‘A real man makes his own luck’. I saw the Titanic in my teens and this line stuck. When something goes wrong, we blame it on bad luck, but when something clicks, we take due credit for it; don’t we? I don’t remember the last time I gave it much credit or blamed it for something going wrong. No juju. But then I did have lucky pens during exams and lucky earrings for special occasions. While I did not believe it would get me more marks, I was scared of not sticking to them. Luck or fear? 

He didn’t believe in luck. But it was an interview and he didn’t want to jinx it. So, he put on the same shirt in which he had aced the entrance exam. He picked up the same pen and told his mom to fix the same breakfast of dosa. He stood in front of god and chanted the shloka that he didn’t understand. He just knew that he is allowed to chant and ask for something in return. The result arrived. And it was not good. He thought as much! The damn dosa had been slightly burnt!

Pringo was a stag. He had beautiful antlers that reached gloriously to the sky. But he was always getting them stuck in tree branches. Freya, his mean doe friend, mocked him constantly. She would butt from behind just to push him into thickets so he could get stuck. One day as they were racing, Freya saw Pringo taking the lead, and shoved him sideways into a hidden nest of trees. As an agonized Pringo struggled to set himself free, he heard a gunshot. Freya never came back and Pringo remained hidden and stuck until the hunters disappeared.