A greedy brother inherits a house and bullies his younger sister, who only got five old rusty clocks from her dead grandmother. They didn’t know what was hidden in those clocks.
“Oh, Grandma called you too? I thought you were busy at the library… you cute little bookworm!” – Brian, 26, scoffed at his younger 19-year-old sister Linda.
She had just stepped out of the taxi. Fear filled her eyes and her heart was beating fast in her chest, “Grandma will be fine. She’ll be fine. She’ll live another hundred years.”
Brian and Linda came to visit their 90-year-old grandmother, Marlene. She asked them to meet her urgently.
“Darlings, I want to see you one last time. I may not get a second chance,” Marlene painfully told them during a phone conversation two days ago…..
When Linda entered her grandmother’s bedroom, she coughed and noticed that it was rather dusty. Marlene was too old and ill to do everything herself. She had not swept the floor and Linda could see that the ceiling was moldy because of leaks.
“Granny!!!” she ran and hugged Marlene, who was lying in bed. “Nothing will happen to you, Granny. Please don’t worry about anything. God won’t take you away from us because you are all we have.”
Linda lived with Marlene until she was a year old. She took good care of her and helped her a lot. She was even ready to give up her fateful scholarship, but at Marlene’s insistence she moved to town to continue her studies.
Brian entered the room, coughing and snorting unhappily. “Damn… I’m allergic to dust! Granny, didn’t you sweep your room and wipe off the dust?”
He stepped closer and saw that his grandmother was sick and thin. But that was the least of his worries and he stood waiting to find out why she had summoned them.
Marlene looked into Brian’s eyes, clutching Linda’s trembling hands. It pained the girl to see her grandmother so pale, and her eyes didn’t have the same beautiful sparkle. They looked lifeless.
Marlene smiled, carefully stood up and pulled out two envelopes from under her pillow. “Darling, this is for you,” she said, “please use it wisely. I called to give it to you.”
Brian and Linda opened the envelopes and found a bundle of 5,000 euros in each.
Linda could not hold back her tears and ran out crying.
Meanwhile, Brian frowned. “Only this much? I thought you were in a position to give more. Well, I should be going.” He turned his back on Marlene and left without even thanking her.
The next day Marlene was in for a surprise.
“Good morning, Granny!”, Marlene heard Linda’s voice in her bedroom. She hadn’t expected her to return.
She woke up when the girl opened the curtains and the rays illuminated the dark, dusty bedroom.
She was surprised to see Linda. She thought the girl had moved to the town where she had studied and worked part-time as a librarian.
Linda approached Marlene with the envelope she had handed her the day before.
“I added the 4,000 euros I had saved over the year. Grandma, do you remember when you told me about your bad eyesight? Now I have 9,000 euros. Now we can pay for your eye surgery.”
Marlene got up from the bed. She hugged Linda, tears streaming down her face. “I knew you better than that, darling! But it’s too late for surgery. I can feel my death approaching. I don’t want to waste this money when it could be used for something better.”
Linda wiped Marlene’s tears and said she would live with her.
“I’ve taken a month’s leave. I’m not going anywhere until I see that bright smile on your face, Grandma.”
And Linda knew what she had to do to get Marlene’s smile back.
Having Linda by her side was a great help to Marlene. She did not have to worry about preparing dinners.
There were days when Marlene ate stale bread for dinner when she did not feel like cooking a good meal. But after Linda’s arrival, she felt confident again. Never before had Marlene felt so relaxed and happy.
One day she heard strangers’ voices outside her bedroom and went out to see. She was surprised. Linda had spent 9,000 euros repairing the house and fixing the leak.
“I always knew you wanted to renovate Grandpa’s beloved house. Are you happy now, Grandma? I’ve renovated it so you can see the beautiful house you once lived in with Grandpa. Do you like it?”
Marlene was speechless. She walked over to Linda as fast as her weak legs could carry her and hugged her. Marlene had never cried so hard that day as she hugged Linda tightly.
Marlene often made wishes. “I want to die when I am the happiest person on earth!”. A week later her wish came true. Marlene died in her sleep, leaving Linda with a broken heart.
A few days after the funeral, Linda and Brian were called to the lawyer’s office about the late Marlene’s will, which they knew nothing about.
When they got there, they were told about another unexpected inheritance.
“Mr. White, according to your grandmother’s will, you get her house. Here are the documents. Please sign them.”
Linda was astonished. She wasn’t jealous of her older brother, but it bothered her because she had renovated the house, and Brian got it when he least deserved it.
“Miss Linda, this is yours,” the lawyer said, holding out a box to Linda.
“What is it?” – she asked, opening the box. Inside she found five old vintage clocks. Brian laughed and began to tease her.
“It’s crazy and cheap!!! My grandmother left me her house. She knew who deserved better. You can decorate your rented apartment with that rusty clocks and cry about it, sis. Happiness doesn’t come easily to everyone.”
Upset, Linda went into town and took the clocks with her. She never checked them carefully until one day she noticed an engraving on one of them.
It was engraved on the metal in beautiful script, “OPEN!”
Out of curiosity, Linda opened the watch, and what she discovered inside changed her life.
“A note?” – she exclaimed in surprise, pulling out a small parcel from her watch. She unwrapped it and sat down, puzzled.
“Never underestimate those old rusty clocks! These are 100-year-old antique clocks that belonged to my grandfather. And they are made of a rare, exquisite metal! Each piece is worth 40,000 euros, my dear!” – the note said.
Linda’s eyes filled with tears of joy as she read on.
“Everyone gets what they really deserve, Linda! I’m glad you got only the best. Love, Grandma Marlene.”
Linda cried, holding the old clock to her heart. It still worked, and she could hear it ticking to the beat of her heart. It seemed as if her grandmother was going nowhere.
Linda decided not to share this with her brother.
“He’s blinded by greed and thinks he got the best of his grandmother. Let him live with that assumption. Grandma knew who deserved the best, and I don’t need to prove it to him!” – she thought and locked the rare clock in her desk drawer.
