It was just a usual day for Ali when he went out to his boring job. He was tired of putting caps on toothpastes and wanted a change. He wanted to hit the jackpot and have a lot of wealth. However, little did he know that quite a lot of wealth can be a curse.

Ali had been saving money for a very long time, he was struggling so bad that all he wished was to go abroad and make some money. So when he reached the required amount he needed for the expenses, he travelled to a foreign country to make a good living.

But upon reaching there, things didn’t turn out the way he wanted and he had to start with a job he didn’t like at all.

It was just an ordinary day, Ali left his cottage at seven in the morning as he had a two-hour commute to work. He came across a grand shop and thought of resting there for a while. He saw lottery tickets being sold and went to ask the shopkeeper how much they were for. They were for three dollars, but that was a lot of money for Ali. He, however, decided to buy it, hoping he could make some extra money. This is when his life changed forever.

Turns out, Ali hit it big and won the biggest prize possible. The prize was a million dollars. He thought it was a prank and expected the shopkeeper to laugh at him when Ali showed him his ticket. But his reaction was priceless, the shopkeeper nearly he fell from his chair.

When everything was sorted out and he received the money, Ali called his family and told them the life-changing news and informed them about how they will not have to worry about money any more for he would be sending them enough.

He couldn’t have been proven more wrong! Five years after this incident, Ali was a billionaire, but he had no time to stay at home, always busy in running his business, attending meetings and paying extra taxes.

He missed his family. He hadn’t seen them in four years. Every year he promised himself that he would go and visit them but that promise was broken at every attempt to accomplish it for one business reason or the other. He had thought that money would make his life blissful but now when he had more money than he imagined, he was not happy. He was tired of trying to pretend that he was happy with his projects and work. His mind was at his work, but his heart stayed where his family was. His children also missed him.

Sometimes he wanted to leave the country and the business and going back to his old life; but the thought that if he left his business how would he survive stopped him. What he did not realise was that this was the biggest mistake he had ever made in his entire life.

When he met his family a few years later, it was only for a few days. His family wanted him to stay more but he didn’t. During the same time, he was given the most difficult and challenging task of his career and its completion would not only boost his image but also result in him earning millions of dollars. This work kept him quite engaged that he lost contact with everyone and engrossed himself in the work. His hard work resulted in great profit. He was more successful than ever before.

To celebrate his success, he threw a big party. Lots of people came to wish him. As he watched his colleagues and their families celebrate his success, he felt so alone. Then someone asked him about his family, he became speechless. He realised all his mistakes. He left the party and went home immediately.

He booked the next flight available to his beloved homeland. As he went back to his old house, he felt so happy and content to find everyone. He realised that true joy of life was not in earning money, but it was in the little things in life. It dawned on him that money couldn’t get him happiness but the support of his loved ones would.

He did not care about anything else now. He just wanted to live the rest of his life in peace and without any stress about work. He knew he had wasted so many years of life running behind something which was not worth leaving his family behind for, so from now he wanted to spend all his life showering his love on his family and giving them the attention they deserved.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 23rd, 2019