Life is a labyrinth brimming with twists and turns. It is never linear; no single pattern; no one-size-fits-all map; but it unfolds like stars scattered across the sky. And so for our third child, we spoke about last week, who is waiting for its second marshmallow there is no single clear outcome.

Caught in the maze of uncertainties in life, the promise of the second marshmallow may unfold in many ways. Perhaps the marshmallow arrived, and the child savoured the candy, finding it much like the first. Perhaps the candy melted before it reached the child’s lips. Or perhaps it never arrived at all, and the person who promised the second one never returned, leaving the child waiting for Godot.

One wait but three different destinies. And at the outset, there is simply no knowing which path the child would eventually land upon. Without much ado, let us first understand who this mysterious third child is. The shocking part: the third child is in fact not a child at all, but the middle-class dreamer waiting for the right time, the right opportunity, the right job, the right salary, the right investment option, or the right what not. Likewise, in the real world of money, the wait has taken many forms, and not all of them have ended well. Let’s unwrap each destiny…

The eternal wait

Across the country, millions of ordinary people entrusted their hard-earned savings to Ponzi schemes or fraudulent chit fund companies that promised very high returns. They saved month after month; year after year. They were not greedy or reckless. They were simply the third child who believed every word of the so-called ‘promise’. They kept saving for children’s education, daughters’ marriage or a dignified old age.

Then one black morning, the office shutters came down. The phone went unanswered. The agent absconded. The company collapsed, and the night-fliers disappeared into the dark. In one blow, both marshmallows vanished. The second marshmallow, the promised returns, and the first one, the principal amount, as well were snatched from the toiling hands.

When it melts

This time, the marshmallow agent returned promptly, but melted on the way. The middle-class waiting child who has been faithfully paying premiums into the whole life endowment or money-back policies for two to three decades received something far smaller than expected. Inflation had quietly gobbled up the returns, and when the marshmallow finally arrived, it was never whole. Just a peanut.

The fruitful wait

Not every wait ends in tears. Those who patiently held Sovereign Gold Bonds, stayed invested in index funds or ETFs through market crashes, or quietly let their EPF/VPF compound decade after decade found the second marshmallow as expected.

What was never asked

Before waiting faithfully, the child never asked a few crucial questions. First, is my current environment stable enough for me to wait, or should I grab or ignore the opportunity? Second, for whom exactly am I waiting for, and are they reliable enough to keep the promise? This awareness will help one stay away from honeyed promises and night-fliers. Third, what exactly am I waiting for: a specific corpus amount, a target return, a salary increase, or debt clearance? Fourth, is this financial wait truly worth it? Simply ask yourself one honest question: will the time you spend waiting match the promised returns? Fifth, am I prepared for every outcome of the wait? If the marshmallow (the expected fruits of the wait) never comes, will it ruin my life, or can I muster the courage and rely on other backups? If it melts on the way, can I absorb the loss and accept its sour taste? And if at all it arrives whole, do I really know what to do with it?

Sixth, does the promise match the goal of your wait? A money-back policy does not match a retirement goal. A whole life endowment plan does not match a child’s education needs. An EPF/VPF does not match an emergency fund. Gold does not match the goal of wealth creation. The marshmallow may be sweet. But, was it the one you were actually waiting for? Ask. The Gaza child never asked these questions because hunger gave it no time. The Washington child never bothered to ask because abundance made the wait itself unnecessary. Alas! The third child never asked simply because nobody told it to. So, ask before you wait. Because, not every marshmallow is worth the wait, and not every wait is blessed with a marshmallow.

(The writer is an NISM & Crisil-certified Wealth Manager and certified in NISM’s Research Analyst module)

Published on May 11, 2026