To the Tennessee couple that won part of the largest Powerball ever. 

I don't know anything about you but you inspired this story. 

19. 27. 33. 37. 74. 05.

    When you play the Powerball, you can pick your numbers or have some randomly chosen for you. I was only playing on a whim, so I let the fates decide. Honestly, I only played because I was with some of my buddies and they were all going on about the big jackpot. They were all fantasizing about what they would do with the largest pay out in history. I guess I got caught up in their wild ideas and figured, why not? 

    It was late when I got home from work, two days later. Me and my wife, Mary, did okay financially but I was raised to believe that I could only get somewhere by working hard. I was always the one to step in and pick up any available shifts at the office. There were rumors of an executive retiring soon and I had my eye on the promotion. That night had been rough though. The guys were all talking about the stupid Powerball drawing and I struggled to focus the whole time. I didn't care much that the winning ticket was sold in our area. I just wanted to do a good job and they were making that very difficult. 

    When I got home, I was very content with the idea of going straight to bed with my wife. Something stirred in me though. I could hear the guys talking as I wandered idly to my laptop and searched online for the winning numbers. I pulled my ticket out of my wallet, where it had almost been forgotten completely. I read the numbers on my screen and proceeded to scan the four sets I had bet on. 

    My breath caught in my throat and I could've sworn my heart stopped beating altogether for a moment or two. A noise I could only describe as a squeal escaped me and I jumped to my feet. All I could feel was disbelief. 

19. 27. 33. 37. 74. 05.

    I ran to the bedroom, breathless, and shook Mary awake.

    "Wake up and tell me this is real." I nearly screamed. 

    She rose as I walked away and followed me to our makeshift office space. Worried, she tried frantically to understand what I was talking about but all I could say was, "The numbers! Oh, Mary! The Numbers!''

    She stood behind me as I showed her my laptop, pointing at the winning numbers. 

    "I don't understand, Adam. What is it?" 

    I looked her right in the eyes, smiling as wide as I had on our wedding day, and handed her the ticket. 

    "Look at it!" I yelled, "THE NUMBERS!" 

    She froze as she read them. I jumped up and span her around the room. We were both screaming praises and thanking all the gods we could think of. Everything was about to change for the better. We were sure of it. 

    We were so clueless. We had to google 'How to claim the powerball jackpot.' To which the answer was, sign your ticket and go to your nearest district lottery office. 

    For ten minutes, we rode in silence. The energy between us was buzzing. We were astonished and ecstatic and completely overwhelmed. After we arrived, everything was a blur. We were in room after room, shaking hands, signing releases and other documents. I don't even remember most of it until we were in front of a camera, telling our story. 

    Breathlessly, I started. "I...I was in a store with some friends and... Well, I don't know. I just bought a few numbers I guess."

    "How many numbers?" A faceless voice yelled to me.

    "Four, I think... Yeah, four." 

    "How does it feel?"

    "Wow... um..." I trailed off and then laughed, "What a question! It feels like it's not even real I guess." 

    "Who are you?"

    "I'm just Adam and this is my wife, Mary." I gestured to her.

    She stepped towards me, "We aren't anybody, really. Just normal people." 

    "Not anymore." I heard someone say. 

    Boy, wasn't that the truth. Me and Mary, we would never be normal again.