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.

His grandmother, Grace, had been the matriarch of their family. Stubborn, devout, and unwavering in her faith.

She used to beg Mike to join her at church every Sunday when he was a teenager, but he never listened. The memory of their last fight played in his mind, as clear as if it had happened yesterday.

It was six years ago.

Mike had just turned 18, and his focus was set on a fun weekend with his friends. He had no intention of spending another Sunday morning in the church.

“Michael,” Grace said sternly, standing in the doorway of his room. She was holding her oversized purse, Bible tucked under her arm, dressed in her Sunday best. “It’s time for church.”

Mike didn’t even look up from his phone. “I’m not going, Grandma. I already made plans.”

“Plans?” Grace’s voice rose. “What plans could be more important than spending time with the Lord?”

“I’m 18 now,” Mike said. “I can make my own decisions. I’m not spending another Sunday stuck in church listening to sermons.”

“That’s nonsense. Get up, put on a clean shirt, and come with me,” Grace demanded, stepping into the room as if she would drag him out herself.

“No! I’m not going!” Mike snapped. “Why can’t you just let me live my life? I’m tired of you acting like I’m the worst person in the world just because I don’t want to sit in church all day.”

“I’m trying to save your soul, Michael. One day you’ll thank me for this.”

“Yeah, well, I’m good,” Mike muttered. “I don’t need saving. Just leave me alone!”

“Is that so?” Grace said quietly. “Fine. If this is how you feel, I won’t visit anymore. I won’t speak to you again, Michael.”

Mike froze for a second, surprised. But in his teenage arrogance, he shrugged it off. “Great. Then we both get what we want.”

She left without another word, slamming the door behind her.

Two months later, Grace passed away from natural causes.

The day of her funeral was cold, gray, and heavy. It was exactly like how Mike felt inside.

He stood near the back of the church, his hands shoved deep in his pockets as mourners filled the pews.

He watched the crowd shuffle in. Everyone was there including the neighbors, old friends, and members of the church she loved so much.

Mike felt out of place, like a stranger crashing a private gathering. He barely looked at the casket as he passed by.

“She loved you, you know,” an older woman said softly as she placed a hand on his arm.

Mike turned his face to her.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

He didn’t know what else to say.

During the service, the priest talked about Grace’s dedication to the church, her strong faith, and her unwavering love for her family, even when it was tough.

Mike shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he realized what the universe was trying to tell him.

She loved you even when it was tough.

When the casket was lowered into the ground, Mike felt a knot in his stomach. He hadn’t spoken to her in months before she died, and now he never could.

“I should’ve just gone to church,” he muttered to himself as the mourners began to disperse.

Kaila overheard and squeezed his arm gently. “She knew you loved her, Mike. She knew.”

But as Mike stared at the patch of earth where his grandmother now lay, all he could think was how he hadn’t been there when it mattered most.

It was only at the will reading that his resentment boiled back to the surface. Mike sat stiffly in the lawyer’s office, while Kaila, his mother, tried to calm her nerves beside him.

The lawyer cleared his throat. “To Grace’s beloved church, she leaves her entire estate, including her home and all financial assets.”

Mike’s jaw dropped. “Wait, what?”

The lawyer didn’t pause. “To her grandson, Michael, she leaves a Bible with a personal note that reads, ‘Open it when it’s hard.'”

“A Bible?” Mike repeated. “That’s it?”

“Yes,” the lawyer confirmed, sliding the worn leather-bound book toward him.

Mike stared at it like it was poison. “She left me nothing else?”

“Correct,” the lawyer said.

Mike clenched his fists, his voice bitter. “All because I didn’t go to church with her one day? Seriously?”

Kaila placed a hand on her son’s arm. “Mike…”

“No, Mom, this is ridiculous!” Mike spat.

He grabbed the Bible, shoved it into his bag without a glance, and stormed out of the office.

Back then, he hadn’t bothered to open the Bible. Instead, he just kept it in a box and buried it beneath other things.

Now, six years later, with bills mounting and his mother’s health deteriorating, that old Bible and its cryptic note echoed in his thoughts.

“Well, Grandma,” Mike muttered bitterly, standing up and walking toward the corner of the room. “Times don’t get much harder than this.”

He picked up the boxes until he reached the box with the Bible. He pulled it out and carried it back to the couch.

Then, he looked at the note for the first time since her funeral.

“Open it when it’s hard,” he read aloud softly. “You silly, old lady. I loved you, and you were so petty.”

He shook his head, his voice catching in his throat as he opened the Bible for the first time.

The leather was cracked and dry, worn from years of use before Grace had given it to him. As he started flipping through the pages, something strange caught his eye.

It seemed like there was something tucked between the pages. Curious, Mike flipped one page, and what he saw there made him freeze.

Two crisp $100 bills stared back at him.

“What the…” he breathed.

He turned another page. More bills. Page after page, hundreds of dollars poured out of the Bible. Eventually, Mike realized his grandmother had hidden thousands of dollars between the pages of the Bible.

Mike’s hands shook as he spread the money out on his bed. Tears streamed down his face.

“Oh God, Grandma,” he whispered, looking up at the ceiling. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you just say something?”

As he sobbed, memories came flooding back.

He thought about Grace’s gentle hands, her warm smile, and her voice singing hymns on Sunday mornings. He remembered how she used to read Bible verses to him when he was little and how he would grumble about it as a teenager. He thought about the fight, and about the years he spent resenting her.

“I’m sorry, Grandma,” he choked out. “I’m so sorry.”

Kaila’s room was quiet, save for the beeping of machines and the faint hum of fluorescent lights. She turned her head slowly as Mike burst in, his face flushed.

“Mike?” she murmured, startled. “What’s wrong?”

He dropped onto the chair beside her bed, clutching her hand tightly. “Mom, you’re not gonna believe this,” he said, grinning through tears. “Grandma saved us.”

“What?”

“Her Bible—it wasn’t just a Bible. She… she hid money in it. Thousands of dollars, Mom!”Kaila’s eyes widened. “Thousands of dollars?”

Mike nodded.

“She left it for us. For me. She knew I’d need it someday.” His voice broke, and he glanced at the ceiling. “That stubborn old woman saved us.”

Kaila let out a soft laugh, her pale face lighting up. “That sounds exactly like Grace,” she said fondly. “She always knew what she was doing.”

Mike blinked back tears. “I didn’t deserve it, Mom. I treated her like crap, and she still—”

Kaila squeezed his hand. “Your grandma’s love was unconditional, Mike. That’s what real love is.”

“I don’t know if I can ever make it up to her,” he said quietly.

“You already are, sweetheart. You’re here, doing everything you can for me. Grace would be proud.”

Over the next few months, Kaila’s treatment began to work. Mike paid off the looming hospital bills and even managed to cut back on his grueling hours.

With less stress on his shoulders, he started thinking about his future.

Soon, he found a part-time course in accounting. It was something he’d always wanted to pursue but never could afford.

And for the first time, life felt possible. Mike was finally about to live the peaceful and meaningful life he’d always wanted to live.

And that was all because of his loving grandmother.