larrakin stepped back from the porch
craning his neck for signs of life behind the curtains
after a while he walked round the side of the house
and peered over the fence
'lisa!'
'i'm not interested larrakin
i don't want your money'
'that's not why i'm here
can't i just talk to you?'
since the big draw
one by one
in subtly different ways
larrakin's relationships with people had all changed
looking back
everything seemed so blissfully simple
there had been good stuff and bad stuff
the good times and the fallings out
but there was pretty much a level playing field
a commonality that had glued everyone together
kept everything from unravelling
but now all that had gone
a gulf had opened up between larrakin and the others
a gaping chasm that framed every conversation
every meeting
every interaction
a faultline traced in a long line of zeros
envy
greed
resentment
guiltemotions that larrakin had barely comprehended before
now loomed large
it was johnno who had hurt him the most
when larrakin mentioned the bungalow by the sea
'no thank you larrakin
i don't want any of your bigshot fucken money!'
johnno's reaction had shaken larrakin
he understood and he didn't understand
he was angry and he was sympathetic
he thought of lisa
she was the one person he hadn't heard from since the draw
it was lisa who had helped him win the money
and it was lisa who would help set him free
'this is totally mad larrakin!'
they trudged across the sand
dragging the heavy sacks behind them
until finally they collapsed out of breath in the twilight
and lay silently watching the rippling sea
'are you really sure you wanna do this?'
'i just want my old life back lisa
i just want things back the way they were
before all the crap came along...'
one by one
they emptied the sacks
tipping the contents into a big pile
'a toast to the good old days!' lisa laughed
they flicked their lighters
and watched the paper flare into flame
lighting up the beach
'to the future!' shouted lisa
'to the future!' echoed larrakin
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