I wrote this one to be deliberately ambiguous, to let you, the reader decide what the mechanism for what actually happens is. I also wrote it because, sometimes, things can be really tight at Christmas, but it doesn't take much to turn things around and make a huge difference to an individual.
Robert slipped his card nervously into the cash point machine. He knew things were tight, really tight. He typed his PIN slowly into the machine and waited. He requested his balance and his heart sank. YOUR BALANCE IS: £4.62. TODAY YOU MAY WITHDRAW: £0.00. Tearfully he went to cancel his transaction when the screen blanked out. Then the words: MERRY CHRISTMAS BOBBY MY BOY appeared and the machine dispensed two crisp £20 notes.
I would be interested to know what you think about this one...