Blind Old Man Leaves Inheritance to His Grandson's Best Friend — Story of the Day

A teenager loses his inheritance to his best friend after he tried to make him pay for a crime he did not commit, and somewhere in the mix of all this is a blind old man who played a great gamble.

John was an 18-year-old raised in a wealthy family; his clan, the Ojais, had owned a bunch of hotels all over the world for decades, and it profited them greatly.

The business was started by John's grandpa, Kevin Ojai, and after he retired, he handed over the company, which had by then expanded and grown, to John's father, Jacob.

As a person, John was jovial and flamboyant; he had been raised in comfort and was so used to it that when he showed his best friend Clay new things he got, he didn't see it as showing off.

John was a thrill-seeker, and he thrived off the attention his money could get him. Just a mention of his name was enough to make any girl swoon, and his looks were perfect.

Clay, his best friend, was different, a direct opposite. Where John loved to be seen, he enjoyed being anonymous and even made efforts to make himself so.

As far as wealth was concerned, his family's status was just a step above poverty. His father, the great deserter as Clay nicknamed him, had left his mother when he was ten because of what the doctors described as a hole in her heart.

The medical condition left her unable to work, and Clay's father had no interest in slaving for an invalid and her child, so he went out one day and never returned.

Clay had been given no choice but to man up after that, and he did. He and his mother survived on handouts from church members and friends until he was old enough to get hired for small jobs.

He met John a year after his father left, and it did not take very long for him to know that his friend was not from a poor background.

As Clay grew older, his mind would wax with jealousy of John, especially when he began showing off. He has it so easy, he would think to himself. Born into riches, what a life.

Clay knew he should not compare his friend's life with his own, but it couldn't be helped, especially with a show-off like John. He had the newest phone models while Clay still used the same phone he had to buy on credit back when he first started using it.

Just a couple of weeks ago, John crashed his expensive new Ferrari, which had been a birthday gift from his parents. When Clay brought the subject up, John waved it off, saying he had other cars.

"That's not an excuse to have been so reckless with it," Clay said.

"It's not a big deal Clay, I mean it," John replied. "And you don't have to worry about my parents. If they didn't want me crashing the car, they wouldn't have given me such a fast car."

"But you almost died," Clay murmured, and John heard.

"The important thing is that I did not perish along with the car Clay, now give it a rest and let's go play some video games."

Clay met John's billionaire granddad one summer evening and took an immediate liking to the man because he seemed quite simple and down to earth, unlike John.

One day, John told him about his grandfather who lost his sight a few years ago and revealed that he would most likely receive the man's wealth as the man had revealed in a family meeting that he intends to keep it within the family.

"Mom and dad already got their own money, so my mom says it's likely I'll get my grandfather's shares in the company which is worth a lot," John bragged one day while they played video games.

A couple of months ago, his grandfather's health deteriorated and he got confined to his bed to rest. He liked John very much and would often ask him to visit more often so they could spend his last days together.

John did not want that, though, and he did all he could to avoid the man — he would rather spend that time with his new girlfriend Sharon, and so he did until his parents brought him to heel.

"Until you start acting responsibly towards your ailing grandpa, your credit card will be limited to a thousand dollars per week," his father told him.

The man was a strong-spirited man, and John knew that once he made up his mind, there would be no going back. But he needed more cash to keep the attention of his girlfriend.

He thought that if he visited his grandfather, he would receive some money and, eventually, his inheritance. When John went to visit the man, Clay would tag along because he also had a great relationship with him.

When they were younger, they would both visit him, and he would create time to tell them stories of places he had visited, and they were a lot. That's why Clay agreed to tag along when John, who felt he would run mad from boredom if he went alone.

While they were there, all John did was complain about how he had no money to live a good life because of his parents' cruelty.

"Gramps, did you know father cut off all my funds because I postponed coming to see you? It is so annoying that he is so controlling you know," he said while his grandpa patiently listened.

In reply, his grandpa smiled and asked, "Really? Do I have to pay you for your visits to your dying grandfather?" John laughed awkwardly at that until his grandfather spoke again.

"I have decided to send some cash to the orphanage," he said suddenly. Behind you, on the table, you will find $20,000, which I'm willing to give to them. The rest of the money will go to you, but you need to wait for my death to receive it."

His personal assistant was supposed to deliver the money to the orphanage the following day, which is why it sat defenseless where it was.

That evening, Clay and John said their goodbyes to John's grandfather. As they did, John shot a quick glance at his blind grandpa and then made a sign warning Clay to keep quiet.

Clay watched his friend steal from his own grandad, digging into the bag of money and pulling out a few bills amounting to $1,000. He felt tempted to raise the alarm but decided against it because he was afraid of the old man's health condition.

Instead, he silently told John to return the money. But the spoiled boy just left the house. "This is what I came for," he told Clay later when he brought it up.

The next day, the two boys went again. Clay brought $1,000 from his savings and put it in the bag which was still on the table. He did not know what John's grandfather would do to his grandson if he discovered him stealing, and he did not want to find out.

They spent two hours there and were about to leave when John made Clay leave to get some water for his grandpa from the kitchen.

Clay knew why but he couldn't be sure, so he hid behind a door and peeped. Sure enough, he caught sight of John stealing more money from the bag right in the presence of his grandfather.

He had just taken double of what he took the previous day when there was a knock on the door. It was his grandfather's personal assistant.

"I'm here to take the cash to the orphanage," the assistant said.

When John opened the door to him, the tall, slender man in his late 30s went straight to the bag and picked it up, but when he made to leave, John's grandfather asked him to count it to make sure there was no mistake.

At that, John started to shake, and the $2,000 he had taken suddenly felt very heavy in his pocket. He also hated the fact that it seemed like his grandpa was watching him.

That's ridiculous, he's blind as a bat, he thought to himself. Keep your cool, it was supposed to be yours anyways.

After the count, the assistant discovered there was only $18,000, not $20,000, and immediately John started pointing at Clay, who strolled in with the glass of water.

"ROBBER!" He screamed. "HE IS A ROBBER AND A LIAR!!! I'M SURE HE TOOK THE MONEY. HOW COULD YOU ROB MY OLD BLIND GRANDFATHER???!"

Clay was shocked by the sudden turn of events, but he decided not to defend himself so that the old man wouldn't worry and have any shock or heart attack.

"I'm sorry for stealing the money, I will return tomorrow with it, if you don't mind," he said and left the house.

The next day, John's grandfather asked him to come and take Clay with him. Upon their arrival, the old man started, “So, my grandson. I love you so much. That’s why I have given this much thought and I've finally decided that all my property will go to…”

“Thank you, my dear grandpa!” John Interrupted him.

“...Clay,” his grandfather finished.

“WHAT?” John yelled angrily.

John was shocked and a "Why?" was all he could manage as his mind raced.

"He's been caring for his sick mother yet he helped you return the money you stole from the bag the first time you came," John's grandfather replied.

He handed the deed to Clay right then and there, and the boy walked out of the house a millionaire. As he left, the man who changed his life whistled to draw his attention before saying, "I like your new green T-shirt boy! Haha."

It was the last straw for John, who had been on his knees begging for forgiveness. He broke into bitter tears as he thought about how he botched things up.

It turned out that his grandpa had been taking pills to regain his eyesight and he had started to see a little but had only been pretending to see how his relatives would react, and John failed the test.

"I'm sorry," John said.

"It's too late, young man. I just hope your father deems it fit to cede his riches to you after his death," his grandpa replied.

From then on, John cleaned up his act and started acting worthy of the riches he would Inherit from his parents.

What did we gain from this story?

• Don't give in to greed. John gave in to greed when he decided to steal from the bag, and it cost him his future inheritance. Greed, like pride, is a prerequisite to a fall.
• Be good; you don't know who is watching. Clay helped John return what he stole out of the kindness of his heart, not knowing the crafty grandpa was watching. This is why it is important to do good, and not just when you think there is an audience.

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