”No, Grandpa…Daddy is not at home. He went to the grocery,” little Liam answered the phone when Robert immediately rang his son’s landline. He disappointedly hung up as he knew his son David was the mastermind behind the burglary. Robert wanted to call the cops, but the thought of sending his son behind bars haunted him, and he couldn’t muster the courage to do it.

“Oh, Jesus…What will happen to my grandson now? How will I fulfill his dream without the money?” Robert sank into the couch and sobbed. But Robert was not a man who would give up on his grandson. When he realized he had 12 more years until Liam’s 18th birthday, he went out of his way and started working several jobs to save money. Robert even mowed lawns and fixed roofs for neighbors in his free time because, to him, time was money, and each penny was a step closer to fulfilling his grandson’s dream.

The Grandpa toiled hard day and night for the next ten years, and just two years before Liam’s 18th birthday, his world came crashing down. Robert was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and doctors told him he had very little time to live.The piercing blare of a train’s horn jolted Liam to the moment as he flipped the last page of the diary.

“Death is at my doorstep, but I didn’t forget my promise, dear. I rented this locker to store the money I’d saved for you and even ordered my tombstone with the coordinates engraved on the marble to bring you here.I’m glad you finally found it! Good luck with your future. Love, Grandpa.”

Liam snapped his tears away and left the railway station with his backpack stashed with the money. When he got home, his Dad was furious. “Where the hell were you all day?” David answered the door, clutching a glass of whiskey.”I had some stuff to do,” Liam replied, irked by his Dad’s betrayal and greed. “Why don’t you find a job and start earning instead of wasting time?”

David barked. “Or are you planning to keep living off me all your life? Did you forget that we’ll be homeless very soon?” Those words stung Liam like a sharp slap to his face. “Seriously, Dad? We wouldn’t have become homeless had you not gambled at casinos,” he shot back.

”How dare you?” David yelled. “Had you done something useful instead of collecting those stupid model airplanes, I wouldn’t have had to support you…taken a mortgage on this house…and gone bankrupt. And hear me out. We’re moving into a trailer very soon and splitting the rent. You stay only if you pay!”Liam stormed to his room, not wanting to argue anymore.

Deep inside, he was torn between his dream and the impending homelessness. Liam spent two sleepless nights deciding the fate of his inheritance, and the next morning, he approached his father with a deal. “Dad, wake up,” Liam jolted David awake. “I have money to pay for the mortgage and want to give it to you.”

”MONEY?” David rose with a start and sat up on the couch. “Quit fooling around, boy. Who wants the money you saved in your little piggy bank?!” David’s mocking stopped, and his jaw dropped when Liam unzipped his backpack and showed him the wads of dollar bundles.

”My Grandpa left this money for me,” Liam recounted his visit to his Grandpa’s grave and how he got the money. “I’ll give you some to keep the roof over our heads. But…I have two conditions. You get the money only if you agree. Deal?” David smirked. He looked at Liam and the money, and his gaze did not seem to shift from the money bag. “What condition?” he asked.”You must quit gambling forever,” declared Liam. “And you must pay the mortgage today.”

David agreed as Liam handed him a huge chunk of money. “I’ll be waiting for your call, Dad. Reach out to me once you deposit the money in the bank.” “Yeah, whatever! Stop lecturing and bossing me around, kid,” David smirked and grabbed the money.

Liam’s phone rang an hour later, and his Dad started barking on the other end of the line. “What the hell, Liam? Is this some kind of prank? The money you gave me is fake.” Liam cackled with laughter. “Dad, can you please come out of the building you’re in now and look across the road?”

David didn’t know what was wrong until he stormed out and saw Liam standing across the road against the backdrop of the bank. “Behind you, Dad! Behind you!” Liam gestured for his father to look behind him. When David turned around and looked up, his eyes popped out of their sockets in shock.

“Casino Royale Welcomes You!” read the flashy board lit with neon lights, and David stood right under it.”You made your choice, Dad!” Liam laughed as he hopped into a cab. “Now let me make mine!” David ran after the taxi, but it was too late. Liam was disheartened by what his Dad turned out to be.

He held his backpack with his Grandpa’s money, every penny of it intact, close to his heart and sighed.When the taxi pulled over an hour later, Liam stepped down, and tears welled in his eyes as he saw the billboard: Aviation Academy. “I won’t let you down, Grandpa…I promise!” he whispered and entered the campus of his dreams.Tell us what you think about this story, and share it with your friends. It might inspire them and brighten their day.