Still looking for a four-leaf clover

I found a four-leaf clover once and I read somewhere the odds stand at 10,000/1. The funniest thing, at the time, I wasn't even looking for one.  It was the summer of 1997. I had just qualified as a leader for outdoor activities and I had helped create a non-profit dedicated to provide more access  for young people to such activities. It was our first weekend away in an idyllic location and we were taking a  break from teaching orientation techniques to the group.

I remember laying on the grass, face down, trying to cool down in a hot summer's day while we listened to all kind of silly jokes from our CEO, a showman and a great entertainer at all times. 'Not a care in the world' is how one could best describe the general mood of that assembly.
Then, out of the blue, our CEO claimed he would give 5,000 pesetas (around $37 today but not too bad a sum back then) to whoever found a four-leaf clover.

I didn't have to move, not even an inch: from my face down position I could clearly see the most perfect four-leaf clover, standing less that a foot away from the tip of my nose. I told so to my sister, who was sitting next to me but she would not believe me so I stretched my arm and grabbed it. I stood up and moved slowly towards our CEO, asking him to repeat what he had just said. He was more than happy to. He even said it louder, this time. I simply smiled and produced my treasure. He went pale. Pleople cheered.

He never gave me any money, of course, but... who needs 5,000 pts when you own a four-leaf clover??!!

That same day, on our way back to the hostel, the whole group walking in front of me went over, stepped onto and totally missed a 5,000 pts note on the path leading to our accomodation quarters. In total disbelief, I picked it up and, as no one ever claimed it, I got to keep.

For nearly two years I kept the clover in my wallet. Showed it to people upon request and I, jokingly, made it responsible for whatever bit of good luck that came my way. Then, one day in early spring as I searched for a book in the library at Bath College, my wallet was taken from the front pocket of my backpack.

There was next to nothing in there: twenty-three pence, if memory serves, was all the cash. No bank cards. Not even any ID papers, that could have proven difficult to replace abroad, inside. Just twenty-three pence, the keys to my house and a four-leaf clover I would never get to see again.

It had been payday at work: $238 (a week's wages) had been sitting in a white envelope next to the wallet in the pocket of my backpack. They were still there when I returned to find my wallet gone.Still, I was distraught by the loss of my lucky charm.

My boss in Bath, when I was about to leave for Ireland, had a silver pendant specially made for me in the shape of a four-leaf clover because the jewellers in town didn't have any pendants with that design.I choose to believe he never used that design again and that my pendant is, therefore, unique. I still wear it most days and, certainly, whenever I feel a bit superstitious 

Today, as I walked along the Canal on my way home, I realized I continue to search for that elusive 1/10,000 real four-leaf clover (mine was a 'trifolium repens', it seems). I walk staring at the grass. I even slow down at times to take a closer look. I have been doing it ever since mine was stolen but I never really wondered why I keep doing it. Not until now. I don't think I have an answer, either. 

I mentioned Superstition before when I don't consider myself a superstitious person, yet I search for a green talisman in a sea of clovers. Would my luck change if I found a second one? I don't think so. Should a self-confessed atheist have any hope for a bit of magic in her life? Probably not but I suspect I will continue searching for a four-leaf clover till the day I die.