Have you ever felt that today was the day you would meet your destiny?  When I awoke that Saturday morning, I knew that today was going to change my life.  There was no question in my mind.  The stars themselves had promised me that the week was going to be special for me, and here it was, almost over, and it had been the usual humdrum kind of week, and now there was only today for the prediction to come true.

Contrary to normal behaviour, I almost leapt out of bed and into the shower.  As I treated myself to my Guerlain shower gel, kept only for the most special occasions, I planned my day.  Breakfast at Macdonald's would be nice, followed by a morning movie at that new cinema complex in Fremantle.  Oh, better not forget to put my Lotto on, that might be the way my life was destined to change.  Then after lunch, I might go looking for that new pair of shoes I've been promising myself.  Look out day, here I come!

As I slid onto the seat at Miss Maud's, still under the spell of the Jedi Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, in the latest 'Star Wars' blockbuster,  I felt my foot touch something.

Can't they keep this place tidy?  I wondered in annoyance.  How dare they screw up my perfect day?

I soon changed my mind when I saw what was littering the floor. 

The brown leather shape proved to be a wallet.  This was it!  My destiny!  Scooping it from the floor, I just had to take a peek inside, and was staggered to  find a lot of money in there.  The large menu made a good shield as I took it out and counted it.  Five thousand dollars, what a haul!  What couldn't I do with that?

I spent it all in five seconds flat, then my puritanical upbringing took over. 

I knew I should hand it over.

Why should I, finder's keepers. 

It's not your money, give it back. 

He shouldn't have been so careless, if he needed the money as much as I did, he would have taken more care of it. 

Can you really take happiness from somebody's loss of a small fortune? 

Damned right I can! 

I'll never speak to  you again as long as you live! 

Oh, all right.

Feeling like a prize fool, I caught the eye of a waiter.  'I found this under my table.  I'm going to take it to the Fremantle Police Station.  If the owner should happen to come back to look for it, tell him where it is.'

There, now you can't change your mind, I told myself, and put my  plans for a gourmet lunch on the back burner.  The wallet weighed as heavily as my mood as I trudged through the streets.  By the time I reached Henderson Street, the only thing that kept me pointed in the right direction was the knowledge that if I didn't do the right thing, I would never dare return to my favourite restaurant.

After handing over the wallet and giving my details to the sergeant on duty, I indulged in a small daydream in which the wallet contained drug money, so the loser wouldn't dare claim it,  and one day it would all be mine.  A belated prediction is better than none, I suppose.  It wasn't until then that the possibility of a reward for its return crossed my mind.  A couple of hundred bucks might be a reasonable reward for $5000.  That would mean a decent pair of shoes instead of the usual $10 K Mart specials!

A whiff of aftershave brought me from my dream, and I noticed a man standing beside me.  He had all the right stuff in all the right places, and was gorgeous to boot, with a classic profile topped by a mop of brown curly hair.  'I've got to get me one of those!'  I thought.

As I reluctantly turned to leave, the words 'lost wallet' echoed through the reception area, and looking back, I saw the desk sergeant pointing to me as he said something to the hunk at the counter.  If you have ever gone to jelly under the gaze of a complete stranger, then you will know how I felt right then.

This was it!  This was my prediction coming true.  Not money, but HIM!  He'd be so overwhelmed at my honesty that he'd take me out to dinner somewhere romantic, and we'd talk the night away.  We'd become an item and end up sailing around the world in his yacht.  I could see it now, me, Mrs Gorgeous Handsome Stranger.

'You found it?' he asked.  I nodded, too dumbstruck to say anything.

'Thank Heaven for that!' he exclaimed.  'My wife would have killed me.  That was the deposit for our new home.  How can I ever thank you?'

I was glad he couldn't see the ashes of my dreams surrounding my feet.  I should have known that a hunk like that would be spoken for.  Then his next words shattered my illusions, and made me glad some other woman had to put up with him.

'I know, I put my Lotto on this morning.  You must take my ticket as a thank you.'

My jaw dropped in unison with the sergeant's at such blatant stinginess.  As the man turned to start dealing with the paperwork necessary to claim his wallet,  I ungraciously thrust the Lotto ticket into my pocket and headed out the door.

My euphoric mood had evaporated, and all thoughts of my gourmet lunch gone.  This wonderful day had lost its sparkle, so I headed for the bus stop.  Next time, I vowed, I'd keep the wallet and to hell with my conscience!

After a boring sandwich lunch, a nothing afternoon and a boring tea, I watched the news on TV, then the Lotto came on, and I remembered Scrooge's reward.

OK, one last chance for the day, maybe this was finally going to be it.  As the announcer read out the numbers, my enthusiasm started to kick back in again.  Nothing in Super Sixty Six.  Never mind, onto the big one, a Two million dollar jackpot tonight.  Wouldn't it be great if I came up big, teach old Scrooge a thing or two.  I'd get his name from the Cop shop and write him a nice sweet little note telling him how much he had missed out on because of his meanness.  His wife would kill him for sure!

Line 1, 2 numbers.  Lines 2, 3 and 4 nothing.  Lines 5 and 6 1 number each.  Line 7, 2 and a supp.  Line 8 nothing.  Line 9 3.  Line 10 and 11, 2.  Line 12 (come on, please!) 3 and a supp.  Bloody hell, a measly 15 or 16 bucks.  Hardly worth spending the bus fare to pick it up.

Better check mine now, probably the usual miserable nothing.  Yes, line 1, only 2 numbers.  All the way down, just the usual garbage.  So much for stupid horoscopes!  They suck.  Strangers suck.  Consciences suck.  Lotto sucks.  I should have stayed in bed!