They say karma is real. Sometimes you don’t believe it until you see with your own eyes how life rewards someone’s intentions and deeds.
My older brother, a cum laude master’s graduate who now holds the highest position at his office, surprised everyone years ago when he chose to marry a simple village girl. People thought he’d marry someone on his level: beautiful, smart, successful, with a matching career. Instead, he married a sweet-faced woman from a small village, only an elementary school graduate, who had moved to the city and worked as a snack shop cashier.
Did my parents oppose?
Not at all. They supported him wholeheartedly. Why? Because they saw she was kind and polite — and that was all that mattered.
What about me, his only sibling?
Me? Honestly… I didn’t care. 😁 I’ve never been the jealous type or someone who likes to interfere.
After the wedding, they moved in with our parents because my brother was still doing odd jobs. I was still single then, so the three of us lived together. My sister-in-law was always the first to wake up, while I… was the last. A month after the wedding, my mother sat me down and said, “Don’t treat her badly. She has no one here. You should look after her and show her love.”
I just nodded. I was never the caring type, nor did I feel competitive about anything.
Every month, my parents gave them living expenses because my brother wasn’t earning enough yet. My mother even bought my sister-in-law jewelry from time to time. Me? I didn’t get any. But… I didn’t care. I didn’t like wearing jewelry anyway.
Three years later, my brother finally landed a great job. Suddenly, my parents gave them more money to help them buy a house since they already had a child. Even after that, my parents still gave them some financial help — until one day my brother finally said, “Enough, Mom, Dad… we can manage now.” And it was true. They became financially stable, strong, and their marriage remained harmonious.
Years passed, and my parents began to age and fall sick.
When they were in the hospital, who was there by their side day and night?
My sister-in-law.
She even left her husband and child for a full week just to care for my parents.
And me?
I only managed short visits, always slower, less attentive, less patient. She always won every argument about how to care for them. She was so devoted, so loving to my parents — even more than I was, their own daughter. Sometimes I wondered: who’s really the child here, and who’s the in-law?
Now, my parents truly live like a king and queen in their old age. My sister-in-law visits them almost every day. The rest of us have moved into our own homes, busy with our own lives. But her? She keeps coming back, tirelessly.
And as I watch it all, I remember how my parents treated her so kindly back then — helping her, protecting her — and now I realize: karma is real. Every little kindness we sow into someone’s life, will grow and come back to us one day.
As I write this… I feel a little emotional. Thinking about how my brother and his wife treat my parents so well makes me feel like the adopted child, a little… useless. 😤
But I’ve learned one big thing: never underestimate small acts of kindness. Because someday, the person you were kind to will be the one holding you up when you are weak.
Image by beasternchen from Pixabay
