I had always dreamt of winning a lucky draw, but never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined myself winning a car.

It came suddenly. There I was, sitting in the living room watching the latest episode of “Friends” and laughing my heart out. Joey, a character in the sitcom, was about to crack a joke when, of course, due to the perfect timing, the phone rang. I flung my hands in the air as frustration over came me. Anticlimax, I thought as I dashed to answer the call.

I greeted the caller rather impolitely.

” Uh, hello. Is this the residence of Miss Marianne Hui?” said the caller in a hesitant tone.

I must admit, I was rather shocked by that formal response, but wanting to seem calm and collected, I replied in my best English accent, ” Yes of course. May I know who is that on the line?”

” Oh that’s wonderful. I’m Miss Lee from the Singapore Toys’ R Us Corporation. I’d like to congratulate you on being our first-prize winner for our Annual Lucky Draw! You’ve won yourself a brand new car! That’s not all, it’s currently the only one in Singapore – The CLK-Class Cabriolet SLR Mercedes-Benz!”

I felt my heart skip a beat. I was shut out of reality. All I saw was my dream car. The CLK-Class Cabriolet Mercedes-Benz. I was momentarily stunned. My jaw dropped wide open, showing every single tooth in my humongous mouth. I was snapped out of my reverie when I dropped the phone. I pinched myself with all the strength I had, only to fall back into my chair, whimpering in pain. All right, so I was in the real world. Now what? For a split second, I doubted the fact that I had really won a car. Could it be some silly prank?

After a long conversation and a convincing clarification that I had really won, I hung up. I was still in a daze as I pondered over my stroke of good luck. I felt ecstatic, but deep down inside, something was holding me back. Something was keeping me from painting the town red. Could it be a prank? Could they have made a mistake? I was still steeped with doubts.

I finally decided to let my hair down and go wild. I jumped on every single bed in the house, screaming and squealing uncontrollably in delight, just like some lunatic who had just been admitted to Woodbridge Mental Hospital. Of course, I was the only one at home. My heart raced. I could not wait to tell my family about it. I felt so blessed. Indeed, God had rewarded me for all my hard work. My parents would be so proud of me!

I pictured myself sitting in the front seat, with everyone admiring me with gaping mouths. At a traffic junction, when the light turned green, I hit the accelerator and sped off, leaving all those snails behind. I glowed with delight.

Unfortunately for me, I did not have a driving license. All my dreams faded away and a wave of anguish swept over me. One day, I thought. One day.

After the excruciatingly long wait, my family came home. At the dinner table,I blabbered on and on uncontrollably, leaving my food untouched. All of them stared at me in disbelief. The place was eerily silent, as if all of them had been struck dumb. They finally came to their senses, which called for a double celebration. The next day, we headed for the Raffles’ Convention Centre to collect our car. I was shaking from head to toe, obviously unable to control my excitement.

Miss Lee met us and asked us to follow her. In front of a large crowd, she congratulated me. I was confused. My mind was in a whirl. Where was the car I had been waiting for?

She took a box on the table and opened it, her back facing me. As she turned, my smile evaporated.

I stared at the mini car model in utter disbelief.

” It’s all I’ve ever wanted……..” I said as I felt myself burst into tears.