There lived an old pensioner father Ove whose life revolved around his only son- Olive. Ove usually had whole time to himself since he was retired by profession but like a dutiful father, he dedicated all his time to son- Olive. Together they were an inseparable team right from the beginning and when Ove’s wife passed away due to illness, their bond only grew stronger than before. Ove was placed in a good house since he was retired as a senior government employee but despite being a rich pensioner and with all his wealth, he didn’t stop from feeding simple, clear and down-to-earth morals into his son- Olive. He would always explain Olive during his teenage years, “my dear son, be sure to put people (family) before things. Never let them be the sacrificial lamb you place at the altar of other pursuits. Because in the end nothing matters but the family. Always look out for them and live for them. Make them a priority.” And Olive made sure even during his most precious teenage years to live by those words. His kind heart would always put his dear father first.
As Ove grew older, he became very weak and fragile. His knees trembled and he would have shaky hands and some difficulty in walking and so, Olive was mostly by his side. One day on the occasion of his darling father Ove’s birthday, Olive decided to treat his old retired father to a restaurant for an evening dinner. When their food came, father being very old and weak could barely hold the spoon right. While eating, he even dropped food on his shirt and trousers. Other diners watched him in distaste while his son-Olive was all calm and composed.
After Ove finished eating, his son who was not at all embarrassed by his father’s act, quietly took him to the washroom, wiped the food particles from his clothes, removed the stains with wet towel, wiped his mouth, combed his hair and fitted his spectacles right. When they returned to their seat, the entire restaurant was watching them in dead silence, not able to grasp how someone could embarrass themselves publicly like that. But Ove and Olive could not care about anyone. They were one happy father-son duo in their little corner. The son peacefully settled the bill after the dinner and started walking out with his father.
At that time, a stranger walked down towards them. The stranger, who was amongst one of the diners smilingly called out to Olive and asked him, “Don’t you think you have left something behind?”
Olive replied, “No sir, I don’t think so. What could it be?”
The stranger replied, “Yes, you have kind boy! You left a lesson for every son out there at the restaurant and an immense hope for every ageing father”.
The restaurant diners went silent and were put to shame. Ove could not have been prouder at that moment. Happy tears welled up in his eyes. The old retired father was content to learn that not only did his boy Olive, listened to all the teachings carefully during his teenage years, but also implemented in his adult life. Olive was now a grown-up man with the highest honors.