John lived a simple life. He’d never had much money, but he had always tried to make the best of whatever circumstances decided to impress themselves upon his life. He had married young, and now, aged thirty-four, he was still perfectly content with the way his life was going. Despite his apparent lack of wealth, he felt that he was very fortunate living with his wife and four children, whom he cared for a great deal.

He and his wife both worked very hard to earn a living. He worked as a handyman, usually with mechanical matters. He often worked at local factories and businesses, and rarely did he ever work professionally in a domestic environment, but he would often work free of charge for friends and neighbours. He would usually work two or three several hour shifts with short breaks in between, and often wouldn’t return home until past ten at night. His wife would clean the houses of richer families for a living; sometimes she would clean up to three houses most days, spending at least three hours at each one. Despite all this, they were content and comfortable with their modest existence. They would both always make sure that they took Sundays off, in order to spend time as a family.

That was, until one day he returned from work to a wife and children in abnormally high spirits, an open bottle of champagne and an official looking letter which, despite being addressed as “Private and Confidential”, had already been opened.

“John, something incredible has happened!” His wife cried out in glee, running to embrace him.

“What is it?” he asked in surprise, unaccustomed to her acting so unreserved. Unable to form proper sentences in her delight, she simply handed him the letter. She watched as his eyes flickered across the page, seemingly unable to take in what he was reading.

“My father…” He whispered, his throat suddenly dry. His wife became still, as she watched the comprehension wash over him.

“This is what you would call incredible news?” His voice was suddenly filled with anger. She looked down, slightly ashamed.

“He’d known it was coming for a long time. You know he hadn’t been very well. It was going to happen sooner or later…it was inevitable. But darling, think of the money. Think about, no more living in this god-forsaken place, no more working ten hours a day, six days a week, no more having to having to work at all. Our children could have the best education possible! We will be rich,” She reasoned. As she spoke, he could already feel his resolve beginning to crumble. After all, John knew he had been dead to his father ever since he had married his wife, who, apparently, was not of their “class”. His father was gone now, and his fortune and his business all belonged to John.

Soon after his father’s funeral, John and his family moved into his father’s house, where each person had their own bedroom, and several bedrooms to spare. There was also a lounge, a living area, a kitchen with a hatch that lead to the dining room, three bathrooms and two en-suites, two studies and a small private library. John became the manager of his father’s company, and his wife became a freelance artist and poet. Their children attended their local private school, driven to and from it everyday by a personal chauffeur. There food was cooked by a top chef, and the house and grounds were cleaned and maintained by a network of other servants.

John had been managing his father’s company for several months when he began to encounter problems with his workers. Although the annual profit of the company was already massive and constantly increasing, John still wasn’t happy with the amount of money he was receiving. He decided to lay off several hundred workers, and cut the wages of those remaining. He grew more and more rich. After a while, he began to believe that he wanted even more, and he didn’t want to be tied down to a family any longer, so he divorced his wife, using an expensive lawyer to ensure that she didn’t get a single penny of his money, and abandoned her and his children to whatever life it was that they had left. He now believed that he was free. He also believed that he was happy.

That was, until one day he returned home from work to find his home empty, and an official-looking letter marked “Private and Confidential” unopened and awaiting his attention. The letter detailed that John Smith was to be taken to court by the Workers’ Union, for corruption, and forcing his employees to work in sub-standard conditions, for below minimum wage. It also explained that one of his employees had been killed; falling from a piece of scaffolding that didn’t meet with Health and Safety’s criteria. The evidence was stacked against him, and in the end, he lost everything. His company, his home, his servants, all in order to pay for the damage his carelessness and greed had caused. He was left with nothing. His ex-wife had moved on, and was now with another man. Now John knew something he had never known before; what it really meant to be poor.

The End