The Jackpot

Ching ...whirrrrr...

They hear it. All of them. And it pulls them in. Like the sound of sirens that enchanted Oddysseus' men a zillion years ago...For who am I but a siren?

I see them day by day, spending hours at my altar. Praying, cajoling, wishing, hoping and at times even bribing. Just this once they say and just a quarter. We'll give half to charity, they say. Hah! Long forgotten claims.

I've seen them come and go, getting older and younger in front of my eyes. No one's free of my allure. They see the glittering lights, the inviting images and they think that today just might be their day. Ching...whirrrr... and they seek synchronisation...a match somewhere for that elusive prize- the jackpot.

How naive, I think, as I watch them. How naive.

And then there are those that refuse- they deny the urge, that they shan't fall under my spells again. And just when they assume that they stand safely on the shore, the wave comes, inching the sand away from beneath their feet and lets the riptide pull them in. Deep.

There are Gods and there are Gods. Me? I am but a temple wherein the God resides.

The only God that matters.