A Promising Story

The man gathered his four daughters around, a single tear glistening in his eye.

"It is time, my daughters, for each of you to leave me; to pursue the separate paths that I hope will one day be this family's salvation. As you know, we are near the end. With no work for these long years, we have exhausted our savings - I have no money, I can no longer feed or clothe you, I can no longer care for you, and now I must send you on your way."

Anna, the eldest, boldly stepped forward: "Papa, I swear an oath to you that I will go out into the world and build tremendous wealth in business. I am smart. I am aggressive. People believe in me. Using these assets, I will save this family, returning with more money than you can imagine." And she strode confidently away, down the road that led from her family's meager hut, and out into the east where the great cities lay.

Bella, the second, arose next and declared: "Papa, I promise you that though I must take my leave today, I will return with funds that will not only save you and mama and my dear sisters now, but will also set our children and our children's children up with wealth that will last generations. It is my great beauty and charm that will attract and secure the mightiest Kings' affections. I will marry the greatest of the great and thus bring our family up from this decrepit state." And off she went, to the lands in the west where the mightiest of the mighty reigned.

Claire, the third of the daughters, cleared her throat with a sweet -ahem- and spoke next: "Papa, I too pledge to you that I shall return - as sure as I am standing before you now - with great fame and the fortune it brings. It is my wondrous singing voice, stage presence, and magnificent artistry that will earn me this fame and thus, all of us, a new life." And away she went, with the sun breaking through the clouds as if on cue, casting a natural spotlight on her journey south, where only the finest musicians played.

With her three older sisters gone and her parents' eyes now upon her, Diane stood up with a grunt and said. "I guess I'll be off now too. I'll be back tomorrow with some flowers to brighten up this place, and I'll do my best to bring a bit of food back as well for the three of us." And away she went into the fields to the north.

Diane was back the next day, as she'd said, with some flowers and some food.

The next morning, she awoke early and left again, leaving a note for her parents that said: "Back later today. I'll get more food. Borrowed your wheelbarrow."

She came back just before dusk with some more food and a wheelbarrow full of manure.

And so it continued, day after day...Diane leaving on short trips, promising to be back with modest things, and coming back with those things every time, right on time.

Her parents, meanwhile, despondently ruing the departure of their three eldest daughters, paid Diane little attention - thankful for the scraps of food she brought - but disappointed that she wasn't rising to the challenge like her sisters.

Months passed.

A letter came from Anna, excitedly declaring that her career in business was well underway and that overwhelming success was just around the corner. She renewed her oath to return soon with a fortune.

A letter came from Bella. She had secured the help of a fine man, and they were working together to get Bella ready for an audience with the handsome and eligible King Anthony. "I promise again," she wrote, "that our family will soon be married into wealth and power."

No letter came from Claire, but word spread about a meteoric new talent that was taking the great cities by storm, and her parents knew that Claire was in the midst of fulfilling her pledge.

Diane kept quiet, stayed close to home, went about her daily routine, and kept her parents going with just enough sustenance. Reliable. Low key. Seemingly satisfied with a hand-to-mouth existence.

After about a year, Diane asked her parents to join her on one of her day trips. Just over the northern hill, she revealed to them that she had been planting crops there all this time (starting with the seeds of the flowers she had bought the day after her sisters' departure) and working the previously untended land. Now, she needed their help to harvest its first yield and sell it in the town.

The following year, using the money from that sale, they planted more crops and bought some animals, and watched a healthy farm take root from their once meager holdings.

Years passed.

Anna never returned with a fortune. Apparently her business career stalled, though she earned a decent living. She had found a comfortable existence, she built a nice family of her own, and sent cards to her parents on all the holidays. She had a hard time facing them, though, having abandoned her oath to them.

Bella never married a King. She instead fell in love with the fine man who had at first been her co-conspirator in landing a powerful husband. They were happy but not wealthy. Bella always felt ashamed that she had settled for love instead of keeping her promise to her parents, so she more or less kept her distance from them.

Claire didn't become famous. Her talent, though, kept her fed and kept her happy. Her failure to keep the pledge to her parents was her one deep regret.

And Diane, together with her parents, built great wealth and happiness at home. Their farm became an important economic engine for their town, Diane became mayor, and her parents lived very comfortably to the end of their days.

They took great pride in what they had achieved, and missed Anna, Bella and Claire profoundly as the distance between them continued to grow over time. Their lofty promises, never solicited and never fulfilled, had kept them embarrassed and away.

"If only we had made them promise to be happy, and nothing more," said their Papa to Diane one late night, "I would be infinitely wealthy in the only way I had ever really wanted. But you knew that, didn't you?"

Diane smiled and absently touched the small, crumpled scrap of paper she had always carried in her back pocket. It said: While your reach should exceed your grasp, your promises should not.