Agnes was sitting in one of the living room’s corners, teary-eyed. Everyone had left after discussing Clara’s wedding—during which Agnes stated her intention not to attend, despite her desire to do so—and she now regretted why she said that.

I never imagined this day would come. It is, indeed, unfortunate that now I won’t be attending it. The elderly lady reflected.

Agnes was 75 years old when her beloved husband Edward died. Soon after, her health began to fail, and she relocated to New York to live with her son’s family. They were initially very loving and caring, but when Agnes was diagnosed with dementia, things began to change.

She could hear her son Timothy and his wife Linda arguing almost every day about whether she should be moved to a nursing home or how expensive treatment would be if her health deteriorated further. But Agnes swallowed all of the pain and stayed there because she adored her granddaughter.

She was overjoyed when she finally learned Clara was getting married and offered all of her money to help with the wedding preparations. However, things didn’t go as planned.

“$25,000! That’s a lot of money, mom! I can’t take this from you,” Timothy explained. “I know you adore Clara, and you want to help us, but trust me, mom, it’s not needed.”

“But honey, what will I do with the money at my age?” Agnes asked in a frail voice. “You are aware that my health is deteriorating. I’m not even sure how much longer I’ll be living. Please allow me to do this.”

“She’s right, honey,” Linda interjected, her eyes twinkling at Agnes’s wealth. “After all, she only has one granddaughter. I don’t mind it, Mrs. Arnold. In fact, you made the right decision.”

“See, even your wife agrees with me, Tim,” Agnes remarked. “I’ll give you the details of my savings account. Please withdraw the money and use it, okay?”

“But mom. I don’t think—” Timothy was hesitant to accept the money from Agnes, but when she kept insisting, he finally gave in.

Meanwhile, Clara was anything but impressed with her grandmother.

“She’s not coming, guys. How can you even think of inviting grandma to the wedding? Ughh, I’m so done with that sick, old hag!” Clara yelled at her parents one evening.

“But, honey,” her mother protested, “she paid for your wedding.”

“Come on, Mom! Just because she paid doesn’t mean that we invite her. Don’t you remember what the doctors said? Her dementia is worsening. If that old hag shows up at the wedding, I swear I’ll cancel everything! I’m not letting her ruin my special day!”

“Enough!” her father exclaimed. “She’s your grandmother. At the very least, show some decency!”

“I don’t care, dad! I’m serious. That woman isn’t coming. It’s my wedding, and I’m taking her name off the guest list right now!”

At that point, the wedding was only two weeks away. Agnes was excited about it, but her heart sank when she overheard her granddaughter discussing removing her name from the wedding guest list.

Unfortunately, it affected her condition over time, and when Timothy took her to the doctor one day, he was told that if he didn’t take proper care of her, her condition would worsen even further.

When Clara and Linda found out, they were furious and suggested that Agnes be placed in a nursing home. “We don’t have time to care for her, and I don’t want to ruin my only daughter’s wedding because of her health problems,” Linda suggested.

So when Agnes returned from her doctor’s appointment, she announced that she would not be attending Clara’s wedding. The poor woman also advised her son to agree to his wife’s request and move her into a nursing home as soon as possible. “I know you’re concerned about me, Tim. But I don’t think your wife and, especially, Clara want me here. It’s best if I leave. Please!” she begged.

Timothy was hesitant to grant Agnes’ request, but Agnes begged and cried that she felt suffocated in the house all the time.

Agnes was sitting, teary-eyed, on the morning she was about to leave the house for the nursing home. Her thoughts were racing on how adorable Clara had been as a child. She spent her summer vacations at her house, and she loved her more than anything, but over time, all of those feelings had faded from her granddaughter’s heart, and all that remained was a mean person who was ashamed to invite her grandmother to the wedding because she was sick; a dementia patient.

Agnes was in tears on Clara’s wedding day, remembering how excited she’d been all these years to see her granddaughter in her wedding gown. When she couldn’t take it any longer, she asked the nurse Lincy to call her son Timothy and ask for the address of the wedding venue.

“I’ll just watch her and come back, Tim,” Agnes told her son on the call. “And don’t worry, I’ll make sure she doesn’t see me. I don’t want to ruin her mood on her wedding day.”

“Of course, mom. I won’t stop you if you really want to. I’m sorry I couldn’t persuade Clara to let you attend the wedding, but I can do this much for you.”

“That’s okay, honey. You tried your best. Thanks for sending the address. I’ll come to meet you too after I see Clara,” Agnes said before hanging up the phone.

Excited to see her granddaughter, Agnes decked herself up in a pastel dress and a matching beret. However, when she arrived at the wedding, a yelling sound from Clara’s room stopped her in her tracks. The older woman realized Clara and her fiance were arguing.

“How can you do this to me? How can you cancel the wedding?” she heard Clara yelling. Agnes covered her mouth in shock.

“I’m not going to be with someone who doesn’t respect her grandparents, Clara. I can’t believe you didn’t invite your grandmother because you were embarrassed about her illness.”

“Yeah, so? What’s the big deal? I didn’t want a burden like her to attend the wedding.”

“Wow! Clara, we will all grow old at some point. Is that how you’d like to be treated? How about my parents? They are already in their late sixties. Will you toss them out as well?”

“Don’t change the subject, Josh. I’m not going to call her!”

“Then the wedding’s off! Goodbye!”

When Agnes heard Clara’s fiance cancel the wedding, she couldn’t help but burst open the door. “Please, honey, don’t do that. Clara adores you.”

“Grandma! What in the world are you doing here?” Clara was taken aback.

“I just wanted to see you, honey. I tried everything to persuade myself not to come, but I really wanted to see you in your wedding gown.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but there’s no wedding happening here, Mrs. Arnold. You can go back,” Josh said.

“Please, honey, no. I understand Clara’s recklessness, but please do not cancel the wedding. I forgave her a long time ago, and you should do the same.”

“I apologize, Mrs. Arnold. I have a lot of respect for you, but I can’t do this,” Josh stated emphatically before departing.

Clara sobbed to the ground as she watched him walk away. “Are you content now? You completely ruined our wedding. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“No, honey, I didn’t mean that—” Agnes approached slowly to console Clara, but the young woman was so enraged that she threw her grandmother out of the room.

Agnes walked back slowly, taking in the surroundings. The entire atmosphere seemed depressing. The guests were leaving the hall, murmuring in disappointment, and Timothy and Linda were arguing again.

Tired of all the chaos, Agnes walked over to the seats set up in the wedding hall and sat quietly. Then she called Lincy and asked her to bring the elders from the nursing home to the wedding venue, where Agnes threw them a party.

Seeing everyone enjoying their heart’s content, Agnes was delighted. Linda and Clara cast a stern glance at her when she saw all the older people arriving at the venue and enjoying themselves, but Agnes didn’t care.

She lost herself in the cheerful atmosphere, forgetting her worries, and poured herself a glass of wine. Since I paid for the wedding, I deserve to have a good time. Life is too short to be concerned with everything. I wish I had realized it before. The old lady pondered as she took a sip from her wine glass.

What can we learn from this story?

• You can’t escape karma. Clara decided to exclude her grandmother from the wedding, but karma caught up with her and made her learn a lesson the hard way.
• Don’t lose yourself trying to make things right and making others happy. Agnes was always concerned with Clara’s happiness and neglected her own. One should never do that.