The Sugar Cube And The Ant
Influence Future Generations From Beyond The Grave
It was a cool afternoon as it usually was when the two old neighbours sat in the garden for their monthly tea. The main difference this time was that they had a guest.
“Virgie, bring out the sugar cubes,” the curly-haired lady said to the maid. Turning to her decades-old neighbour, she said, “This is the young man I was telling you about, Joanna. He calls himself the Merchant of Time.”
“The Merchant of Time?” echoed Joanna. “You sell… time?”
The Merchant smiled. “I help business owners to buy time for their families and businesses when it’s most needed. Today, I’m just here for the tea.”
Joanna chuckled as the maid placed a bowl of sugar cubes onto the marble table. “I heard differently, Merchant. I heard that because of you, Margaret here had to go and rewrite her will, and now all her children want to know why. So do I, actually.”
The Merchant reached for the bowl and took out a cube of sugar. He placed it on the table. Joanna wrinkled her brow in puzzlement at the sugar cube.
“All I did was help Mdm Goh see the difference between solid ice and liquid water,” he said. “She came to her own conclusion after that.”
Margaret burst out laughing. “Please, Merchant, call me Margaret. I’ve asked you to join us for tea because Joanna was intrigued by your approach and wanted to meet you. It’s not everyday one gets to meet a Merchant of Time.”
Joanna tore her eyes away from the sugar cube. “Margaret was saying that when you pass on an illiquid asset to your family, you’re potentially creating a conflict, isn’t it?” she said. “That’s why she had her will rewritten to sell off the property at her passing so that her grandchildren can inherit the proceeds to use as they wish.”
The Merchant nodded, glancing at the sugar cube. There was now a small black ant at its base.
“Do you share this with all your clients?” asked Joanna.
“If it’s appropriate,” said the Merchant, sipping his tea. “There is something else I tell them.”
“What is it?” asked Margaret. Ever since the young Merchant helped her avoid a potential family conflict, she’d paid more attention to all her plans for her descendants. She knew the prospect of inheriting a windfall could cloud anyone’s judgement, but she never really discussed her plans with someone outside her family.
“Margaret, you mentioned before that you wanted to make the gift of time, at least 20 years you said, to each of your grandchildren. Have you ever thought about what it could do to them?” asked the Merchant.
The ant was circling the sugar cube. The Merchant took an empty clear glass, inverted it and placed it over the sugar cube, trapping the ant with it. The ant never noticed the glass as it was focused on the large sweet find. Margaret stared at the ant and the sugar cube. Its entire world had suddenly shrunk, but the ant did not care. Finding a way to bring home the sugar was all it cared about.
As Margaret and the Merchant of Time watched the ant, Joanna broke the silence. “Is there something I’m missing? What’s so interesting about an ant?”
“The sugar cube represents the gift of 20 years,” said the Merchant. “The ant represents the grandchild. The grandchild that receives 20 years of time before he is even 30 years of age will have no concept of its value. He lacks the life experience required to appreciate the gift. Rather than give him a leg up, such a gift would destroy him.”
“What do you suggest?” Margaret asked evenly.
The Merchant took another sugar cube and, using a spoon, scraped its side. Some sugar crystals fell onto the table next to the inverted glass. Then he took away the glass and the first sugar cube. The ant, finding the object of its obsession missing all of a sudden, appeared confused for a moment. Then it seemed, at least to Margaret, to shrug its shoulders and move to the small pile of sugar crystals nearby. It picked up one crystal and carried it off.
“Give to each one as much as they can handle, and instead of destroying them, it will take them far,” answered the Merchant.
“I understand if Margaret were to do that while she’s alive,” objected Joanna. “But c’mon, we’re already well into our 80s, how many more years have we got? No offence, Marge.”
“None taken, Jo,” said Margaret. “What we need is time. I need a way to continue to influence the lives of my grandchildren for another 10 or 15 years. But Joanna is right, I don’t think I’ve got that much time left.”
The Merchant smiled. “Then it’s a good thing that I brought my briefcase. How much time do you want — 10 or 15 years?”
That evening, as the Merchant was leaving, Joanna stopped him. “How do you do that? How do you create time just like that?”
“It’s not that difficult, Joanna,” he replied. “You saw how I did it. You were there.”
“You’ve… you’ve given Margaret the power to influence beyond the grave!” exclaimed Joanna. “How come no one ever told me before that this was possible?”
“We just did,” replied the Merchant. “If it’s appropriate, and the conditions are right, you can bend time to your will.”
“I want that, Merchant,” said Joanna. “I want that for myself, for my family. Can you do that for me?”
“I’d be more than happy to help you,” said the Merchant with a smile.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. How will you continue to influence your descendants from beyond the grave?
2. You are successful and have taken a lifetime to build these assets. How do you feel about giving them overnight to children and grandchildren, what you took a lifetime to build up?
3. How long would it take for each descendant to be ready to receive a substantial inheritance? What would happen if you don’t live for that long?
This is an excerpt from my book “The Merchant Of Time”. Published in February 2015, it contains 8 stories based on clients with whom my co-author and I have worked.
