The Will

This is how it all happened. I was sorting out papers in my grandfather’s desk, that very desk my late granddad had worked at during the last two years of his very long life. Unlike many other old people, he kept a very clear mind and the outdated computer was still on his desk, along with everything else, untouched, the way it used to be, because I had never before disturbed the memory of my grandfather. When he was still alive I had never asked what he was doing in the Internet for hours and years. After all, the old man had the right to amuse himself the way he thought was best for him. Also, I just couldn’t bring myself to change anything in his room for years, maybe because I am too lazy, or because I was unwilling to put up with the fact that Grandpa would never again be sitting stooping at his desk. He so much liked to be left alone.

I was rummaging through the old papers in the top drawer with a view to make them take as little room as possible when I stumbled across a neat, sealed greyish envelope. There was no reason not to open it now. That must be one of the numerous letters Grandpa used to keep in his desk before posting or shortly upon receipt. Inside there was a notarized one-page document with a title written in large font: ‘The W I L L.’

Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that my Grandpa had been getting ready to die, or that he had anything to put into a will. He was so attached to life, he was a part and parcel of it. He must haven’t had time to get his affairs in order, otherwise he would have told me about the will. He should have done it, because this small envelope could have been lost quite easily.

……. and I hereby declare my grandson, being of sound and disposing mind and memory and understanding, by virtue of my last will and testament, the only owner and successor of my rights to the A-class securities worth Twenty Million US Dollars (USD 20 million) at the London Stock Exchange Index…

No. That was too good to be true. I knew that my Grandpa had been a notorious Internet surfer and even asked me to help him with some very specific software a couple of times, but …
…payable to bearer, against the log-in and password to be made accessible to my grandson at request.

My Gosh. Yes. He has always been very scrupulous about the details. ‘The devil is in detail’ was his favorite saying. It is so much like him. A-class securities offer you the best protection, they bring 3 to 5 % interest and can only disappear together with the world’s stock exchange market.

But what shall I do with that kind of money? I will never be able to account for it. Plus, I did not feel like declaring it with the tax inspectorate, and even less so – paying the inheritance tax. My Grandpa had turned out to be a talented broker, but he earned the money all by himself. He had never eaten from the hand of the government.

I have lost my peace of mind wrecking my brain about the whole story. But then, in my sleep, I found a solution to the problem, the way I usually do. I took out a blank sheet of paper and wrote at the top in the middle:

                ‘The W I L L’