was covering her head with a purse till she reached the store.
"Are you insane, Peter?! What's entraining about standing in the rain especially with how heavily pouring ?," she said as she entered.
He turned, and she recognized that it was not Peter.
"Oh, sorry I thought you're Peter who usually works here," she apologized then she turns left and right trying to find Peter but she didn't.
She looked at the man while he was still outside and asked,
"I can't find Peter. Where is he?"
He smirked without answering, and then he went inside and sat on the ground -- his back on the wall that's on the right side of the store-- as he was drenched from rain.
There was only one chair in the store placed in the middle of the store, and the person who sits on it faces the right side of the store,
"Take a seat Ms. Catharine. Peter is off duty today."
Sitting down she said, "Thanks you, that's kind o-…"
Before she could even finish her sentence she stood quickly, looking at him dumbfounded,
"Wait a minute! How do you know my name?! This is our first encounter!!"
He turned serious, the smirk fading from his face,
"Why are you bothered Ms. Catharine? In fact you have won the lottery total $200,000."
She felt even more dumbfounded from that, many questions came rushing in her head as she started to become a little frightened.
"I asked you, how do you know my name? Also, I didn't even participated in a lottery to win it"
He noticed the fear in her eyes, so he started to come straight to the point immediately before she tries to get out of the store,
"I'm fully aware that you hadn't won any lottery, but you'll say so after I hand you this money, to justify means. Oh, and of course, nothing is for free."
he continued his speech giving her no chance to respond. "Fine, let me tell you now what is the price; all I want is to spend one night with you, and that night has to be tonight.
Don't you agree that this money, that will save your husband from what you've gotten him into, worth sacrificing a bit of dignity, or rather sacrificing a bit of dignity for your husband,"
She got bewildered, and fear slipped in her heart, from what she had just heard and from the man's boldness. She wanted to kill him in that moment, and she had determined to do so, but she hurried out of the store and walked under the rain while she was annoyed and angry.
In her way home she was thinking of what had just happened, and after calming down a bit, she planned to pretend that she accept the offer and take the money without fulfilling his desire.
Going back to the store, she saw that Caster was still sitting on the same place on the ground.
"I knew you will come back as the rain is heavy outside. Please, sit down.
The money is under the chair, you can take it now and wait for the rain to stop," he said looking at her confidently.
She looked at him thinking of how foolish he was to give her the money and waiting to get what he wanted without any authentications.
"I came back to accept your offer, but what guarantees that I'll fulfill your desire?"
"I don't need any of that; I trust you," raising his face to the celling.
Catharine took the money and waited till the rain stop, sweating from the anxiety, although she was already drenched, her make up was coming off. She waited for thirty minutes, but those thirty minutes were the longest in her whole life till now. Then she rushed home, after the weather settled down.
Caster was still staring at the celling through those whole thirty minutes, he didn't move till he heard her leave. He stepped outside and kept watching her running as if she was trying to escape.
'It' seems that she waited all of this time to preserve the money.'
When she went out of sight, he entered the store, took the key to lock it. A customer interrupted him, "I waited a long time for the rain to stop so I can buy what I need, so do you think this is a good time to close?"
"Can't you see that I'm all wet?! I need a change of clothes and a little warmth so I don't get sick. There's another store at the end of the street, stop being lazy and go there," he replied, annoyed by the customer's words.
The customer responded angrily trying to provoke Caster, "Are you trying to make the store bankrupt driving customers out like that? I'll tell the owner to fire you."
Caster smirks, "I'M' the owner, and if you have a death wish, try to piss me off again."
This guy panicked a little bit and left without saying a word, and Caster went back to close his store.
As soon as Catherine got home, she called out her husband, "You won't believe this, David! We have just won the lottery a $200,000."
Their house consisted of a living room on the left side of the house, two rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom on the right side, and the main door was on the left side.
She was in the living room when she called David out, and he was in the kitchen.
Rushing to her, he asked," What are you talking about? "
"Here is the money, now you can pay the bank and even Steve. Now I can say we're even," putting the money on his hands.
He took the money looking at it her with doubt, "But... you didn't participate in any lottery! What have you done to get it? Didn't I tell you that it's not a big deal and I can solve this matter in just three years? We're not poor any way."
" As far as you know, I didn't participate in any lottery; I will explain but on condition, you have to start paying off the bank and Steve. You know I can't wait for that."
After she finished the sentence, she went straight towards the bathroom without giving him a chance to answer.
He called her on her way there, "Hey, we're not done talking yet."
She talked to him from behind the door because she doesn't think she can restrain her feelings any more without crying, and tears slowly come down from her eyes as she smiles.
"We'll finish when you get back here, and you won't come back until you pay off Steve and the bank."
David was worried and sensed that something was wrong, but at the same time he wanted to know what happened, so he went to the door to go out and do what she told him.
Before closing the door he told her loudly, "I hope you didn't do anything dangerous."