Reva’s laughter rang through the house like a bell. When she wasn’t filling sketchbooks with colorful drawings or dancing around the living room, she could be found curled up with her tablet or surrounded by textbooks. Her friends knew her as the one always planning the next adventure. “For my birthday,” she announced one evening, her eyes wide with excitement as she thrust her tablet forward to show her parents, “I need this exact purple unicorn bag. It’s perfect!”
Her parents scoured every shop in the market without success. “I don’t think they sell these in Nepal,” her father sighed, wiping sweat from his brow as they trudged home. That evening, they sat Reva down. “We couldn’t find your unicorn bag,” her mother explained gently. Her father added, “Just because something looks wonderful online doesn’t mean we can get it here.”
But Reva’s face crumpled at her parents’ words. Her lower lip trembled, then tears spilled down her cheeks. “I hate you both!” The words tore from her throat as she spun around and fled to her bedroom, where she flung herself onto her bed, burying her face in her pillow to muffle her sobs.
The father sighed with sorrow and said, “Poor girl.” But the mother responded, “It isn’t fair for her to demand unrealistic things. Instead of giving her everything she asks for, we should teach her the value of money and help her discover joy in what she already has.”
Gently, the mother moved closer to Reva and ran her fingers through her hair. “My dear, look at the moon—it’s so calm and beautiful.”
Reva, upset, replied angrily, “No, I don’t want to look. I’m very sad, and nothing you do can make me happy.”
Smiling softly, the mother said, “Do you realize that the most beautiful things in life are free? You don’t need to buy them to feel happiness.”
Surprised, Reva turned to her mother and asked, “What do you mean?”
The mother explained, “Look at the cool breeze, the sparkling stars, and the shining moon. They never ask for anything in return. Just like our love, they are freely given. True happiness doesn’t come from possessions—it comes from the heart.”