New York City, New York – 1987 – Mayfair Club
There was a comfort in the sounds of dice rolling, cards
shuffling, and people whispering in the night. No one said more than a few
words at a time. They simply focused on the task at hand in this dimly lit
room. On a normal night, I would have enjoyed on my time here and gambled the
night away with strangers; however, this was not a normal night. This was the
night I gambled my entire life away.
My night started off like any other night. I waited until
all the lights went out in the Pandava mansion and made sure my family was fast
asleep before I snuck out. After taking the subway from the Upper East Side to
Downtown, I weaved my way through the New York night life down an alleyway
toward the secret entrance of the Mayfair Club – the largest and best underground
casino known to man. Being a poker man myself, I naturally gravitated toward the
table, playing the game strategically and growing a newfound fortune quickly.
As the night grew old, I felt stares and heard loud
whispering in the corner of the room. The sources of the noise were Dominic
Kaurava, owner of the club, and Santiago, the best craps player on the east coast.
Not wanting to pay them any mind, I continued my poker game. That is, until I
heard a loud booming voice.
YURIEL! I CHALLENGE
YOU TO A GAME OF DICE!, said the one and only Santiago.
The entire club was silent. Not one word was spoken as
everyone’s eyes waited in anticipation for my reaction. However, I am a
Pandava; I am a noble man; I am a man who does not back down from a challenge.
I stood from the table, and accepted the challenge with honor. Then, we began making
our way to the craps table. Underground, we play street craps. Choosing our
respective numbers and placing our bets. Round after round, I saw my life
change before my eyes as each dice rolled.
First, I lost my fortune from the night’s poker table. Next,
I lost my family’s trust fund, my golden Lamborghini, and my butlers and maids.
Then, I lost my entire Pandava mansion except for some land. Nevertheless, I am still a man who does not back down from a challenge. No matter the cost, I will never
taint the Pandava name and must prove my worth and win! Therefore, I ignored
those around me, telling me to cease playing and forfeit the challenge.
I should have stopped. I should have never let my pride get
in the way. I should have left. One by one, I bet and lost myself and all my
brothers. I felt hopeless. But I could not quit now.
Given that you have
nothing else to lose, Santiago said, I’ll
give you one last chance. Let’s say, winner take all. If you win, you get back
everything you’ve lost. If I win, your wife is mine. What do you say?
Letting my pride get the best of me, I accepted this one
last challenge. And lost. Everyone in the club gasped and whispered amongst
each other, laughing loudly at my disgrace. In the crowd, Dominic cheered the
loudest for Santiago’s victory, smirking ever so widely at the perfect
execution of his plan to ruin the Pandava household.
That night, I went back to the Pandava mansion with my head
hung low. My gambling addiction will be the death of me... How would I tell my brothers and my wife when they wake?
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| Gambling Dice in Craps |
Author's Note: This week I wanted to try a different type of storytelling that would make Mahabharata occur in an alternate universe, in this case in a New York underground club in 1987. This story was inspired by the gambling match in which Yudhishthira lost everything to Shakuni who was influenced by Durodhana and his hatred of the Pandava family. If you haven't figured out already, Yuriel is Yudhishthira, Santiago is Shakuni, and Dominic is Durodhana. I felt that these names sounded pretty cool and had more of an underground-club vibe to it. The reason why I decided to go with an underground club thing was to translate the ability of gambling your life away (because who does that in a real casino??) and also to give "Yuriel" a personality of a gambling addict who goes to these clubs to satisfy his gambling need.
Bibliography:
Hello Julie. After reading your story, I want to compliment you and your descriptions of the scenarios and setting of the story. I can picture the nightlife in Las Vegas as I read on. I like how at the point of climax of the story, I feel like Yuriel could have win, but then nope that didn't happen, but I do not mind such a twist at all. I also like that your story is in Yuriel's perspective because I was able to understand him and his feeling even more. Overall, your writing is really good and I am wondering if you will write a sequel to this story? because I am curious of how everything is going to be handle by Yuriel after this!
ReplyDeleteHi Julie,
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome, haha! I really loved what you did, and the writing style you stuck with throughout the story. You took a theme in the Mahabharatha and turned it into something completely new, but still sticking to the original theme! When I first read "Upper East Side" I thought of Gossip Girl, but when I continued to read this story became more than I had even expected! This is a great story, and I would love to see if you continue to use this style in the rest of the stories regarding the Mahabharatha! Awesome job!
Hi Julie!
ReplyDeleteThis story is amazing! I was interested the whole time I was reading. You have a great writing style, and you did a wonderful job of keeping the reader connected to the plot. I don't gamble, and I have never been in a situation like this, but I still felt as if I was able to connect. And I think that is so important! You are so creative to be able to think of such a cool story from a story so different from this one. So kudos to you for that! Great job, and I can't wait to come back and see what else you write.