I am 29 today, but I celebrate my birthday twice a year. The first time is on the day of my birth. And the second time is when I was saved from a fire. Or rather, I was saved by my older sister. She took me out of there about 20 minutes before the fire truck arrived. There was no chance they would arrive in time.

The story is actually quite ordinary. At seven years old, while watching TV, I saw how caramel was made. You had to melt sugar in a pan and make it liquid. Since my parents weren’t home, I decided to try it out. The sugar didn’t want to melt right away, so I decided to wait in the other room. I got distracted by cartoons, and in the meantime, the pan went up in smoke.

As we were told later, it was first the curtain that caught fire, then the whole kitchen. Everything started to smoke, and I was on fire. Fortunately, my sister came home early from school and got me out of there. She acted like a true hero.

Mom and Dad weren’t even angry with me. They just gave me a little scolding, and that was the end of it. But my sister became the family favorite. She was the center of attention.

My mother constantly reminded me of the incident and always advised me to thank my sister again for saving me. Even after twenty years. Can you believe it?

We grew up. I got into modern technology, pursued a career as a computer programmer. This profession allowed me to earn a good living, visit many places, see countries and interesting people. Unfortunately, things got worse for my sister. It wasn’t my fault, but she just couldn’t catch a break.

She first worked in her profession, then a friend recommended her a job at a beauty salon. There, the pay was better, and she liked the work. Lashes, nails, cuticles… I was actually happy with her choice. Then she met Victor, whom she got engaged to.

I didn’t like this guy from the start. He looked bad from his eyes. A perpetually smiling face surrounded by a perfect beard. Slim, always cheerful. Such people don’t really exist, unless they strive to play such a role. Anyway, I worried about my sister, but she was happy with him. She just kept talking about him all the time.

I hoped my mother would be on my side. But she too succumbed to the charms of this unfaithful man. The funniest thing is that when we were together, my loved ones treated me much colder than Victor. My own mother put him closer to her than me. She laughed at his jokes, while she didn’t understand my sense of humor at all.

Victor was also a businessman. For days, I just clicked on two buttons. And here is a corporate representative with a life of experience and the kind of relationships that give you a headache. Despite my efforts, I couldn’t get accurate information about the type of business my brother-in-law was involved in. Various kinds of businesses.

That’s why I was surprised when, three months after their wedding, Victor invited me to a meeting. Why did such a busy man need the «mouse clicker»? Of course, it was about business. And not just any business, but very profitable business. But to benefit from it, you need to invest money. However, serious businessmen never keep cash. And, of course, «the wheel will turn and everything will be quickly recouped».

It was a few thousand dollars. It wasn’t an impossible sum for me, but it wasn’t a small one either. The whole family knew about it. They had planned that I would «a little» help the biological family of my sister. And they would use the profits to contribute to the mortgage. As you can imagine, the promised profits never materialized in one month or six months. Yet, according to our agreement, I should have received my money by then. I must admit that I had somewhat forgotten about them, as I had a lot of work on my mind. Plus, my brother-in-law was elusive and no longer spoke to me. But after three months, I began to seriously question my «investments».

My mother’s birthday was fast approaching. I wanted to talk to Victor while I had the chance. But it was he who spoke first. He asked for everyone’s attention, stood up, and spoke for a few minutes about what a good person I was, how I had helped their family in a difficult time. And that they were grateful to me for the funds, which they would of course repay me when the opportunity arose.

In other words, my money went from a «100% return on investment» to a simple debt. And not just any debt, but a debt to my own sister. Which, in essence, of course, makes it a gift. I was so taken aback that I didn’t even protest. I just widened my eyes and smiled ironically when Victor came over to shake my hand.

But you have to find the positive in every situation. Even though I lost that money. It’s okay,