Week 9 Story: Karma

(Paul and Mary. Source)

Paul and Mary were very poor. They both retired a long time ago, about 20 years or so, and had no retirement savings left due to the stock market crash a few years ago. They sold their home and were forced to live in an apartment with a terrible neighborhood that had a lot of crime. Sometimes, they would go to the nearby church for food.

 Although they were poor in wealth, they were rich in love. Not too long ago they celebrated their 50 year anniversary. Their relationship was a symbol of true love. They cherished every moment they had together, always teasing and laughing and kissing each other. Instead of their love growing weaker and weaker over time it grew stronger and stronger.

Unfortunately, good things don't last forever. Paul woke up one morning to find out Mary passed away in her sleep. Paul, having so much love for Mary, vowed to bury her in the nearby cemetery instead of cremate her.

He called his son and daughter, both of whom moved far away to advance their careers, to help pay for her funeral but they said no. Paul expected this though as they never called or visited him and Mary and cared only about themselves. He went door to door, asking everyone in the community to help pay for her funeral but they were all too poor. Eventually he asked the local priest, David, at the nearby church for help.

At first David declined to help since funerals were expensive and he was poor himself. However, Paul was persistent and was determined wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Mary is the love of my life and I will not let her be cremated. There must be something you can do!" said Paul.

Then David remembers the burial plot his father told him not to use. "I'll tell you what. I have an extra spot at my family's burial plot. I'll let you bury her there," said David.

And so Paul and David bought a couple of shovels, took Mary to the burial plot, and started digging at the forbidden spot. They dug about 3 feet worth of dirt when suddenly David's shovel makes a loud clanking noise with the dirt.

"What was that?" said Paul.

A few minutes later they pull a steel, unlocked briefcase from the ground. They open it up and find a bunch of shiny gold coins with a letter.

"To whomever needed this plot, may this gold help you through your rough times," the letter said.

 They took the gold to an appraiser who evaluated the gold at $10,000 which was more than enough to pay for a proper burial for Mary. Then Paul and David became good friends and David even let Paul move in with him until he passed away.

Author's Note:
This story is based on The Treasure by W.R.S. Ralston. In the story an old man's wife dies and he asks people for help but no one offers to help, not even the pope. Taking matters into his old hands, the old man digs a grave by himself and discovers a pot of gold. Then he uses the newfound wealth to pay for his wife's burial. The pope, curious on how the old man suddenly got money, asks him what happened. When the old man tells him, the pope gets jealous and devises a plan to get the money from the old man. Wearing a goat mask to impersonate the Devil, the pope goes to the old man's house and scares him into giving up his money. When the pope goes back home with the money, he tries to take off the goat mask but discovers that it's now fused with the rest of his body and he can't take it off. I decided to make a number of changes including the plot, the ending, and changed elements to be more modernized. I also added more details to the old man and his wife's relationship, describing how they got poor and showing just how good their relationship was.

Bibliography
The Treasure by W.R.S. Ralston