"Grrr! Grandpa!!! I don't understand!", the little boy said angrily.

"What do you not understand?", the old man asked without shifting his gaze from the book he was reading. A book big, and heavy and old, one of those which his 12-years old grandson would've never picked for himself.

"Well, I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed when I spot a quote: "No expectations. No disappointments.", the boy said.

"Yes, and!?", the grandpa said.

"And I continued scrolling and another quote popped up: "Never lose hope!"

"I still don't get where are you going with that, son!", the old man said, but his eyes were still focused on the book.

"Grandpa, yesterday, at school, our Spanish teacher explained to us the word "expectativas", aka Expectations, and the definition in dictionary says that they are the "Hope that you'll get something." So... Doesn't it mean that the expectations and hope are the same thing, then? And if it is so, then you can't be left with no expectations and still keep your hope. So if you never lose your hope, then you should never lose your expectations, right?", the boy finished. A smirk found its way to his lips, he was so sure of himself that he was even proud of what he just has said, because he believed it was really wise.

The old man finally shifted his gaze from the book pages and to the boy. He saw his grandson's smirk and confident expression, and he smiled in amusement. The grandpa closed the book and put it beside him on the sofa, then he reached and grabbed his walking stick and tried to pull himself up, but he couldn't. The sharp weather shift affected his old sensitive bones, his whole body was stiffened. "Ah, it isn't easy getting older, your body isn't what it used to be anymore", he said to himself silently and sighed. Instead of standing up he placed his walking stick between his knees and he leaned to its handle, putting his hands one over another. Then he faced the boy and called him.

"Son, put down this telephone, take this stool over there, and bring it here, sit right in front of me."

The boy did as he's been told to.

"Now...You think that the expectations and hope are one and the same thing, is that so?", the old man asked.

"Well, yeah. It seems like they are", the boy said proudly, he was still certain of his wise thoughts.

"And that's because your dictionary-fictionary is saying so, right?"

"Well, not exactly...But grandpa, I told you that the definition for expectations in the dictionary...", the boy started explaining himself but he was interrupted by the old man.

"I heard you the first time, son."

"And?"

"And what?"

"And why I am sitting here, in front of you? And why you have this serious expression on your face, as you are about to tell me something Very important?", the boy asked and the old man laughed in amusement.

"Well, you're not stupid, not at all. You are maybe a little bit confused but it's normal, you are young, you'll learn within time", the grandpa said, then he took a deep breath and continued. "Yes, I have to tell you something, but you'll decide rather it's very important or not. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday."

"Well, what is it grandpa?", the boy asked impatiently.

"Hahaha", the old man laughed. "Young people never change. Aaah, you are always in a hurry! The life is before you, but instead of living it with pleasure, you rush through it as if someone is chasing you. You hurry, and hurry, and for what, to realize rather later than sooner that Life must be lived slowly, otherwise it passes and ends too fast."

"Grandpa, I didn't understand a thing!", the boy frowned. He was confused.

"You'll understand, son, you'll understand. However, I want to tell you something else."

"What is it grandpa?"

"The expectations and hope, don't you ever equate them. If you do so, you'll make a big mistake, son, and you'll be left without the one and the another."

"But aren't they almost the same?"

"No, son, they are not."

"But in the dictionary...", the boy persisted.

"I got what is written in the dictionary. Ok, let it be. Now, I'm telling you something else. I want to tell you what Life itself taught me. And believe me, Life, dear boy, knows better than any dictionary in the world."

"Ok. What did life teach you, then?", the boy crossed his arms on his chest and looked at the old man with disbelief.

"Life taught me that the Hope and the Expectations are different, and they can't be even compared with one another. The first can lift you up and give you strength to move on, and the second could shatter you in pieces."

"How so?", the boy asked. The old man saw in his eyes uprising curiosity. That was a good sign. The boy's attention was drawn so the grandpa received his green light to carry on.

"Look son", the old man smiled and continued, "the Hope is as if you were hanging over an abyss and you were hoping to find a way to get out of this deathly situation.Then either someone comes, gives you a hand and pulls you up, OR you gather all the strength in yourself, even the amounts you've never known about, and fight with gravity for your life, by yourself."

"What are the expectations then?", the boy asked in excitement. The grandpa smiled and continued.

"The Expectations, son, are as if you were hanging over the same abyss, and you were expecting someone else to come and save you. That way you put your life in someone else's hands. And you are hanging over the abyss, and waiting for someone to come, anyone. While you are waiting, your fingers lose their strength, and one by one, they let go of the edge you are holding on. And when the last one loses its strength, you fall down. You abyss in the nothingness. Then it comes the clash, the clash with reality, that shatters all of your expectations in pieces, as well as you."

"Oh!", escaped from the boy's mouth. A minute later he asked, "Grandpa, does it mean that one shouldn't expect anything, and one should throw away all of one's expectations?"

"It will be good, son."

"But...But people say that you have to expect good from people so for people to be good."

The old man laughed in amusement and answered with smile, "No, son, they say that you have to have hope in the good in people."

"Yes, but isn't it the same thing!? Won't we then expect them to be good?", the boy asked.

"Son, we can't expect, we can only hope", the old man said. "It's wrong to put such a burden, that the expectations are, on the others and on yourself as well. You can give an advice and hope that the other person will choose wisely and what is right, but you shouldn't expect from anyone to do as you said, or as you think is right."

"But why grandpa?"

"Because if you are expecting something in particular from someone, you are robbing that person of their right to choose. And this is wrong. Everyone should have right to choose. The others could give advices, or express their opinion but in the end, one should take one's own choices for oneself. This is the right thing to do. For example, would you like if someone takes from you your right to choose for yourself?"

"NO!", the boy cried.

The old man smiled and continued, "Then you shouldn't do it to anybody. Is it clear?"

"Yes, grandpa.", the boy answered. He thought for a second or two, and then added, "Grandpa, what if you don't expect anything from anyone, but you direct your expectations to yourself, will it be wrong?"

"Yes, son. Then you'll be robbing yourself of your right to choose. Moreover, that way you'll set limits for yourself, and they won't do you any favour."

"Hmmm. But, but if you don't expect anything from yourself, wouldn't you become lazy? Mom always says "One must have high expectations for oneself, so to work harder for one's goals." Isn't she right?"

The old man laughed joyfully and answered, "She believes she is right. And no, son, you won't get lazy. In fact, you could be more efficient and you could work harder, and with more energy and enthusiasm."

"How so grandpa?"

"When you don't have any expectations that could be shattered and with which collapse you'll enter in the vicious circle of pitiful thoughts and dullness, you could achieve a lot more than you ever expected. So listen, the most important thing is to keep on working hard for your dreams and goals. With the hard work you need to have hope that you can fulfill them and you need to believe in yourself, believe that no matter the obstacles on your way you can move on and reach to the end. You can't sit and wait for someone to do all the work instead of you, you shouldn't expect that. But trust me, if you work hard, have hope and faith, you'll get farther than you've ever imagined, dear boy. And if you do it all with love, with desire, and you put your heart in what you do, well then it will be easier, then the work will seem less harder and your hope and faith will be unbreakable. You'll be unbreakable, son!", the old man said, and he caressed the boy's head. Then he smiled and took his book back, opened it and fixed his gaze on the page he has stopped, and he started reading.

"Grandpa", the boy said while he was taking the stool back at its place, "have you learnt all of these from life or from your books?"

"I already told you that the Life itself taught me that", the old man answered without shifting his gaze from the text before him. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because you are always reading. Maybe it's written somewhere in your books", the boy said.

"You are right, it might be written in any of my books", the old man said through a smile.

"Well then, how I'm supposed to know what I can learn from life, and what from books, grandpa?", the boy asked. His eyebrows were locked and his expression was a mix of frustration and confusion.

The old man looked at the boy and gave him the only answer he knew, "Read, my son, read and live your life. Turn books into a part of your life. And what you'll learn from them, and what from Life itself, only time will tell. Read and live your life!"

After these last words, the old man focused back on his book. A book he knew by heart from rereading it over and over again, but now, as always, he was reading it with the same excitement he felt the first time he read it. The boy ran out of the house and into the garden. He climbed the cherry tree and settled on his favourite branch. He didn't know why but being up here always made him feel better and free, and his mind was more clear. On the cherry tree the boy was able to digest properly and fully all the information from his lessons, and from the books he rarely read till that day. Now, he got the feeling that he has received one of the most important lessons that he'll get in his entire life. And he was right. He got a lesson that he'll remember forever and he'll come back to that moment and he'll see his grandpa telling him all of those things as it was happening at the moment. Years from now, he still will remember his grandpa, from this particular day and the way he looked - an old man leaned to his walking stick's handle, with hands put one over another, with beaming face, sparkling blue eyes and playful smile on his lips. A smile which showed that underneath his silver hair, wrinkled face, and old man's pains and weakened bones, and behind his wise thoughts and words, it was the little boy that this grandpa once were. A little boy who used to climb that same cherry tree that his grandson climbed now and considered it his haunt, just like him, the old man, back in the days of his youth. "The circle of Life", the grandpa was thinking and remembering how he had hidden on the cherry tree, from everyone and everything. Up there he felt more peaceful and his mind was more clear. Up there he was able to digest all the lessons he was getting from his favourite novels and from Life itself.

A/N:

Hi, everyone! This "little" piece of my mind was born while I was thinking what is the difference between hope and expectations for me.

I would love if you read it and write in the comments what is your opinion about hope and expectations. And everything that comes in your mind while reading this story, I would love to read it!

Thank you <3

One more thing...Lots of love to @elena12275 Thank you for your support on my Bulgarian works <3 <3 <3 

Have a wonderful time, wherever you are, my dear readers <3