The Brother’s Destiny

            It used to be customary in many ethnic groups that families would stick together and that brothers and sisters would assist each other. Those who succeeded and made a good living were supposed to help the rest of the family.

            Once upon a time, there were two brothers. One of them had well succeeded in his business and the other, the younger one, although he had the same training, and despite the fact that he made his best effort every week, was not able to make ends meet. Every Friday, in order to survive, he visited his older brother who had become rich, in order to ask for financial support. Months went by and the rich brother helped his younger brother without complaining. One Friday the older brother had a brilliant idea. As he was rich, why not make his brother rich once and forever and his brother’s problem would be solved.  He prepared a bag of gold coins, which could have made his brother’s fortune.

            The rich man wanted to transfer this purse discreetly, so that his brother may not feel indebted to him. He wanted his brother to believe that this amount of money came from heaven. As his poor brother always said that he had no chance, the rich brother wanted the young one to start believing in his good fortune and to take fresh heart.

            The big brother took the bag full of gold coins and went to put it down next to the nearby well. He positioned the bag in a way that it could not escape his brother’s inquisitive eyes.

            When the poor brother arrived to request the needed amount of money for the week, as usual, and before he even had a chance to open his mouth, the rich brother said:

            “Great that you arrived early, my brother.” The poor man, happy about this pleasant reception, said to him:

            “What may I do for you, my brother?” The rich man, pretending to be busy with his paperwork, said:

            “My brother, I was so busy, I didn’t have time to fill my jug with water.” The poor brother was pleased to be able to be of service to his brother for once. He took the jug and went toward the well without hesitation. A few minutes later, he came back with the jug full of water. His brother took the jug and had a good gulp, as if he were really thirsty. The poor man sat down with a big smile, waiting for the appropriate moment to request the usual sum of money from his brother, when he saw his brother’s eyes observing him. The rich man realized that there was no sign of his brother having noticed the treasure. His brother’s silence puzzled him and in order to make sure that he was not wrong, he said:

            “My brother, is the rope of the well still in good condition?” The younger brother responded naively:

            “I don’t know, my brother, I didn’t pay attention to the rope.” The rich man, still intrigued, said:

            “My brother, would you like to come with me to the well?” The poor brother did not understand what his brother wanted from him, but he followed him to the well, thinking that his brother wanted to lecture him as usual. When the two brothers arrived at the well, the rich one showed the bag of gold to his brother and said:

            “My brother, did you not see this bag?” The poor guy answered innocently:

            “My brother, I could not have seen it because my eyes were closed.”  The rich man said furiously:

            “But why were your eyes closed?” The poor brother, all ashamed of himself, answered:

            “My good and generous brother, you know, how much I love you. First of all, there is no week when I don’t come to pay you a visit, right? When you asked me to fill the jug, I wanted to prove myself that I was able to go from your place to the well and back with my eyes closed.”  Then he continued:  

            “You see, for once I had regained my self-confidence and as you can see, not only have I gone back and forth with my eyes closed, but I have also used the rope and filled the jug without spilling one drop of water on the ground.” His brother was saddened while listening to him, and said in a resigned voice:

            “Indeed, my brother, you succeeded very well in all this. Without any doubt, God knows what he is doing.” Without any further words, the rich man took the bag and put it back in his safe. Then he handed a gold coin to his brother and said:

            “Go on, my brother, continue the week as usual, it surely is your destiny. If you were created you with your eyes closed, who am I to open them for you?”