The Bead That Turns Luck

Someone carries a bead that is said to turn fortune. Good luck begins to arrive in ways that feel borrowed, and the owner cannot yet see who is paying the difference. A charm is a comfort until the pattern of the luck becomes too neat to be an accident. Blessing, con, or a debt with a face: the bead refuses to say which. / The question is whether the owner will give it back before the fortune finishes choosing a price. Every windfall has a quiet invoice. This one is starting to show a name.