Story about communication: How to follow instructions the right way

Some time ago, there was a man who spent his entire life working and saving every penny he earned. His love for money surpassed all else, even his love for his wife. He never took her on vacations, never treated her to a nice dinner, and never indulged in simple pleasures like a movie night. In his mind, spending money meant losing it, and that was something he could never accept. As the years passed and his health declined, a new fear settled into his heart. He began to worry about what would happen to his fortune once he was gone. The thought of his money being spent by others haunted him. Determined to maintain control, he gave his wife a peculiar and difficult request. “Dear wife, listen carefully,” he told her one evening with great seriousness. “When I die, I want you to take all of my money and place it in the casket with me. I want to take all of it with me to the afterlife. Promise me that you will do this.” His wife, who had endured his frugality and stubbornness for years, looked at him with a mix of sadness and understanding. She nodded and, with a gentle voice, promised him that she would honor his wish. To ensure there was no way around it, the man even had his lawyer draft a will stating that all of his money must be buried with him.

Not long after, the inevitable day arrived. The man passed away, and his funeral was arranged. Friends, family, and acquaintances gathered to pay their respects, but many also came out of sheer curiosity. They had all heard about his final request and wondered if his wife would actually follow through with it. Even the lawyer who had written the will was present, keeping a close eye on everything. The man lay stretched out in his casket, his expression as stern in death as it had been in life. His wife, dressed in black, sat beside their best friend, her face unreadable. As the ceremony came to an end and the undertakers prepared to seal the casket, she suddenly raised her hand. “Wait a minute!” she called out, rising to her feet. With slow, deliberate steps, she approached the casket. The lawyer, sensing the weight of the moment, walked with her. She reached down, retrieved something from a small shoebox she had brought with her, and placed it carefully inside the casket. The undertakers, satisfied that the deceased man’s wish had been fulfilled, closed the lid and rolled the casket away.

Later that day, as the wife and her friend drove home, the friend could no longer contain her curiosity. “I hope you weren’t crazy enough to actually put all of that money in the casket with that stingy old man,” she blurted out. The wife, maintaining her composure, nodded sincerely. “I promised him I would, and I keep my promises. I loved him, and I did exactly what he asked.” Her friend gasped in disbelief. “You mean to tell me you followed his instructions and put every last cent of his money in that casket with him?!” The wife smiled, a glimmer of cleverness in her eyes. “I sure did,” she said. “I gathered every cent, deposited it into my bank account, and wrote him a check. It’s in the casket with him. If he can cash it, he can spend it.” Her friend burst into laughter, shaking her head in admiration. “You are brilliant!” With a small smile, the wife looked out the window as they drove on. She had honored her promise but on her own terms. And in doing so, she had given herself a future her husband had never planned for her to have.