Traded Me for Luck

1
My caf, The Midnight Quill, opens only from 1 to 3 a.m. Were known for the Oblivion Latte.
Tonight, the bell chimed and in walked my husband, Ralph. His eyes were bloodshot. He didnt recognize me behind the mask.
I heard you can make a wish here, he said hoarsely.
He stepped closer. I want to trade my lifetime of luck.
My heart skipped. Just yesterday, Id told him my luck had run out this year. Had he really listened?
A flicker of warmth rose, but his next words froze it. In exchange, I want Daisy blessed with good fortune, always.
My blood ran cold. My name isnt Daisy. Its Mary.
Are you sure? I whispered. The name is Daisy?
Positive, he replied.
I slid the ledger and quill toward him, then turned stiffly to make the coffee. Write your name. In return, youll face lifelong misfortune.
He wrote quickly, a complex look in his eyes, and left without a word.
After he was gone, I opened the ledger. The name written wasnt his.
It was mine.
Mary.
He wasn't sacrificing his own luck. He was sacrificing mine.
It was ten past three when I finally left the caf, hurrying home as I always did. But the name Daisy echoed in my mind, a persistent, chilling whisper.
I had to fix this. Soon.
I let myself into the house. The foyer was pitch black. I was used to the darkness, my fingers finding the hallway light switch by instinct.
But as the warm, yellow light flooded the space, I froze.
My husband, Ralph, was sitting on the living room sofaa rare sight. Since our whirlwind romance had led to this convenient marriage of our two powerful families, he was almost always "busy at the office," spending most of his nights there.
He looked up, his gaze sharp. "You're back. Where have you been so late?"
I could hear the anger simmering beneath his calm tone.
"Out," I said, heading for the kitchen to get a glass of water.
"It's not safe for you to be out alone this late." His voice softened unexpectedly.
A traitorous warmth bloomed in my chest, only to be instantly frozen over by the memory of his wish.
When I didn't respond, a strange look crossed his face.
"Mary," he said, his voice much quieter now. "I'm sorry. My tone was out of line."
I watched him silently, waiting. I knew what was coming next.
Sure enough, after a brief pause, he continued. "I've cleared my schedule for the next couple of days. I have to pick up my cousin from the airport tomorrow."
"She's planning on staying for a while. It's her first time back in the country in years, and she won't know her way around. She might need you, her cousin-in-law, to help her get settled."
I turned my back to him, refusing to let him see the bitter disappointment in my eyes. He went on, listing details, big and small, of her arrival.
After a long moment, I took a deep breath. "What's your cousin's name?" I asked, my voice eerily calm.
Ralph seemed surprised by the question. "Her name is Daisy."
Thirty minutes ago, Ralph had traded my luck.
He had used my name to mortgage my future.
And now, he had canceled important meetings just to ask me to take care of her.
The irony was suffocating.
I ignored him and walked straight to our bedroom, shutting the door behind me. In the darkness, I slid down the wall, a silent, crushing grief washing over me.
The bedroom was swallowed by a dead silence. I stared at the blurry outline of the ceiling, my body heavy with an exhaustion that went deeper than sleep.
Through the not-quite-soundproof door, I heard his voice, deliberately lowered, drifting in from the living room.
"Yes, I went to that place they talk about."
A pause. The person on the other end was likely expressing their shock.
"Mary is my wife," he said, and the sound of my name from his lips no longer brought me joy, only a bone-deep chill. "Of course I'll take care of her. I'm responsible for her."
Then, his tone shifted, softening with a pity that was never meant for me.
"But Daisy she's been having such a rough time lately. Her company is in trouble, investors are pulling out, her partner betrayed her. Even her car got hit for no reason."
"She's not hurt, but she's badly shaken."
"She's never had to deal with anything like this in her entire life. It breaks my heart just hearing her talk about it."
His voice was thick with a tenderness I hadn't heard in years.
"She needs good luck. She needs things to go her way. Giving her Mary's luck it's worth it."
And what about me?
The person on the phone must have asked the same question, because Ralph's next reply was laced with impatience.
"Mary? Who cares if her luck is bad? It's already been terrible lately. Another string of bad luck won't make a difference. I'm her husband. I'll make sure she doesn't starve or freeze. I'll take care of her."
With every word, the pain in my chest sharpened. My eyes burned, but no tears would come. I lay awake all night, his casual, dismissive voice echoing in my head.
"Her bad luck won't make a difference."
The first hint of dawn was breaking when I was jolted awake by a cheerful voice outside my door.
"Ralph! Surprise! I changed my flight to an earlier one just to surprise you!"
The bedroom door swung open, and she saw me. A brilliant smile lit up her face. "You must be Mary!"
Daisy extended a hand. "It's so nice to meet you. Ralph talks about you all the time. I hope I'm not intruding."
I subtly shifted my body away, avoiding her hand.
Ralph's brow furrowed. "Mary, she's your family now. Don't you even know basic manners?"
"Sorry," I replied coolly. "My hand hurts today. I don't feel like shaking it."
My response left him speechless, his eyes flashing with reprimand. "Get dressed. We're taking Daisy to the amusement park downtown today."
He didn't ask if I wanted to go. It was an order. "Daisy loves crowds. It'll be a good way for her to relax."
A wave of absurdity washed over me. I clenched my fists. "I'm not going. I have other things to do."
I remembered my mother had left me a quill, identical to the one in the shop, but this one was special. It was for making corrections.
"Besides, amusement parks and I"
I didn't get to finish explaining my deep-seated trauma with amusement parks. He cut me off harshly.
"Mary, stop throwing a tantrum. It's just one trip to the amusement park for Daisy's sake. What's the big deal?"
My gaze turned to ice. "This is the last time."
Ralph stared at me. "What's that supposed to mean?"
I didn't explain. I changed my clothes and got into the car with them.
The atmosphere inside the car was thick with unspoken tension. I leaned against the window, determined to remain silent. But Daisy was a natural chatterbox, filling the space with stories of her time abroad.
Eventually, she turned the conversation to Ralph. "Doesn't Ralph drive you crazy sometimes, Mary? He's like my dad, always nagging me." She sighed dramatically. "I have to report everything I do to him, every single detail. Doesn't he have his own work to do?"
Oh, he was busy. He was definitely busy.
So busy he never came home. So busy that for my mother's funeral, he only sent his assistant with a check.
To me, he was a silent, unmovable iceberg, stingy with even the slightest warmth.
But for Daisy, he was a protective harbor.
The difference between being cared for and being ignored was devastatingly clear.
As we pulled into the amusement park, the faint sound of cheerful music reached us. Brightly colored balloons drifted by, and the smell of cotton candy filled the air.
Every sight, every sound, was a painful reminder of a past I tried to forget.
Daisy's excited voice seemed to reach me through a thick pane of glass. "Mary! Let's go on that one!"
She was pointing at the massive roller coaster at the center of the park. "Ralph never used to let me ride it. Will you come with me, please?"
Coasters. Cars. Tracks.
My mother had died in a car crash.
But looking at Daisy's sparkling, innocent eyes, the word "no" died on my lips. It wasn't her fault. She didn't know.
She grabbed my hand and practically skipped to the ride, pulling me along. As the safety bar clicked down, she chattered excitedly beside me.
The coaster began its slow, clanking ascent to the highest peak.
The feeling of weightlessness, the screams from the riders in front and behind usit was an assault on my nerves. I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart feeling like it was sinking into a dark ocean. My limbs grew stiff.
Just as the train plunged into a high-speed loop, it happened.
My bad luck struck.
The roller coaster stopped.
Not a gentle halt, but a violent, screeching jolt that left us dangling upside down, high above the ground.
Panic erupted. The screams of excitement turned into terrified sobs. Daisy's happy shrieks became whimpers of fear.
"Mary, I'm scared! What's happening? Are we going to fall?"
I couldn't answer her. The sudden stop had slammed my head and arm against the metal railing beside me. A searing, white-hot pain shot through me. It was agony to even move.
After fifteen minutes of chaos, rescue workers finally got us down. The pain in my arm had faded to a dull, throbbing numbness. The blood on my forehead had dried, matting my hair.
We were taken to the hospital. The emergency room was stark white, the air sharp with the smell of antiseptic. Doctors and nurses surrounded me, tending to my wounds.
Daisy's luck was almost frightening. Other than being terrified, she was completely unscathed. Her legs were so weak she could barely stand, so she just sat in a chair, waiting for me.
Suddenly, the ER doors burst open.
Ralph rushed in, breathless and disheveled, his suit jacket unbuttoned.
His eyes immediately found Daisy.
"Daisy! Are you okay? You must have been so scared! Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Ralph," she sobbed, the tears finally coming. The relief and terror of her near-death experience washed over her. "I was so scared I thought I was never going to see you again."
He pulled her into a fierce hug, his hand gently stroking her back. "It's okay. You're safe now. It's all over."
The sight of his tender care was a knife in my heart. I looked away, staring up at the fluorescent lights on the ceiling.
Only then did Ralph's gaze shift to me.
But there was no concern in his eyes. Only blame.
"Mary! What is wrong with you?" His anger was a palpable force. "Is this how you look after her? Didn't you know she has a heart condition? That she can't handle dangerous rides?"
Daisy tugged weakly at his sleeve. "Ralph, it was me"
"Don't defend her," he snapped. "Let's go. If your cousin-in-law won't take you to have fun, I will."
And with that, he led Daisy out of the room.
He never gave me a chance to explain.
Through the partially open door, I heard his voice, cold as ice.
"Stay away from her from now on. Her bad luck is contagious. You'll catch it if you're around her."
A bitter, self-mocking smile touched my lips.
The one responsible for all my bad luck was you, wasn't it?
I decided against waiting for any more treatment. I called a cab and went straight to my family's old estate.
I had to get that quill. I had to fix his mistake.

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