The woman was in her early twenties. She was wrapped in a dusty, black overcoat. Her hair was a knot of browns and yellows tied into a loose braid. A long, patterned, woollen cap covered her ears.

She sat on the side of the pedestrian lane in the bleak, winter morning with a broad smile plastered across her face. The morning crowd flowed past her on the way to their livelihoods.

"Hope you have a great day!" She greeted the passing citizens, sometimes adding,  "Wanna help me with mine?"

People paid little attention to her.  Some did stop. They added some change to her money jar.

"Thank you, have a fun day, " her words were laced with the enthusiasm of a ten year old. It was catchy to most of her patrons. Those that stopped often exchanged a few words with her. 

"Hope you have a great day!" She greeted a sombre looking man passing her.

The stranger stopped and looked at her.

"Easy for you to say!" He was angry, "Get a real job."

"This is my job," She added a soft, "kind of"

"Really? You making enough money doing this?"

"Enough to get by, sir. Wanna help?"

"Help? Lazy asses like you are adding to the economy's burden!! I'm sick of people like you leading the easy life..."

"Well, too bad." She cut him off, "Hope you have a good one."

She was halfway into waving him goodbye but the man did not budge.

"Shut your trap!" He nearly barked, "Who needs your good wishes?"

"I was just hoping you..."

"Shut up! I don't want good wishes from the likes of you.  You're the cancer killing our society.  Don't you see that?"

She was not aggravated by the situation. "Are you having a bad day? We can talk if you have time."

"Oh? You doing a side gig as a roadside therapist?"

The sarcasm did not offend her. Her enthusiasm did not waver,  "Not a therapist but I hear talking about things help."

"Yeah? Well let's see if you can help me."

She focussed on him. The stranger was a tired looking man in his mid forties. The expensive suit, tie and ironed shirt he donned were an effort to distinguish him as an established man. His polished shoes were not branded. The dark circles under his eyes spoke of harried thoughts and sleepless nights.

'A middle class man trying his best to make a good impression,' she noted.

Nonetheless, he had a conceited look in his eyes that she could not place.

'A quirk of nature,' she thought, 'we'll see. '

"Ready to help?"

"Of course, "

"Okay then. Let's put it to the test. Today I'm headed to the court. My wife of twelve years filed for divorce last month," his tone added the outrage he felt towards the ungrateful woman, "She's claiming half of the business we build together and custody of our only son. She's threatening to never let me meet him again. "

She watched closely as the man spoke. His brows furrowed in frustration at the mention of the business. When it came to the son, the creases smoothened.  He had mentioned the child as a non negotiable part of the bigger problem.

"Well? Do you think you can help?"

"Hmm... what's the worst part of this?"

"You're an airhead, aren't you? That's your way of comfort?" The man spat the words with every bit of venom he could muster.

"I didn't mean it like that. I'm just curious. What's worse? Losing your partner? Losing the business or the custody of the boy?"

"Well, obviously it's the bu..." he stopped,  "the boy.  Losing custody of our son. Can't you imagine how a parent feels?"

She sighed at the mediocre lie.

"What's that?! You think I'm lying?"

"I didn't say that," She pulled out something from her coat, "Here, take this."

The man hesitated a second before taking the object from her. It was made of plastic and shaped like a credit card. On one side it said, 'Shirane'.

On the back was a number - 5007. There was an expiry date below it - today's date.

"Your card? This your name? It'll expire soon. "

"Listen up. I'm lending it to you till midnight. " The traces of her smile were gone leaving an empty pair of gray eyes, "Keep it on you. If something bad happens to you, the number on the card will go up. If you really want something good to happen, just think about it and when it happens check the number on the back. After the good thing happens, the balance will decrease. Make sure the number is not negative when you return it to me. "

"Is this a joke?" As the man turned the card over in his hand, he re-read the name. It now said "Guy Carter".

"How'd you get my name? Are you a magician? Are we on camera?"

"I just told you, it's yours for the day. "

"Hell no! This is crazy! I'm not taking it, weirdo!"

"If you don't take it how am I supposed to prove I can help?" Her voice was innocent and sugary but her eyes were still emotionless.

The man was about to refuse but something told him he would not. He was too curious.

"Alright. What if I don't use it?"

"Good for you but I'll still want it back."

"What if I use it accidentally on something I don't want?" He had to get his facts straight.

"Won't happen. It'll ask for a clear yes for the thing to happen."

"And what happens if it's in negative when I return it?"

"Something bad equivalent to what you owe will happen."

The businessman in him was starting to calculate things. The terms seemed explicit. If this was more than a prank he could use it to his advantage but he still needed more information. There could be a hidden condition somewhere.

"Suppose I use it to take back my bu... my boy's custody. How much do you think it'll cost?"

"That depends on how precious he is to you. The more important it is the more points you have to spend. I've seen a woman spend over 90000 points when she used it to wake her comatose mother. And one time a guy fell down the stairs and broke a leg. He came back with 170000 points."

Guy thought it over.  He equated in his mind, bodily harm earned more points than altruism could spend. He was interested. The card was worth a try.

Since you insist, I'll take it for now."

"'kay then, good luck." The expressionless face was masked once more with a cheerful smile , "Have a great day then!"

******

Guy stopped by the cafe to pick up a latte before booking a cab. The morning queue was long. He reached the counter after almost twenty minutes of waiting. As he finished his order and was about to pay, he pulled out Shirane's card from his pocket.

He was about to put it back when he saw the number on the back - 5020. It had increased while he was waiting in line. So even simple things like being late counted as a bad thing.

He was so distracted by the triumphant discovery that he grabbed the wrong coffee.

"Oi! Hey mate! That's mine," someone called.

Guy had already taken a sip. It was an ice cream frappe. Who drinks frappe in winter!

"You gotta pay for that!" The other man demanded.

"You have to be careful about leaving your order on the counter," he countered without facing the stranger, "You can have mine, at least it's sensible."

The other man was not amused by the gesture. "You can shove yours down your throat! Look mate, just pay for mine and we're good."

Guy looked at the man. He was a buff, tall man in his thirties. He stood defiant, with one hand clutched in his pocket and the other held out. The insidious tattoo on his right arm looked familiar. The threatening posture made it clear that his opponent was on the last legs of patience.

"Pay up,"

Guy thought of the card at this time. He remembered that physical damage paid a lot of points and he did value his own body. Why not test the truth?

He took a gamble on the situation.

"I'm not paying, but you can have yours back," he threw the remaining contents of the cup on the man's face.

"What the hell?!!!" The man was yelling now, "You'll pay for that one! You better watch your back."

By then the coffee shop owner had alerted the security.

The man left the room before the guard could catch him.

The guard grabbed Guy by the shoulder, "Sir, you need to step out too"

"I'm going, damn it! A man can't get a latte in peace," Guy yanked his shoulder free and walked out of the store.

Once outside, he checked to make sure no one was looking. The belligerent stranger from earlier was nowhere to be seen.

Guy sighed. He had expected it to turn into a fight but at least he must have gained some points from that.

He took out Shirane's card and checked the balance - 105020.

He rechecked to make sure it was not a mistake. Evidently he had faced something dangerous and escaped by the breadth of a hair. That stranger he picked a fight with might have been with the mob.

He was not sure what action to take next. The high balance worried him but he still had to get to court.

*****

Guy was nervous.

The divorce settlement was taking a favorable turn. If the case ended in his favour, would it use up his card balance?

His near fight with the stranger had added one hundred thousand points. It was unbelievable. Things were still looking good for him.

The beggar girl had told him the card required his consent to spend the points. What if she had lied? She was a devil in disguise! She might have tricked him.

He could not concentrate on the words being spoken.

"Mr Carter, do you agree with these figures?" His advocate questioned.

"Y...yes, that is correct,"

"Your Honour, you may see by joint evidence, Mrs Carter's involvement in the business is limited to her contributing investment of 7.95% of the initial assets. Even considering her emotional support, putting her in a controlling stake is irrational and unfair to my client."

Guy could only hear bits and pieces of the droll. His mind was lost in the labyrinth of fear. He let his curiosity take the upper hand and now he had involved himself in something unnatural. How could he have been so stupid?

He imagined the worst. The stranger would come back to hurt him. Maybe he would get serious injuries. There could be a big jolt of consequences. That tattoo was too familiar - perhaps of some gang he had seen on TV.

"The jury will now take the time to converge on the decision."

The jury exited the room.

His advocate joined him in the chair next to his. He huddled closer and whispered conspiratorially,  "Don't worry Mr Carter. They'll reduce the settlement to below 10% of the stakes. As for your son, the jury can see what you need. Things will turn out the way you want. You can take it easy now. "

Guy nodded not feeling the implied elation. His mouth was dry. His heart was pounding.

The jury returned to the room in just ten minutes. They had converged on the decision.

"This court finds the plaintiff's claims on the business parternership unsubstantiated..."

The words pierced Guy through the heart. With every statement, the ruling came closer to his desired results.

*****

"I was almost cent percent sure of joint custody." The young advocate sounded apologetic, perhaps in a voice too loud to fit the scene.

He looked ashamed of the results as though it were a personal failure and not something Carter had surreptitiously planned with him.

In fact, everything had happened as planned. On any other day, this should have prompted celebrations. Today,  Carter did not know how to feel.

He excused himself early and decided to go home.

Guy Carter was too keen a businessman to care for emotional things like a divorce. The entirety of his case was arranged around preventing his now ex-wife from gaining any foothold in his business.

They had subverted his expectations. Mrs Carter would receive her settlements in cash in lieu of the company stakes that she had demanded. Even better, their son was to be placed in her sole custody. Once the procedures would be completed,  with that woman and her brat out of the way, Guy would be a free man.

None of it would matter, however, if he  did not live to see it!

As soon as he returned home, Guy took out the card and looked at it.

105020.

Nothing had changed. The balance was safe. He had to spend the next few hours indoor and return the card as soon as he could. After that, he would be free!

He threw off his outer garments and lay down in bed. Soon he drifted off to sleep.

*****

Guy awakened to a persistent knocking on the front door.

For a moment, everything was numb. He could not remember anything. As he recalled the events of the day, a sense of chill creeped into his heart.

He looked at the alarm clock on his nightstand. 23:28. There was just about half an hour left to return the card!

He pulled on his clothes and ran to the door. He felt for the card in his pocket as he looked at the door cam.

The beggar girl from that morning was waiting outside. How did she find him?

"Who's there?" Guy called over the answering machine.

"I came to take the card back" She called, "Open up."

Considering the events of the day, was not surprised to see her, "Yeah, coming."

He opened the door. The girl held out her hand asking for the card.

"Thanks," said Guy, "I didn't even need to use it."

"That's great," She took the card, "You've still got some time. Want to use it?"

"Nope, all good."

"Great! It's at 105020. That's a lot! Did you get experimental?"

"No way, just a regular good day."

"Glad you had a good one. Bye then."

The girl took the card and left. Guy closed the door in relief.

Now he was free!

*****

"Oi, girl!"

A man called out from a black car. He looked well-built. There were two other men in the car with him.

Shirane stopped, "Me?"

"Yeah you. Any idea where a Guy Carter lives around here?"

"Sure. Drive down till you reach the cross road. Turn left. Third house on the right. You can't miss."

"'Right, gotcha" and the man drove away.

Shirane took out the card. It still had Guy's name on it. On the reverse side, the balance read 375020.

"Maybe I should go and return the card to him,"

She pulled out a dilapidated pocket watch on a golden chain from her overcoat. 12:00.

"Too late," She whistled, "Guess I'm keeping the balance."

The card still showed the existing balance but the expiry date was gone. On the other side, the name had changed - Shirane.