I Bought the $5…. – News

I had exactly three hundred and twelve dollars in my checking account, a rusted pickup that coughed every time I turned the key, and a duffel bag full of clothes in the back seat because I’d been sleeping in that truck for six nights.

So when the county clerk stood on the courthouse steps and asked for an opening bid, and nobody raised a hand, I heard myself say, “Five.”

He blinked at me over his glasses.

“Five dollars?”

“Yes, sir.”