Short story for office compitition

Money cannot buy you happiness

This is the story of how I became a rich man.

I came from a middle class family, dad and mom both worked hard all day, yet they had time to care me and my sisters. Although, I hadn’t scored enough marks to get into engineering college, money did but we couldn’t afford. My sister heard me talking to my friend and convinced dad to give away her marriage savings. With lot of hopes, I finished my engineering and got an offer in an MNC. The happiness in my family’s eyes and sweets in their hands drenched everyone’s house in the colony.

I worked hard barely spending time with my family, even at home I would sit in front of my computer and chat with friends on facebook. All my life I was guided, suddenly I felt I knew everything, thought I had complete control on my life. I fell in love with a girl and our long conversations capitulated into a decision, Marriage. She insisted me to travel abroad and earn money to convince her father. On persisting a lot with my manager, I went to U.S and stayed there for 1 year with very little contact with my family. I even did not attend my sister’s marriage, thinking flight expense would push me away from my dream girl.

On coming back to India; I went to meet my girl, told her my situation and asked more time as I was looking for alternative ways to make more money. Back at home, my second sister’s marriage was on the cards and the groom side had asked for a grand wedding, my father spent all of his savings to serve their ego. I was angry on him, questioned him why he did this without telling me and why hurried to getting my second sister married; he did not answer, but said, “I am just trying to settle my kids”. I zoomed off pushing the chair hard enough to hit the table, table hit the TV stand and our family photo fell down shattering into glass pieces.

I asked my friends for loan to start a business, no one helped; I enquired many bank, but background verification on me and my company suggested interest rate that I could never afford. I felt deceived, dejected and cursed god for putting me in to this middle class family.

One day I got a call from my father, he asked me to pick him from office. I said I was busy and asked him to take an auto; he insisted and reminded he had done the same all through my school days. I felt my dad was sentimentally blackmailing me to get his work done. At his office, everybody gathered round my dad, lots of garlands embraced him.

He came to me and said, “Son, I have opted for voluntary retirement, take this money and start your business”. I was shocked; never had I discussed my business plans with dad.

Mr.Ramalingam, his colleague came and said, “Murthy, you have given away all your life earning, what about your future?”

My dad’s answer stunned me, “He is my future and my family happiness is driven from how happy he sleeps every night”.

Ramalingam came to me and said, “Son, you are a rich man. I don’t say that looking at the money in your hand, I say that cause you inherit blood that pumps through a rich man’s heart”.

That day I realised, I was rich all my life, just didn’t know I how.

-Pavan Kumar Venugopal