THE TALISMAN

W hen I was 5, I pulled out a rolled up green slip of paper from a pool of green slips in a local raffle, with every bit of excitement unrolling it with the size of hopes of someone who had just watched the giant flying dog in Never Ending Story, I didn't know my luck, when I opened it to find that it was... blank. The raffle maestro handed over the tiniest porcelain pig with a four leaved clover and a lady bug painted on each side, and a cotton string to have it around my neck to bring me luck another time. That little medallion, made it to every single test or exam afterwards, holding on to the firm belief it was lucky, made me stronger for it. For this...