Older Granddaughter Inherits House from Grandma, Younger One Gets Old Photographic Film — Story of the Day

Two women lost their grandmother and were informed of her will; the younger one got an old photographic film while her older sister inherited the house, but there was more to the film than they both realized.

Ann and Mary were opposite sides of a coin. The sisters were born five years apart, and they couldn't have been more different. Where Ann, the youngest of the pair, was a very kind and good girl, her sister, Mary, was not.

Ann had been caring for their grandmother Petunia for two years because of her health troubles, but Mary had left their town to find greener pastures.

"I won't waste the best years of my life cleaning up after someone who has already lived hers," she said.

It was not that Ann could not be as selfish as Mary, but the girl had never forgotten how much their grandmother sacrificed for them after their parents died in a car accident when they were younger.

"It's the least I can do," she would tell herself.

To that end, she spent as much of her free time as was possible with her granny, who acted oblivious until one day when she summoned both women.

She was dying, and it was time for her to share her last words with her only surviving family. "Thank you both for all you've been doing to care for me," she said, even though they all knew who had really been doing that.

"You should save your strength, granny," a concerned Ann told her.

"Shhh," Mary hissed. "We both know why she has summoned us, now let her get to it!"

Petunia smiled at Mary's antics then passed to draw several breaths before proceeding. "Mary, I leave my house to you," she said. "And Ann is to inherit this small box."

Ann collected the box gently then leaned in to hug her granny for the gift. As she did, the woman whispered, "I've been keeping this secret my whole life. You deserve it, my lovely granddaughter."

After that, she addressed them both again, mentioning her last wish. "The only thing I want is a promise to repair my house after my death," she said. "It must not fall to ruins."

"Granny, I promise to take care of that," Mary said, even though she was being insincere.

"Good," Petunia breathed, and it was the last word she ever said.

One day later, Ann opened the box she had received and found an old photo film there. Mary, who had been curious about what was in it, had been standing around that day and when she saw the contents of the box, started laughing.

"You mean to tell me you were visiting her every day for 2 years and all you received is an old photo film? Granny was a savage indeed."

"Buzz off would ya?" Ann said, annoyed by Mary's words because she had done all she did out of the goodness of her heart.

"I'll be leaving town tomorrow," Mary told her sister and walked away.

"What?" Ann asked, quickly following her. "Don't you have to stay to renovate the house like you promised?"

"Look, I'm not going to spend my hard-earned money on home renovation. I said what I needed to say to make her feel better, that's all. "

Ann could not believe her sister. But there was little she could do to change her mind, so she focused on her own inheritance.

She decided to have the film developed, and after a few days, was able to access the memories it stored. The first photo was rendered in black and white, and it contained a map with location coordinates.

In the next slide, she saw a beautiful landscape with a lake, and the one after that was a photo of a sign "Forbidden" written on a tree.

In the last photo, there was a wooden hatch leading to an underground space, and it piqued Ann's curiosity.

The following day, the girl tracked the location in the picture and found the lake situated near the forest. After looking around, she also found the sign and the location of the hatch.

Ann almost missed it because it was covered with earth and leaves, but when she found it, she returned to her car to get a flashlight to light her way. All the while her mind raced with different thoughts.

"What will I find in there? What did my granny have to do with it?" she wondered as she rushed to her car. After retrieving her flashlight, she opened the hatch and entered the musty underground room. Inside, a layer of dust coated everything.

She swept her flashlight around in an arc and found arms, guns, and other stuff left over from the Civil War. It seemed the place had been a bunker of some sort for army men.

In the corner, she saw a small black chest and was instantly drawn to it. "That looks interesting," she whispered to herself even though she had no idea why.

Inside the chest, she found hundreds of rare coins from the times of the Civil War, all in pristine condition.

She knew the coins would fetch a good price, and she had to wonder if it was a stroke of dumb luck or if her granny had deliberately left it for her to find but Ann couldn't deny that her life was about to change.

Heart pounding with excitement, she took the chest to her car and called the police to tell them about the place. Later on, she sold the coins and used part of the proceeds to renovate her granny's house because Mary refused to do it.

Mary tried several times to figure out how Ann pulled it off but was rebuffed, and eventually, she sold the deed of the house to Ann because she needed money.

Ann loved the house as it held memories for her. Later on, she moved into it and raised her family there.

What did we gain from this story?

• There is always a reward for being kind. Ann received all she did because of her selfless service to her granny.
• Learn to give back. Ann did all she did for her granny because she could never forget the woman's kindness to her and her sister. Her service was, in a way, the expression of her gratitude, and in the end, she was blessed for it.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a woman who inherited a purse from her grandmother and found an old ring inside.

This account is inspired by our reader’s story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com