Day 7: YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY WON

You have received a believable-looking, business-sized white envelope in th mail. The return address is from a company called Peerless. Printed on the envelope, in bright red letters, are the words "You May Have Already Won." Tell the story of what it is you may have won - or what is is you didn't win. Tell what you do with this envelope.

Start with "Life takes some funny twists and turns...

...just this morning, I was so depressed over the news that we didn't get the project that would have assured me a job for the next five years. My chest was beginning to tighten, and I almost didn't mind the persistent ringing of the doorbell. It was the courier of DHL. When I finally came to, as it were, I got up to get the door. I needed to sign something. It looked like the typical envelope from Reader's Digest with the big red letters screaming "you may have won". This time though, it was different. Envelopes like these are popped into the mailbox. I had to sign for it and had to show some identification. Unusual requirement for junk mail. But then, I thought, it's just another marketing ploy. By asking for IDs, the recipient will pay attention to the envelope being delivered. After much hesitation (and as much cynicism), I opened the envelope, purely out of curiosity. For such an important notice, the body of the letter itself was too long, it could easily be mistaken as trash. That was a big mistake the marketing people made.

So after reading the letter twice over, I realized, I had won a really big prize; and I couldn't even recall at once what contest it was I joined. I won a 2-year scholarship at a European University. Guess for what course: a master's degree in Accountancy! Of all things...