Short Stories!

The Greedy Boy And The Selfless Sister

"Mother, what's wrong?" A young boy asks his mother. 

"Nothing," His mother says and turns to him with a sad smile, "I want you to always remember me alright? Even when I am dead and gone, I want you to remember me, you'll do that for your mother, won't you Ryo?"

"Yes mother," Ryo said and left the room without much thought to what his mother had said.

Ryo grew up to be a very wealthy business man and had an outstanding family. His kids were both exceptional at the things they loved and his wife was a Harvard mathematician. He loved his family dearly, but by loving his new family so much, he forgot about his old one. His mother passed away at age one hundred, alone and distraught that her son forgot about her. One day a man came up to Ryo, wearing all black, and looked sorrowful.

"Sir, your mother has suddenly passed away, your sister would like to meet with you to discuss her will," The man said.

Ryo perked up at the word will because he thought his mother could've left him a large fortune. So obsessed with the prospect of more money was he, that he arranged a meeting with his sister to discuss the will. His sister, Una, lived a peaceful life by herself in a small cottage away from town. Ryo was disgusted to hear that she lived by herself and only earned minimum wage at her job. Una didn't care about money, but rather cared about people and the peacefulness of life. She was very distraught and torn when their mother died, and went into mourning sometime before this meeting was arranged. Their mother taught both of them to respect and be thankful for what they have, and not be greedy, but only Una listened. She was attentive to everything she did, unlike Ryo, who did things quickly and without much thought. So they met up at an outdoor cafe between the city and the countryside. Ryo showed up in a suit in a tie and was driven to the event in a limo, while Una stayed with a plain farm-girl dress and rode her bike there. They sat down together and Ryo immediately called a waiter to get him a double espresso coffee, with two ice cubes, one pack of sugar, and a perfect swirl of whip cream. Una ordered nothing and held the will between them. 

"I haven't read it at all yet," She says to her brother, "Would you like to read it first?"

Ryo snatched the will out of Una's hands and read it quickly. His name was nowhere in the will and he was furious. All of his mother's property and money would go to his sister. 

"This is blasphemy! You barely spend the money you have and probably won't spend a penny of it when you're rich! Please sister, I can put the money to better use!" Ryo pleaded.

Una only shook her head and said, "No, all the money is already transferred and the property is already under my name,"

Ryo stood up and shouted, "You won't use the money at all to build a sound and safe money system for yourself! Please sister, I can do better things with the money,"

Una straightened up and walked away from her brother without saying a word. She hopped on her bike and started to peddle away, all why her brother was screaming at her. She went home and gave the money she got to various foundations around town. All the people in town thanked her for her generosity and she became well-known for her kindness. As for Ryo, his stocks became to plummet and soon he was bankrupt. Ryo should have taken the advice of his mother because all mothers have some wise words.