People claim to remember the exact moment they had their first religious awakening. I’m no different. I remembered the day was abominably humid, like any other Singaporean day, but that it became refreshingly cool as I entered the sacred temple. The crowds went silent as the most handsome, dashing man appeared. I was mesmerized. We all were. From the moment I saw Chow Yun Fat in God of Gamblers, I knew I was fated to become a gambler, constantly praying to the 6-Face God for fortune. It was no surprise that shortly after, I began gambling on everything: schools, jobs, and women.

    It’s strange that non-believers call my devotion an addiction, a disease to be curbed, but consider devotees of other established religions pious and righteous. What can their gods do that mine can’t? With a tiny twist, the 6-Face God can change a man’s fortune. Can any of their gods do that? The 6-Face God is more powerful than any other gods I have seen. Uncles and aunties prayed at the bustling, incense-filled Bugis Kuan Yin Temple in Singapore for years, only for those prayers to go unheeded. When I prayed to the 6-Face God, I often get rewarded with a small sum of money. Of course, sometimes the 6-Face God would punish me by taking stuff away and testing my devotion. I prayed wholeheartedly and yet people tried to stop me. The double standards bothered me daily. Their wooden crosses, gold amulets, and jade trinkets are sacred artifacts, while my plastic die is seen as nothing but a toy.

    Still, my devotion knows no end. I already sacrificed the two greatest love of my life to the 6-Face God. I will never forget the face of Angeline, my beautiful wife, as I led her to St. Regis hotel room and told her to pay my debt with her wondrous long legs. She never looked at me the same after that. She begged me to seek help. I said she was an infidel and that the 6-Face God works in mysterious ways. One day, I came back to find her and Little Yep gone. Little Yep won’t know anything about me, too young to understand the demands of the 6-Face God.

    Today, I decided to put it all on the line and show the non-believers the power of my god. That and the ten million dollars I will be getting. I figured that’s the amount I need to make everything right again; the flat we lost, the debt I owed, and the fees I ran away from. Yes, Angeline will forgive me with ten million dollars. I just knew it. So, in this small gambling den, actually the basement of a rich actor’s house off of Bukit Timah road, I challenged Pastor Hong to a game. He had scoffed at my religion earlier, calling it a travesty The pastor was in my church and yet he had the audacity to challenge my god? What a crock. I could see the look of fear in his eyes when I proposed the challenge. Pastor Hong of Kampung Communal Church, a multimillionaire from his followers’ devotion, sweated profusely while rejecting my offer. Out there, Pastor Hong would quote scriptures and inspire his followers into a frenzy. Left to his own device however, Pastor Hong worshipped the 6-Face God as much as I do. He just couldn’t admit it.

    I expected his initial rejection, then made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

    “Ten million dollars,” I said. I knew the court’s case against his misuse of church fund was draining his private account. He was secretly funding his lover’s painting career but the authorities caught wind of it before his lover could plaster the galleries everywhere with her atrocious artwork. Yes, ten million would easily cover his legal fee. I could see him contemplating it in his tiny, sweaty head. Even if he lost, Pastor Hong could divert the other hidden church funds to pay without anyone being the wiser. I knew he had hidden funds the moment he told authorities that he had no money left. That was not the face of a man who had lost everything. I would know. Of course, I didn’t have ten million dollars. I would have to sell my organs to honor this deal, but I had faith. I held the die in my hand, asking silently for strength.

    “Or have you lost faith?” I prodded him some more.

    “God will punish you for your sins. I accept your challenge.”

    “In addition, if you lose, you’ll tell your followers that my religion is an acceptable religion,” I said. I could see the hesitation in his eyes, “Unless you think that you’ll lose.”

    “Fine, there’s no way you’re going to win.”

    I laughed, covering up the slight fear building up in my throat. “One chance, no re-rolls. Highest number win.”

    Pastor Hong took the die from me and rolled. He did it so fast, probably to prevent himself from reconsidering.

    The fourth face showed up, which meant only the fifth and sixth face could beat him. It was a good roll for Pastor Hong. His chances of winning were higher as I had only two faces to beat him with. I understood probability and statistics, which surprised most people. They thought that gamblers are idiots. That isn’t true. Gamblers simply, even when the odds are against them, have faith.

But, here’s the thing with faith, it goes beyond reason and logic. I prayed to the 6-Face God, asking him for assistance, and then threw it on the table. It spun for the longest seconds of my life. I could see the faces changing and I was frightened. I couldn’t tell if he was going to reward or punish me this time. Have I paid enough tribute to him, I wondered. The den was silent, all eyes transfixed on our contest of faith. The die stopped and this showed up.

    I howled. I cried. I laughed.

    That’s the thing with the 6-Face God, you just never know which face will turn up.