Mirror (by Mihi)

It´s a nice sunny Sunday evening. You are in your bathroom brushing your teeth. A voice from the radio is reading the winning numbers of this week´s lottery. You are interested, because you have bought a ticket. You are watching the ticket wondering if your numbers are lucky this time. Do you want to know how it continues? [[Yes, of course!]] [[Yes, why not?]]

Good. All the numbers match so far. Then the voice from the radio says: "And the last two numbers are... eighty one!" You look at the ticket and ... you see 81! You win 1 million euros! [[HUGE CONGRATULATIONS!]]

Do you think it is a good idea to go for a holiday somewhere abroad now, with all the global warming around? And the cost of the holiday may go far beyond your reach, $player . Even with the promise of a star prize. Don´t you want to change your mind? [[OK, I agree. ->Vacation somewhere in your own country.]] [[No. I insist. ->Vacation by the sea.]]

Your family is astonished and they absolutely love your idea of a holiday together. There is one problem, though. Your 2 children can´t agree on a type of holiday they want. One of them would like to swim and enjoy toboggans. The second child, on the other hand, would prefer some more adrenaline. It´s up to you. [[Holiday with lots of toboggans and water.]] [[Adrenaline holiday.]]

Good thinking. Everything is ready in no time. Your luggage is packed and you can´t wait to see yourselves in the hotel. You have 4 hours until the departure. Your family members are having a rest and you have time to think. There is one question in your mind: Is this the right time to tell your parents about the winning? [[Yes.]] [[No, it´s too early. I will wait until I have money.]]

WAU, a brave decision! But why not? So you book a hotel and everything is ready. 2 days before the start of your holiday the manager of the hotel calls you and says that they made a mistake and are fully booked for the next 3 months. On the top of that, you find out, that the toboggan option is not available any more. You shout out loud... ...and you wake up in your armchair. You must have dozed off. You learn that the decision about your holiday has not yet been made. So, $player , what do you decide? It´s up to you, of course. [[Holiday with lots of toboggans and water.]] [[Adrenaline holiday.]]

Oh, come on! Show some enthusiasm! We might be talking about a real fortune here. [[Yes, of course!]] [[If you think so. ->Yes, why not?]]

(set: $player to (prompt: "What's the name of our lucky winner?" , "")) $player, congratulations once again. After realizing what has happened, you call the lottery agency asking where you can get your money. They tell you they won´t be available for the following 2 weeks, so you have to wait. It is quite hurtful, but you continue celebrating and planning all the same. You start thinking what to do with such a huge amount of money. Spending them on your family sounds like a good idea. You decide to go on a holiday. Which type of vacation do you prefer? [[Vacation by the sea.]] [[Vacation somewhere in your own country.]]

Are you sure? You know how frail their health is and if anything goes wrong, they might not be able to recover from too much joy and a sudden disappointment, should they come unexpected. [[Ok, I understand.->No, it´s too early. I will wait until I have money.]] [[Yes, I am pretty sure.->Yes.]]

This is really sensible decision. Let´s tell your parents after the holiday and with money on your bank account. The vacation works wonderfully. You spend lovely days with your closest ones, far from the maddenning crowd. After 2 weeks of waiting you come to the agency to fetch your reward. The clerc congratulates you and hands you the cheque. It says: "To $player - EUR 500." [[...]]

Nice decision. But if you want to go, you need to tell your family first. [[That´s right. I´m going to tell them now.]]

You can´t belive your eyes. You start shouting and arguing. You insist they give you the promissed million. Then the words of the clerk finally reach you. How could you be so blind. You see it clearly now: (...The voice from the radio is saying the winning numbers. You are in the bathroom brushing your teeth with one hand and looking at the ticket in the other, yet the look is not directed on the ticket itself, but to its reflection in the bathroom mirror. The ending number on your ticket is not 81. It´s 18...) Thanks God you didn´t tell your parents! And thanks God you didn´t chose the expensive holiday by the sea! And you had a nice holiday, didn´t you? There´s alwas a bright side, after all.