After years of resentment and hardship, Mike discovers that the Bible his late grandmother left him holds a shocking secret. What starts as a reminder of their last fight soon becomes a lifeline.
Mike slumped behind the grocery store counter, his uniform wrinkled and his face weary. The hum of scanners and chatter surrounded him, but his mind was miles away. He absentmindedly bagged a customer’s groceries and forced a smile as they handed him a crumpled twenty.
“Thank you. Have a good day,” he said hoarsely, though his days rarely felt good anymore.
As the next customer stepped forward, Mike’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He already knew what it was.
A notification about another medical bill.
He’d seen one earlier that morning while pouring himself instant coffee, a reminder that his mother’s hospital visits were burying them under debt.
Mike worked six days a week, sometimes pulling double shifts, but the money barely kept them afloat.
His mother, Kaila, was getting worse, and her treatments, though necessary, felt like an anchor pulling them down.
By the end of his shift, Mike was exhausted, his feet aching as he stepped into the cold night air. He trudged to the small, dimly lit apartment he shared with his mother.
The moment he walked in, he noticed her sitting on the couch, her frame small and fragile under a blanket.
“Hey, Mom,” Mike said softly as he set his bag on the table.
Kaila smiled faintly. “How was work, sweetheart?”
“It was fine.”
“Don’t work so hard, Mike. I hate that you’re carrying this all alone.”
Mike swallowed hard. He couldn’t let her see the weight crushing him.
“It’s nothing, Mom,” he smiled. “I’ve got it under control.”
She nodded, though they both knew it wasn’t true.
Mike retreated to his room, where unopened envelopes were piled on his desk. Those were bills he was afraid to open.
He stood near the window, thinking about his life.
How was it this expensive just to stay alive? He thought.
Even with insurance, the bills piled up faster than he could scrape money together.
He thought about the little savings he had left, which were barely enough to cover next month’s rent, let alone hospital visits.
That’s when his gaze drifted to a dusty box in the corner of the room. Inside, a Bible sat untouched for years.
“You had to be so petty, didn’t you, Grandma?” Mike muttered, shaking his head.
