On the day my mother passed away, the will was announced at the notary office in Quezon City Hall. In it, my brother – Kuya Rafael – inherited 7 rental houses scattered in Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig and Quezon City, worth tens of millions of pesos in total. As for me, the youngest child, Ana, only received a worn-out leather briefcase, lying quietly at the bottom of my mother’s closet in Tondo.

Everyone was whispering:
– Siguro mas loves the eldest son…

– Maybe she considers the youngest son a burden…

I was silent. Kuya Rafa looked at me, his eyes filled with pity, then quickly turned away, hugging the pile of land title papers and rental contracts, smiling contentedly.

The old briefcase became a laughing stock in the eyes of my relatives. I carried it back to my small rented room in Caloocan, without a word of complaint. In my heart, I only engraved the image of my mother – Aling Teresa – smiling and advising:
– Each of us has our own destiny. Be kind, you will receive what you deserve.

Three years passed. Kuya Rafa lived in luxury: rent money poured in regularly, parties at Bonifacio Global City, friends surrounded him. Then because of gambling, e-sabong, and blind investments, he gradually sold 7 houses. Money ran out, friends shunned him, his wife and children also left for Laguna. From a man with his head held high, he fell into decline, debt piled up.

One rainy afternoon on EDSA, he came to my place. His body was emaciated, his shirt was soaked, his eyes were blank. He sat down on a plastic chair, his voice trembling:
– Honey… help me. I lost everything. Debt from society is pressing down, I have no place to turn.

I looked at my brother, my heart filled with indescribable emotions. The person who used to be the pride of the family, who used to consider me inferior, now sat here, his hands trembling, asking for help.

I quietly entered the room and took out the old leather briefcase. It had accompanied me for the past three years, no one knew what I kept in it.

He frowned slightly and forced a smile:
– You still keep those useless things at this time? Mom is too biased towards me… Don’t you blame her?

I didn’t answer. In front of him, I opened the briefcase. Inside were not old papers as he thought, but a thick, carefully wrapped file.

I put it on the table and said softly:
– This is what mom really left for me.

He opened it in a daze. Inside were a stock certificate issued by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a capital contribution contract to a logistics and warehousing company located in Laguna Technopark, and a land title of a plot of land in Cavite that was included in the project planning. Mom had secretly invested, all under my name. Attached were handwritten letters written by my mother in blue ink on slightly yellowed paper:

“Anak (daughter),
Kuya, you have enough, I am only worried that he will fall because of greed. The youngest child is hardworking, I want you to have a long-term support. Please keep it a secret until you really need it.

– Nanay Teresa”

He was stunned. His hands trembled as he flipped through each page, his face pale. He did not expect that the old briefcase that he despised contained a treasure. And even more unexpected, my mother had seen through everything, leaving me with a more stable path than anything else.

His tears fell onto the page. He whispered:
– It turns out… my mother had foreseen everything…

I sighed:
– My dear, my mother is not biased. She knows the strengths and weaknesses of each person. She believes you will grow up, but you let your greed take you away. As for me, I just try to keep my mother’s words.

The small rented room suddenly became silent. Outside, the Manila rain was still pouring, but inside I felt strangely relieved. Kuya Rafa bowed his head, his shoulders shaking with regret.

After that day, he asked me for a chance to start over. I did not give him money to pay off his debt, but introduced him to a warehouse supervisor position at the logistics company that his mother had left him shares. He accepted, started over, more diligently and humbly.

I still keep the old briefcase as a treasure. It not only contains assets, but also contains my mother’s trust, and is proof that: true value does not lie in what others see, but in how we cherish and live up to what we have been given.

Perhaps, the biggest lesson Kuya Rafa received was: when we are too greedy, sometimes we lose everything – but when we know how to bow our heads and look back, we have the opportunity to find the right path.