It was only at the reading of the will that his long – suppressed resentment resurfaced with a vengeance. Mike sat rigidly in the lawyer’s office, while Kaila, his mother, tried to calm her nerves beside him.
The lawyer cleared his throat. “To Grace’s beloved church, she bequeaths her entire estate, including her home and all financial assets.”
Mike’s jaw dropped in disbelief. “Wait, what?”
The lawyer didn’t miss a beat. “To her grandson, Michael, she leaves a Bible with a personal note that reads, ‘Open it when it’s hard.'”
“A Bible?” Mike repeated, his voice laced with incredulity. “That’s it?”
“Yes,” the lawyer confirmed, sliding the worn leather – bound book towards him.
Mike stared at it as if it were a venomous snake. “She left me nothing else?”
“Correct,” the lawyer replied matter – of – factly.
Mike clenched his fists, his voice dripping with bitterness. “All because I didn’t go to church with her one day? You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Kaila placed a hand on her son’s arm. “Mike…”
“No, Mom, this is absurd!” Mike exclaimed.
He grabbed the Bible, stuffed it into his bag without a second look, and stormed out of the office.
Back then, he hadn’t bothered to open the Bible. Instead, he tossed it in a box and buried it under other things.
Now, six years later, with bills piling up and his mother’s health rapidly deteriorating, that old Bible and its cryptic note haunted his thoughts.