{"id":233,"date":"2026-01-29T17:31:53","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T17:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/?p=233"},"modified":"2026-01-29T17:32:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T17:32:01","slug":"the-neon-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/?p=233","title":{"rendered":"The Neon God"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kaching<\/em> rang the bells of the slot machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving any luck, friend?\u201d a stranger asked as he pulled the lever for another spin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, I\u2019m not playing,\u201d I said. \u201cSimply\u2014observing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho comes to a casino and doesn\u2019t gamble?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI suppose I do. Then again, the thrill of watching others win and lose is more entertaining than pulling a lever or hitting a button over and over. It always amazes me how others find it amusing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s your name, friend?\u201d he asked as he fed more money into the machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople call me Neon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNeon\u2019s an interesting name. You from Vegas?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot exactly. But I\u2019ve lived here for a while now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He continued to spin the machine\u2014small wins compounded by big losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know I\u2019m close to a bonus. I can feel it!\u201d he said, sliding his last hundred into the slot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course you are, friend,\u201d I said. \u201cJust keep going. You\u2019ve got this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He spun the reels again and again until his balance dropped below a dollar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDamn it. Guess I\u2019m out, friend. Maybe I\u2019ll have better luck tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure you will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He walked away, and my essence felt light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He didn\u2019t have to lose or win\u2014only play.
He fed the machine, but every spin fed me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wandered the floor and found a table with a few empty seats. I sat down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou playing today, Mr. Neon?\u201d the dealer asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNope. Just observing and conversing, as always, Mark.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The table placed their bets. Some won. Some lost. It didn\u2019t matter. Their thrill was my thrill. I basked in it, grew from it, resolved<\/em> from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always nice having you at the table, Mr. Neon,\u201d Mark said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThanks, Mark. I love watching people play\u2014and you\u2019re dealing. You really enjoy this work. I can tell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do, Mr. Neon. It\u2019s a shame it\u2019s going to come to an end soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry?\u201d I said. I felt my voice tighten around the word. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe government decided gambling\u2019s no longer legal, Mr. Neon. We\u2019re closing at the end of the month.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I drifted back onto the floor. I tried not to let the shock take hold, choosing instead to focus on those still engaged in the games. I sat with them. Absorbed them. Indulged as deeply as I could until the day finally came.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They locked the doors, casting a long shadow across the casino floor. A shadow\u2014
named Neon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kaching rang the bells of the slot machines. \u201cHaving any luck, friend?\u201d a stranger asked as he pulled the lever for another spin. \u201cOh, I\u2019m not playing,\u201d I said. \u201cSimply\u2014observing.\u201d \u201cWho comes to a casino and doesn\u2019t gamble?\u201d he asked. \u201cI suppose I do. Then again, the thrill of watching […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-free-short-stories"],"nelio_content":{"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"efiAlt":"","efiUrl":"","followers":[2],"highlights":[],"isAutoShareEnabled":true,"networkImageIds":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[],"series":[],"suggestedReferences":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=233"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":235,"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233\/revisions\/235"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}