“You can’t be serious, dad! Really, a pendant? Like, is that all you could think of?” Lindsay mocked Timothy as she unwrapped her present and found a silvery pendant inside a box.

“But darling,” Timothy said. “Trust me, it’s the most valuable gift your poor father could afford, and it’s not just a pendant!” he boasted gleefully. “It’s special, just like you are!”

“Come on, dad,” Lindsay snarled. “I’m not a child! Your flattery will not hide the fact that anyone who looks at it can see it’s really cheap. Wait a minute,” she gasped suddenly. “Jesus Christ! IS IT SECOND-HAND? Did you just get it from a flea market?”

“Ah, well, second-hand stuff aren’t that horrible, Lindsay. Don’t forget, honey, that after your mother died, I raised Sophie, Beth, and you all by myself. I never let you girls miss out on anything because I wisely spent whatever money we had.”

“I can’t believe you bought me a cheap pendant for my birthday, Dad! That’s crazy!… Meanwhile, you used your savings to help Sophie pay off her apartment mortgage, and you also paid for Beth’s car! I swear to you, Dad! I hate you for this! I SHOULDN’T HAVE COME HOME FOR MY BIRTHDAY!” Lindsay hissed as she tossed the pendant into a drawer. “I’m returning to New York tomorrow, Dad, and I’ll be celebrating my birthdays there from now on!”

Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Timothy was deeply hurt by Lindsay’s mockery of his gift, which he’d lovingly prepared for her, but he didn’t say anything. He groaned regretfully as he watched her leave the house the next day, wondering how times had changed and how his daughter, who loved him so much, didn’t think twice before mocking him.

Years passed then Timothy passed away unexpectedly due to a heart attack. Following his demise, Beth, Sophie, and Lindsay decided to put his house up for sale. Sophie and Beth were preoccupied with something else, so they couldn’t make time to clean the house before the sale, leaving Lindsay to do it all on her own.

One day, Lindsay was cleaning her room when she opened the drawer and found the pendant. She stared at it for a while and snickered. “Ah, this ugly thing is still here. I wonder how much money dad wasted on this?” she mused as she turned it in her hands.

Just then, it slid from her grasp, tumbled to the floor, and clicked open. Lindsay knelt to pick it up and noticed it held a picture of her and Timothy when she was a child. She got a little emotional as she stared at the photo. She turned it over and found an inscription in her father’s handwriting: “Look behind the painting.”

Lindsay pondered what that could imply, and suddenly it dawned on her. Their house just had one painting and it happened to be in Timothy’s room! She dashed upstairs to the painting of the Taj Mahal that Timothy had brought back from his trip to India. She swiftly removed it, but all she saw behind it was a blank wall. She knocked on the wall and tried to push it – no secret passage either!

“What a waste!” she cried, cursing herself for being such an idiot to rush to his room. But when she looked at the photograph again, she felt that she was missing something – perhaps it was right in front of her eyes and she couldn’t see it! So she reread the words: “LOOK BEHIND THE PAINTING.”

“Wait, behind the painting could mean the painting’s back!” she cried cheerfully and picked up the painting to investigate it. She flipped it around in her hands several times but couldn’t find anything. At this point, she felt as though the words on the note were ridiculing her for being stupid, and she burst into tears. In a fit of wrath, she threw the image on the floor.

As the backboard of the painting separated from its frame, she noticed several bills spilled on the floor.

She couldn’t believe her eyes. “Good Lord!”

She squatted down and dismantled the backboard properly.

Behind the picture, she discovered old cash notes from different countries – several of them. She gathered them and went to a nearby antique shop to have them appraised.

The appraiser smiled at her as he examined the collection. “I’d estimate a million dollars at the very least. You have a wonderful collection! Many numismatists would die for it!”

“Are you sure? That’s fantastic!” She returned his smile before exiting the store.

On her drive back home, Lindsay couldn’t figure out why Timothy never told her and her sisters about the collection. Why did he hide it? She went back to his room and decided to look at the painting again.

She removed all its layers one by one, and this time, she found a hidden note pinned to the canvas. She unfolded it, and her tears knew no bounds by the time she finished reading what was written on it.

“Dear Lindsay,

Today I saw how unhappy you were after seeing the pendant I gave you and thinking your birthday gift wasn’t special or that your sisters got more from me than you ever got. Well, honey, I never discriminated between your three. I helped you all whenever you needed it, and I’ll continue to do so until my last breath because I love all three of you more than anything else in the world. But this pendant isn’t what you think it is.

“Your father spent a considerable portion of his savings to collect cash notes over the years and a bit extra to get you the lovely pendant from a flea market and organize this little surprise for you. I know it’s not from Gucci or Louis Vuitton, and God knows what brands you like, but this poor daddy did his best to make this special for you. Also, I didn’t tell your sisters about this, so please don’t get me killed. They will hate me if they find out about it.

Turn around if you’ve read this letter and your father is waiting to hug you.

With love,

Your dad, Timothy.”

Lindsay felt very ashamed of herself. She cried and cried, hoping she hugged Timothy once when he gave her the present. “How could I be so mean? I am so sorry, dad!” She cursed herself. However, nothing would change.

She sold the house later that year and split the earnings equally with her sisters. However, she never sold her father’s collection, which was his final gift to her. And now, she wears the pendant every day in honor of Timothy and how much he loved her. Sometimes it would also remind her of her regret in not being able to thank him for his thoughtful gift.

What can we learn from this story?

• Don’t judge a book by its cover. Lindsay mocked the pendant just because it wasn’t expensive enough for her, but she later realized she was wrong.
• Respect the things your parents do for you. Timothy put his heart into making Lindsay’s 25th birthday memorable for her. But it was too late by the time she realized it.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a misogynistic man who lashes out at a woman for damaging his car until karma teaches him a lesson the hard way.

This account is inspired by our reader’s story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.