The Virtuist

Inside the living room of a small house in Ryesdale Lane, are the 3 children of the recently deceased, Henry Cromby. He passed away a few days earlier from pancreatic cancer.

In the armchair, sits David, 33, CEO of a tech company. On the sofa, is Michael, 31, living on unemployment benefits, handouts from David as well as some cash-in-hand money from his drug dealing. Next to Michael is Julia, 24, currently undergoing a Master's degree in Psychology.

Mr. Cromby, 65 years old, had a reputation for being a gentle, selfless, and humble man. Most of his life was devoted to various charity work, living on modest salaries. His wife, Valarie, passed away 4 years earlier. Henry had lived alone ever since.

The overall body language of the 3 children, is one of anticipation as well as nervousness. Michael is very fidgety, David repeatedly shakes his right foot, while Julia remains very calm.

David immediately leaps from his seat, as he responds to the knock at the front door.

"Mr. Denby, please come in, have a seat", David says, as he opens the door.

Hugh Denby, from Denby Will Writers, sits down in the living room and pulls out an envelope.

"I will come straight to the point, lady and gentlemen. I appreciate this is a very difficult time for you all", Mr. Denby says gracefully.

"Your father requested for his will to be read by himself, with a video recording. He made the clip, a few weeks before he passed. He requested that it must be for David, Michael, and Julia's eyes only. Inside this envelope is a memory stick, that holds the recording. Without further a due, I will leave this envelope, and you all in peace. Please contact me when you're ready. I will see myself out".

Michael's eyeballs light up as if he's seen a ghost. David appears calm, while Julia takes a deep breath. As Mr. Denby closes the front door, the 3 children turn to each other in silence. David is quick to lead the way.

"Ok guys, I realize this is probably as much a shock to you, as it was to me. Let's just, take a deep breath. Mr. Denby informed me about a video before today. So I have my laptop with me. I do not know what's on the recording".

As David turns on his laptop, Michael starts to bite his nails, while Julia continues to take deep breaths.

David calls his siblings to attention, "ok guys, it's ready".

The recording begins to play.

"My dear children, I couldn't leave this world without saying my final goodbye. As you know, my life philosophy has always been, to live one's life to the full, is to live with as much virtue as possible, while keeping one's sin tally down. I always believed the measure of a person is not made by what they do for work or by how much money they have or by what they possess. It is measured by how they are as a person, in their past and present as well as with, how they choose to be in their future".

Henry begins to hold a small Moleskine black notebook.

"Inside this notebook, includes full details of the scoring I have made on each of you throughout your lives. I, therefore, request that this notebook, be shared amongst the 3 of you or better yet, someone does the family the courtesy of typing these notes onto a computer".

"David. All your life, you have stood by your family, with constant kindness, particularly with Michael. Whilst I applaud your consistency of patience and diligence throughout your family and work life, during your childhood and adulthood, I just wish you would show more humility in your work and public life, instead of constantly bragging about yourself and your achievements".

"Focusing on the main matter at hand, your blatant lack of sorrow for the greedy act you committed against Timothy Desborough, still haunts me to this day. Why did you have to steal his software idea? If you hadn't, he never would have drowned his sorrows in the bar that night and he never would have had that near-fatal car accident, under the influence of alcohol. I just wish Timothy didn't spill the software idea beans to you at the Christmas party, without having a patent in place".

"To make things worse, you denied that you stole it, in public life and to your family, when I know the truth. The ultimate salt in the wounds is Timothy having to wake up every morning, knowing that someone else is taking all of the glory. I believe if you had been more charitable, in helping him with the patent and allowing him to take full credit for the idea, both in monetary as well as public recognition and praise terms, he never would have been bed-bound in hospital for days with those injuries".

Henry begins to switch his focus to the next sibling.

"Michael. I have very rarely called into question, your kindness to your family. However, that was until the night, you did not stick to your word, after your 2nd stint in the hospital's ER. You failed to truly consider, the impact your actions had on the people who love and care about you. There seems to be no let-up with your excess in drugs and alcohol as well as your constant anger, in the way you blame others for your mistakes. Your excessive indulgence has resulted in very traumatic effects for your family. You seem to constantly show a lack of remorse".

"After your first overdose incident in the ER, you swore, from the kindness of your heart, you would never put your family through that trauma again. Yet 4 months later, after a brief stay in rehab, you were back in the hospital in a critical condition, and we were left to relive the horror once again. I empathize that addiction can be a difficult one for some people to conquer. With that in mind, if you did not swear on putting us through such horror again, a 2nd trip to the hospital would be far more forgivable. Therefore, your extreme indulging in "the pleasure" (your words) of drugs and alcohol has been prioritized over the wellbeing of your family".

"Furthermore, whilst I respect how kind David has been to you over the years, I am displeased in the way you solely rely on his money, while you very rarely do anything in terms of generating income, whether that's from getting a job or building something for yourself. I spoke of how David's actions against Timothy Desborough, remain haunting to me. This does not compare to the terrifying ordeals of your hospital trips".

Henry now turns his attention to Julia.

"Julia. The fact that, even to this day, you speak of regret, with regards to the incident with Mum 6 years ago, speaks volumes, in terms of how sorry you are. I also applaud how willing you were to get help in dealing with the trauma of the incident. I urge you to once and for all, find a means of learning to live above your demons. This recording is the last time I will say this. You are not to blame for Mum sustaining her head injury".

"You were just 18 years old at the time. You were very drunk after a party. Mum was just giving you some tough love on the lesson of learning to moderate alcohol consumption. Pushing her down the stairs was unacceptable. Nevertheless, I know you didn't mean to hurt her. When you said you were so drunk, you weren't consciously aware of where you and Mum were standing before the push, I believe you. We can be grateful that she only had to have a few stitches in the end".

"Whilst I am also displeased in your engagement in sexual activity as well as your tantrums to Mum and me during that teenage phase, you have lived a good and honest life ever since. I am so proud of the person you have become as well as your character. You are consistently kind, patient, and humble. Nevertheless, you still need to learn to not over-react when someone's trying to help you or offer constructive criticism. Let's not forget, the very unpleasant name-calling you inflicted on me several months ago".

Henry now starts to focus his mind on a conclusion.

"Before I make an announcement, I would like this video to serve as a lesson to you all. Be well versed in virtue. Not forgetting, to make sure the sins on your slate are regularly wiped clean. Sins are known as deadly, for a reason. We do not want a repeat of near-fatal incidents like Timothy Desborough, Michael, and Mum.

"Now without further a due. I declare Julia as the Virtuist. What's The Virtuist, you may be asking? It's just a new word I invented to describe someone who seems to show the most virtue of them all. As a reward for Julia, I inherit my 1982 lottery winnings of $20,000 as well as the house and all of my possessions. You will find the winning ticket, stuck inside the Moleskine notebook. Mr. Denby has my will in writing. Sometimes in life, fate deals us an unexpected hand. In my eyes, this is just rewards for much consistency in virtue".

"I trust you, Julia, in what this money will be used for. You're 24 and single. You have your whole life ahead of you. $20,000 will certainly be of good assistance for you and a future partner and children. Farewell, my children. I love you all very much. I love you, David. I love you, Michael. I love you, Julia. I know life doesn't always seem fair. Mum having a heart attack, I with cancer. But be patient. We shall see each other again".

As the recording ends, Michael storms out of the house, Julia looks stunned, while David pulls out his cell phone.

"I need to make a call. It's time to put things right with Timothy".