\u201cOh, so Grandma called you too? I thought you\u2019d be buried in a book like the good little bookworm you are!\u201d Brian, 26, mocked his younger sister, Linda, who had just arrived.<\/p>\n
Fear gripped Linda as she stepped out of the taxi, her heart clinging to hope: \u201cGrandma will be fine. She\u2019s strong. She\u2019ll live for many more years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda and Brian were summoned by their 90-year-old grandmother, Marlene, who had requested to see them urgently.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sweethearts, I need to see you one last time. I may not get another chance,\u201d Marlene had said painfully on the phone.<\/p>\n
When Linda entered her grandmother\u2019s room, she noticed the dust, the unswept floor, and the moldy ceiling. Marlene, frail and unwell, couldn\u2019t keep up with such tasks.<\/p>\n
Linda rushed to Marlene\u2019s side, hugging her tightly. \u201cGrandma, don\u2019t worry. You\u2019re not going anywhere. You\u2019re all we have,\u201d she whispered, her heart breaking.<\/p>\n
Just a year before, Linda had lived with Marlene, helping care for her until she left for college, only after much insistence from Marlene.<\/p>\n
Brian entered the room, coughing, as if mocking the untidiness. \u201cGeez, Grandma, didn\u2019t you clean? It\u2019s so dusty in here,\u201d he said with a grin, showing little concern for her health.<\/p>\n
Marlene, weak and pale, clasped Linda\u2019s hand and handed them both envelopes. \u201cThis is for you both,\u201d she said softly.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Each envelope contained $5,000. Linda\u2019s eyes filled with tears, and she rushed out, overwhelmed. Brian, however, scoffed. \u201cThat\u2019s it? I thought there\u2019d be more,\u201d he muttered, leaving without a thank you.<\/p>\n
The following morning, Marlene was surprised to hear Linda\u2019s voice again.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandma, I\u2019m staying,\u201d Linda said, stepping into the room. She explained how she had saved $4,000 over the year and wanted to use it, along with the money from Marlene, to pay for her eye surgery. But Marlene, her voice heavy with emotion, told Linda it was too late for surgery.<\/p>\n
Instead, Linda took a month off school to stay and care for her. She wanted to see her grandmother smile again. Linda used the money to repair and renovate the house, something Marlene had longed to do but never could afford. The house, once filled with memories of Marlene\u2019s late husband, was restored to its former glory.<\/p>\n
Marlene was overjoyed, but her time was short. A week later, she passed away peacefully, content and loved.<\/p>\n
After the funeral, Linda and Brian were called to the lawyer\u2019s office, where they learned about Marlene\u2019s will. Brian was thrilled to discover he had inherited the house, while Linda was handed a box containing five old, rusty clocks. Brian laughed at her misfortune, mocking her for receiving something so seemingly worthless.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can keep those clocks and decorate your apartment with them,\u201d Brian sneered, certain that he had gotten the better end of the inheritance.<\/p>\n
Linda, heartbroken but not envious, took the clocks back to the city. Days later, while examining one of the clocks, she noticed an inscription that read, \u201cOPEN IT!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"