“Bro, if you weren't born with a silver spoon, then wealth is very far from you,” Ini replied, opening his hands wide to indicate the distance.
He then turned to his friends and continued,
“I mean, look at us. We hustle every day, carving wood in the rain and sunshine, yet there is nothing to show for it. We just have enough to feed our families and buy thrift items for our wives and children. Akpan, poverty is a disease,” he spat.
“Unlike other diseases, this one seems to have no cure,” lamented Akpan.
Imoh, who had been silent throughout the whole conversation, cleared his throat and chimed in.
“I don't think there is no cure for our disease. Wealthy people do not have two heads. I believe we can be rich as well if we have the resources,” he said.
The three friends discussed at length and concluded that they all deserved to be wealthy and enjoy all the benefits that come with it. They decided to visit an elderly rich man who owns the largest number of farmlands and palm trees in the entire community; perhaps he could lend them some money to expand their business.
After they must have narrated their pains and the purpose of the visit, the elderly man clears his throat and nods in agreement.
“Well, I don't have money to give you now, but I have an antique vase from my forefathers. I have no child of my own, so I can gift it to you,” said the elderly man, and the eyes of the three friends twinkled with hope and excitement.
The elderly man walked slowly into his magnificent hut and came out with a fragile clay vase. He placed it on the wooden table that separated him from his visitors.
“Everyone who has come to me wanted to borrow money. But you three are still young; I believe this will be more beneficial to you than money,” he said.
“How much is the vase worth, sir?” Ini asked.
“The vase is not for sale. It is a vase of good luck and riches. It will give each of you two options to choose from, and your decision will determine your wealth,” said the elderly man as he bid them goodbye.
“This vase could be very expensive. What if we sell it and divide the money among ourselves?” Akpan suggested on their way home.
“I think you’re right. We can use the money to buy more wood and carve more furniture for our customers,” Ini replied.
“Have we not done this before? You won 1 million naira from the bet last year. You bought more tools and wood, but your bank account is still empty as of today. I don't think what we need at the moment is resources; it's resourcefulness,” Imoh corrected.
“That may be true for you, but I know my problem is money. If I have enough money, poverty will be far from me,” Akpan said.
Upon reaching their village, the three friends decided to gather in one place to use the antique vase. They all agreed to meet at Akpan’s hut.
After much debate about who should go first, Imoh decided to initiate the magic. He rubbed the vase as instructed and shared his problem with it. The vase began to shine and shake, causing the three friends to open their eyes wide in fear and astonishment.
Source
“Wisdom or money,” the vase whispered, just loud enough for the three attentive friends to hear. After much contemplation, Imoh leaned closer to the vase and whispered, “Wisdom.”
This prompted Akpan and Ini to slap him hard on the back.
“Wisdom? How? Are you okay? Don’t tell me you’re a fool,” Akpan asked angrily.
“He is! Because you can only ask for what you do not have. The funny thing is he’ll still act like he knows more than us,” Ini added.
Soon, it was their turn to make a decision, and they both chose money.
A few months later, Ini went to the betting shop to try to double his money. He won the first two bets and decided to gamble all his money in hopes of becoming the richest man. However, luck failed him, and he lost everything. Akpan, on the other hand, used his money to buy more wood and tools, which allowed him to earn more than he used to. Unfortunately, his expenses grew to match his financial level, so he couldn’t save and become as rich as he wanted.
Imoh, who chose wisdom, was blessed with insight in all its forms. Since he already had a source of income, he became adept at using and multiplying the money he earned. Five years later, he became the richest man in his entire community, renowned for crafting the finest furniture and utensils.
Eventually, he retired and hired several workers to help him. His two friends decided to swallow their pride and sought a bit of his wisdom. Imoh was delighted and eager to assist his friends, sharing everything they needed to know about building wealth.
“You both have fragile hands; money cannot last in such hands. You only earn and spend money, never saving or multiplying it. That’s why I was poor, and that’s why you both are still poor,” Imoh explained.
A few years after heeding Imoh's advice, Akpan and Ini became wealthy, and the three friends lived the life they had always dreamed of.
I could tell from the start of the story that Imoh was a wise man. Making money might be the goal. However, having the wisdom to manage and multiply the money is very necessary
Yep, is not only about making money.
Thank you for your time 😊
Thank you 🤗
You're welcome
Poverty is a disease, but then when we come out of our shells, we will find what we have been longing for. This man is good, but their minds are not stable. This is why we have to choose wisely when given a choice. Money can be doubled when you have wisdom.
You are right dear, thank you for stopping by🤗
We will not be curating this story due to the detection of AI-generated content. If you are using AI to write stories, we suggest that you do not publish them in The Ink Well community. We only accept 100% original short stories that are written by the author, from the author's experience and imagination.
Hi @theinkwell
Please my story isn’t AI generated; I wrote it myself and used a regular grammar check for errors.
I haven’t written in a while, and I’ve been reading some self-help books, which might have influenced my writing style.
I'm not too surprised it was seen as AI generated since I myself did notice I sounded different while writing it.
Could you please check it again and clarify? It isn’t about the curation, but my reputation.
Thank you!
Hi @phyna , just trying next time to avoid using AI tool to correct grammatical errors in your write up. When used, It can turn your original content into AI generated content.
Just take note should in case you are using AI tool for correction
Thank you @cool08 for your concern. If you know how to check a post for AI content you can as well check it for me.
I know there is a difference between paraphrasing/revising, and using a free grammar checker that only corrects the grammatical errors.
Apart from Grammarly and Proofreader, I don't use any other grammar checker. Sometimes I use quillbot
I understand you.
I use the free grammar checker on Grammarly or quillbot for my posts.
I used quillbot for this particular one.
Just let go and write a fresh post on another prompt.
Hi Phyna. We state in all of our monthly newsletters that we only condone the use of Grammarly to fix spelling and grammar. Using Quillbot, or any rephrasing tool, will result in your post appearing as AI generated. Hopefully this helps and you won't have this happen again.
Thank you for explaining the situation. We hope this helps for future posts.
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Thank you, buzz😊
Your dedication has paid off @phyna. Keep rocking the blockchain and inspiring others along the way!