On Freaky Friday, I Entered My Promised Land..

This piece is laid down for the weekly Freaky Friday contest organized by Pete.

Are you a blogger and you think your works are not getting the required recognition, this contest is just one of two organized weekly by Pete to help expose and reward you for your works... For more information, check the link below...

https://scorum.com/en-us/poker/@pete/wow-freaky-friday-november-23-2018

It is normal in life that people tend to appreciate and lurk around you when you are wealthy, popular and well to do in life with very few seeking answers to how you attained that colossal height...

I am Austin, and at just 25, I am the richest young man in my city, not only was I rich, my reputation precedes me to every hook and corner in my country and beyond. At just 25, I have been opportuned to go places I never dreamt of going, meet people I never dreamt of meeting, in fact, the only thing left for me to do at my current age is "Own The World", this is how great I am...

STORY OF MY LIFE..

People acknowledge me for who I am, I get incessant praises, my social media accounts are flooded with messages of fans, some asking for financial help, some seeking intimate relationships and so on, I have never seen someone ask me how I got to the top, how I overcame the inevitable down's of life, how I weathered the storm, if any, it was not until I had an interview with a popular Sport cryptosystem platform named Scorum, there I was asked the question of how I made it this far in life, I was prompted to reminisce my struggles and in a nutshell, I gave my answers and wished I had the time and opportunity to air everything that happened to me in details even in the midst of tears. After that encounter with Scorum, I sit down on my bed this very day to put down my thoughts and memories in words...

HOW I SURVIVED THE WILDERNESS AGAINST ALL ODDS...

Growing up was one of the stages I regretted experiencing in life to a point I wished I was never born. Till this very day, remembering it still sends shivers down my spine and I get the feeling of "what if I find myself in such situation again?"..

I was born with a silver spoon, two years after my birth, Dad was duped by a close and trusted family relative and he lost everything he ever owned to court cases and to security officers. Gradually, we lost virtually every asset of ours and had to relocate with Mum abandoning her life. Dad, Mom and my elder siblings started life all over again at our new place, it wasn't easy at the very least even though I was bereft of the happenings when it was at its early stages, I experienced the hardships and had marked signs on my skin as a result of a wooden stick falling on me from the roof on a very breezy evening, so I was told, coupled with several other stories I was told.

Dad managed to find something doing and Mom followed suit, it wasn't enough to sustain feeding, house rent, the school fees of my elder ones and other expenses. Due to the exorbitant rate of untold hardship, I remained unschooled for most part of my life. I had to sacrifice schooling for my elder ones to attend and so we should eat little ration of two square meals daily and any day we get to eat three, it was counted as the happiest day of our lives.

Each passing day, I would stay at home with Mom and help her with preparing the stuffs she takes off to be sold when my elder siblings return from school and I go out to play with the kids. There was something about me that awed everyone that watched me play with the kids, I wasn't schooled but I was brilliant, virtually every game we play has seen me outsmart my fellow kids.

MY BREAKTHROUGH...

I never knew not going to school would turn out to be a blessing in disguise, those moments my mates were in school learning, I was busy at home practicing games that would end up becoming the turning point in my life. I will be laying my emphasis on the game Poker, not just because it was the game that walked me to the path of greatness in life, it was the game I enjoyed most with friends.

While growing up, I would be seen trying out fun games with friends of rich parents.. There was this particular friend we normally go over to their house for poker games, I would always outsmart them with my calculations and remained the undisputable Poker champion. On a very good, bad day, I won flawlessly and I lost my friends baselessly.

They could no longer stand me winning them all the time and getting to laugh my way home while they frown. Coupled with my not well to do family, I was insulted and told to stay away from them. The rest of the day was a sad one, who would I play with tomorrow and how else am I going to play the game I loved so much? I went home crying. On getting home, I went straight to my room and cried bitterly, I refused eating and I was reported to my Mom when she returned, Mom inquired what was wrong and I explained everything to her, she consoled me and promised to find me other friends to play with, what she couldn't understand is, my greatest pain lieth not in the lost friends but in the lost opportunity of playing poker ever again. I managed to eat something and cheer up with the help of my siblings.

As time went by, I started having strange dreams, I see myself in the midst of people that wore the old Egyptian attires, we all surrounded a big large table. What baffles me most in that dream is, we were playing poker. I would wake and wonder what kinda dream that is, could it be that my undying and inexplicable love for poker is beginning to get me nuts. After about 2 weeks or sometimes, a month, I will see myself in the same place, with the same people doing the same thing. I began getting suspicious superstitiously, I reported the constant dreams to my Mom, she asked for how long I have been experiencing such, I told her ever since I lost my friends and I was aged 14 then, now at 19 I am still having the same dreams of poker.

Mom sat me down and told me the story of my Great grandfather, he was a very strong and calculative man and as such, was very good in Poker. He died of poison prior to the day he would compete in the Poker Series, they were reports it was plotted and executed by his rivals..

I looked at my Mom with a confuzzled expression, so many thoughts were going through my mind, "Could I be destined to be what my Great grandfather couldn't?" "Could those men with Egyptian attires in my dream be gods?" Could my inexorable poker dreams be a sign that I am destined to play Poker with the human gods of Poker?" I looked on speechless and in a world of my thought, until my Mom broke me loose with her final words, "so, my son, it seems Poker is your calling". I sighed and told her not to worry, I assured her it is all gonna be fine.

I couldn't get the thought of everything that has happened out of my head, I desperately wanted to play poker, not because I aspire to be a god in it but simply because I enjoy playing it, it helps me think deep and strengthen me in my weakness.

I decided to start visiting Poker joints, at first, I would go and watch, enjoy the games and go home. I kept going without involving myself with the intentions of making friends with the workers there before making my real intentions known. After about 3 months of my weekend arrivals, I decided to let out my main motive to Sam, who was a worker, and one of my friends there, he laughed quite loud upon hearing me say I can be able to challenge those men on the table. He looked at me a second time and laughed real hard. I stood there relaxed with my elbow on the shelf we were leaning on smiling. Next, I told him to halt and watch, I pointed a guy at him and told him that he will win the round, he was about laughing again before I dragged him by the hand and pointed him straight at the game, we both watched on with intent as the guy I picked as the winner won the round, he looked at me surprisingly and I smiled and turned to face the bar man. Sam went like, "how did you know that?" "Well it was just a lucky guess". I turned to him and after giving him this serious look I chuckled and then faced the game. I watched the men playing the ongoing round and pointed the next winner again, surprisingly to them, I picked the right winner. This was no longer funny to them as the bar man also watched in awe, again Sam allowed his emotion get the best of him, "Dude, what the f**k are you doing here?" "You should be sitting with them at that table!" I smiled and said, "I wish I could."

Immediately, he took me to the owner of the poker house and narrated what just happened. The owner, a middle-aged man with much looks than talks,I bet he can tell who is a good poker player from just looks, probably because of his years of experience. He looked at me for about half a minute before telling me to go wait at the bar. After few minutes, he came out and called me over to the table, he requested I will be joining the next round and staked a sum on me. I quietly sat, quite nervous. I managed to remember the last words of my Mom after I narrated my dream to her and picked courage from there.

The next round started and it took me not too long to stamp my authority as I won the round with having the best five-card Poker hand. Everyone was impressed, including Mr Tom, my sponsor. He sat at a corner smiling, like he already knew I would earn him a fortune that night, of which I did.

The day went by and everyone gradually left the house, Mr Tom asked me to his office, on arriving there, he offered me a sit. Next he asked which college or institution I attend, I faced down and sadly replied "none". He raised his head from the books he was arranging and gave me a perplexing look. He further asked why and I narrated my pitiful story to him. After listening to me and the atmosphere died down for some seconds, he sighed and got up, stretching out his hands for a handshake saying "Well, young man, your life is about to change for the better". He further requested I come see him early tomorrow morning as he will be taking me to register for the next local Poker tournament. I couldn't thank him enough, I went home dancing all the way, I couldn't wait to reach home to broadcast the wonderful news to my family, especially my Mom.

When I got home, I saw Mom, Dad and my other siblings on the dinning, I greeted them with enough joy, went over and kissed both Dad and Mom, nobody but Mom noticed something was up and kept looking at me lost in thoughts. Instead of asking how my day went or requesting I go freshen up or at best, I join them in eating, she called me by my name:

Mom: Austin, what is it?

Me: (Chuckles) What is what Mom? " I replied laughing ".

Mom: Sweetheart, you have forgotten I am your Mom and what that means, you can't hide things from me which is one of them..

Me: (Laughs) Alright, alright..

I sat down and told them what happened at the Poker house and they were all amazed and happy for me. My Dad gave me the most encouraging words I needed to hear by telling me he was very proud of me, I could see the tears wanting to force themselves into his eyes because I have been very well cognizant of the fact that whenever Dad looks at me, he sees his failure as a Father and I just wish he doesn't think that way..

THE START OF SOMETHING NEW..

The next morning being Friday, turned out to be the BEST Friday ever in my life, it kick started my journey to greatness. Mom couldn't wait to wake me up and demand I get prepared for my appointment as first impression of punctuality connotes seriousness. I got up, did everything that demanded my attention and got prepared. On getting to the poker house, I met Mr Tom and we greeted pleasantly. He demanded I wait for him while he prepared some documents, after few minutes we were set on our journey to the Poker tournament station.

He registered my name and him as sponsor, it was the start of something new for me and my family, I knew the story of I and my family was about to change for the better, I never believed Poker that I almost stopped playing because of selfish and jealous friends who turned out to be stumbling blocks would become my stepping stone.

The tournament came and ended with me as champion, from there I went on to play more exposed and popular Poker series and tournaments until I got to the World Poker Series tournament. In my poker life, I won more than I lost and I did not only change my life for the better, I changed that of my family, loved ones and of course, Mr Tom. Till date, Mr Tom remains a very important part of my family and I became a renowned Poker Champion.

THANKS FOR READING...