Ben always had a peculiar sense of foreboding, a whisper in his mind reminding him that death was ever-present, lurking just beyond the veil of his everyday life. Yet, remarkably, his existence was relatively untouched by calamity. From a young age, his parents often commented on his extraordinary luck. They would shake their heads in wonder when he emerged unscathed from mishaps that should have left him bruised or broken.
At the age of five, Ben fell from a tree in the backyard, landing in a way that should have broken his arm. Instead, he stood up with only a few scratches, grinning as if nothing had happened. In high school, he walked away from a car accident that totalled his friend’s jeep, emerging from the wreckage with no more than a minor cut on his forehead. His friends and family began to see him as charmed, believing that nothing could truly harm him.
Ben’s luck held through college and into adulthood. He navigated through life with a sense of cautious optimism, never fully succumbing to the paranoia that death was waiting for him. Instead, he focused on the moments of grace, the instances where fate seemed to favour him. He met Lily, the love of his life, on a rainy afternoon when he decided to take a different route home from work. Their relationship blossomed, and they married in a small, joyous ceremony surrounded by friends and family.
Years passed, and Ben continued to live a life marked by fortune. He started his own business, which thrived despite the odds, and he and Lily welcomed two children into their lives. His days were filled with laughter and love, the shadows of his early fears receding further into the background. Yet, he never entirely forgot the feeling that death was watching him, waiting for a moment of carelessness or bad luck.
