At my grandpa’s funeral, a stranger handed me a note \u2014 when I read it, I laughed because grandpa had tricked us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Standing at my grandpa’s funeral, I thought about him while staring at his grave. He always loved seeing me smile, and I wanted to smile in his memory, but I just couldn’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My older siblings and cousins were there too, looking all serious and gloomy \u2014 probably because they had just found out grandpa didn\u2019t leave them any inheritance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, out of nowhere, this woman, probably in her 60s, came up to me. She introduced herself as a friend of my grandpa\u2019s, someone none of us had ever heard about. She handed me a note and said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is from your grandpa. Read it, but don\u2019t show it to anyone, especially your siblings.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Then she walked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I opened the note and nearly burst out laughing \u2014 grandpa had fooled us all!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The note read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Kiddo, if you\u2019re reading this, it means I pulled it off. Everyone thinks I left nothing behind, but the truth is \u2014 I left everything\u2026 to you. Don\u2019t tell your siblings. They never visited me, never cared to listen to my stories. You did. And because of that, you deserve what\u2019s coming next. Go to the shed behind my house. Look under the floorboards. That\u2019s where the real inheritance is. P.S. Don\u2019t forget to smile. Love, Grandpa.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I folded the note quickly and slipped it into my pocket, trying not to burst out laughing in front of everyone. My siblings were whispering angrily about lawyers and wills, completely unaware of what I had just learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later that evening, I sneaked to Grandpa\u2019s old shed. The place smelled like wood and dust, just as I remembered. My hands trembled as I pried up the floorboards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And there it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A rusty metal box, locked with an old key that I somehow knew would be taped to the underside. Sure enough, it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside, I found bundles of cash, old gold coins, and \u2014 the biggest shock of all \u2014 another sealed envelope addressed to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I opened it, and in Grandpa\u2019s unmistakable handwriting, it said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n