On my birthday every year for years, my grandma gave me a small plastic sheep. It turned out to be so much more than I thought.
As the youngest of three children, my family loved me very much, but my grandmother’s love stood out. She gave me a little sheep with a different coloured bell every year.
My mum gave me one last sheep after she died and said, “Grandma left this for you.” I cried because I missed her so much.
My brother later gave me hints that the sheep was more than I thought. He told me to “look underneath.”
I found a secret message: “I love you” followed by some numbers. It looked like a code.
My brother showed me how to put the numbers in order of the years I got the sheep. A bank account number was shown.
I found out at the bank that my grandmother had made an account for me when I was born and was putting money in it every year. Over $120,000! That was a huge amount of money.
That wasn’t all, though. A letter written by hand from Grandma was in a safety deposit box.
“Please forgive me for this game,” she wrote. “I wanted to ensure you were prepared for life.”
As I realised how much she loved me, tears came to my eyes. I went to her grave, poured her tea, and told her how thankful I was.
I said in a low voice, “I’ll make you proud, Nan.” “Your love will never fade.”
That was when I realised that the most surprising acts of kindness can hold the deepest secrets and love.
