ther. So, she set out to meet with Jake and Ashton over lunch, and things did not go as she had hoped.

“So, what do you say, guys? Can I stay at the house for a bit?

Just until I get my situation sorted out,” Alice asked, sitting across from her brothers at a diner.

“I don’t know, Alice. It seems to me like you might be asking for a lot,” Jake said.

“Yeah. Why don’t you crash at the barn until you’re good,” Ashton said, high-fiving his brother with a cheeky chuckle.

“This is not a joke, guys.

Please, I really need your help on this. Please!” Alice pleaded.

“Okay, okay. All jokes aside.

This is what you can do. We’ll let you stay there. You’ll just have to pay rent,” Ashton said impassively.

“Pay rent?

What’s the use of moving in there if I’ll be paying rent?” Alice

“I mean, we can try to give you a little family discount,” Jake said.

“It’s a good offer, little sis’,” Ashton added.

“Thank you for nothing, guys. So much for family,” Alice said, getting up and leaving.

“It’s either that or the barn Alice,” Jake yelled, chuckling as he and Ashton high-fived again.

Alice realized that she truly was on her own now. She was growing weary of pondering on her financial troubles.

She needed a break from it all. She needed to get away, just for a moment.

Alice decided she’d go and visit the barn. It had been forever since she was there.

At one point, she and her grandfather spent so much time there.

As Alice drove up what used to be the farm’s driveway, she looked at the vast empty grasslands and wondered how things happened to change so quickly. At one point, this was a lively, rich, green farm teeming with crops. And now, just like her grandfather, it was lifeless and no longer there.

Alice pulled up to the barn and walked into it.

It was in pretty bad condition. Alice reminisced on back when her grandfather’s farming business was still running.

How she would play hide and seek with her grandfather in the barn, and it would be such a nuisance for his workers, but they could never complain because he was the boss.

Alice laughed to herself as she looked around, the memories flooding back. At that moment, it hit her.

Her grandfather left her so much more than she could have ever asked for. All the memories, lessons, time, and love shared were more than any material possession he could have given her.

Alice realized that what actually made the barn valuable were the memories shared there. As she looked up to the hayloft, she saw one of her grandfather’s favorite hiding spots.

She decided she’d go up and look for him just one last time.

Alice knew she was being a little silly, but it felt right. As she climbed the ladder, it began to shatter, throwing her to the ground and pulling down a part of the hayloft with it.

Alice was a bit shaken up, but she wasn’t hurt. She recalled something falling from her grandfather’s hiding spot as the hayloft broke.

So she went to look for it amongst the rubble. As she searched through the rubble, she came across a black bag.

Alice opened the bag and what was inside left her shocked. Inside the bag were wads of cash with a note on top of it.

The note read:

“To my dear, sweet Alice. If you are reading this, then I guess you found me again. I was never good at hide and seek.

I left you this barn so you could rebuild my failed business.

Unlike your brothers, I know you dearly loved this farm and me. This is your home. This money I have saved over the years should help you get the farm and business back up.

I know you can do it.

Love,

Your grandpapa.”

When Alice finished reading the note, she was in tears. She wished she could have had more faith in her grandfather. However, she was also overjoyed at the opportunity she had been given.

She finally knew that he wasn’t really gone. He was still with her. Otherwise, how would she have ever thought to seek him again?

That year Alice put all her efforts and the money she had been giving into reviving the farm.

She bought back the farm, shut down her business, and moved to the farm. After many months of hard work, she finally earned her first earnings.

By the time the next harvest season came around, the farm was famous and highly successful. And when her brother’s heard about it, they were filled with regret.

They had never actually taken time to work on the house they had inherited, and by the time they wanted to, it was too late.

The house was a dump, and they could only get peanuts for it. To make matters worse, things weren’t going too well for them in their careers either. They decided to ask Alice for help shamefully.

However, unlike them, she gracefully provided for them and comforted them in their troubles.

Source: amomama