Filed to story: Loving You In My Final Days
Charles saw her and immediately came to get her and led her into the dining hall which was surprisingly already cleaned up and dried out. The table was only set for one and she ate her breakfast alone. She was told that the master and the guests had already left, something that surprised Abi again. ‘What, already?’
Once she finished her breakfast, she then left the house and went straight to the orphanage.
When she got there, she looked at her schedule for the day and saw that there was an appointment to go to the hospital with one of the children at the orphanage that afternoon. Little Betty had some sort of heart disease and Abi had volunteered to accompany the little girl to the hospital for her weekly checkups.
Abi obviously had a soft spot in her heart for her because she understood the little girl’s situation. She was still so young, just seven years old, and she was already suffering. Abi felt her heart break a little for the poor child who was dealt such a hand in life.
…
In the hospital.
Abi waited anxiously. Each time they came here, she would hope for the best outcome but time and time again, she was met with disappointment. When the doctor walked towards her, shaking his head, Abi felt the disappointment settle within her yet again. Their conclusion was the same. The little girl’s only option to survive was a heart transplant and unfortunately, that was something the orphanage could never afford. Even if they did manage to get enough money, there were no guarantees that there would be a suitable donor. In short, it was hopeless. Unfortunately, the little girl had the same fate as her, and just like her, her time was about to end sooner than they would have wanted.
This sweet Little Betty, this cute, kind hearted, beautiful little girl was going to die soon as well. This world was indeed very unfair. Just what did this little girl do to deserve such a fate?! She started to feel angry at the cruel and heartless world they lived in. Why? Why did it have to be like this?
After they left the hospital, Abi called the orphanage to tell them that she was going to take the little girl out somewhere. Abi wanted to do something for her.
“Do you have somewhere you want to go?” Abi asked her as she knelt before her.
“Hmm… I want ice cream!” she said so innocently and enthusiastically that Abi nearly cried for this brave little girl. Instead, she smiled at her brightly and pinched the little girl’s cheek playfully.
“Got it darling. Let’s go on a hunt for the most delicious ice cream today!”
“Yey!”
They drove around until Abi found a large ice cream store. They went inside and Abi bought Little Betty the biggest scoop of ice cream she could. Abi was so focused on making the girl happy that she had forgotten about everything else. She just wanted to fulfill any wishes this girl had, similar to how Alex was helping her fulfill her own list of wishes.
“Did you like the ice cream?”
“Yep, they’re super delicious! Thank you, Abi,” Her smile was so bright and Abi couldn’t help but squeeze the super cute little girl in her arms.
“I’m glad. Was there anywhere else you wanna go or something else you want to do?”
“I think I’d like to have a date with you at the park,” she said cutely.
“Is that all? Are you sure?” Abi prompted her.
“Mn,” the little girl said with a nod.
Abi could only shake her head at the girl’s simple request. She wondered if Little Betty had any larger dreams as she took the girl’s hand and headed towards the park.
Abi was pulled back to the present when the little girl started talking about this book that the caretaker at the orphanage read to her last night. The story was of Little Red Riding Hood. The little girl kept up her monologue in between licking the melting ice cream in her hand until they found a park bench.
“Abi, thank you for staying with me today. I’m so happy. I’m not sad that I have no parents. I’m happy as long as I have you.” She then hugged Abi tightly and Abi embraced her back.
Little Betty was such a sweet, precious girl. Ever since Abi found out about Little Betty’s condition, she wished that a miracle would happen so that this little girl could at least be saved, even though it seemed like miracles didn’t really exist anymore – there was no miracle for her mother, after all and she knew that there would be no miracle for her either. Still, she wished for it because maybe, just maybe, a miracle would happen for little Betty.
As she hugged the little girl, Abi saw a cotton candy booth across the road. She pulled away from their embrace and asked the little girl.
“Do you want some cotton candy?”
The little girl was a foodie like her so of course, she nodded enthusiastically. Abi looked around and saw that there weren’t many people around the park so she decided that it was safe for Little Betty to stay on the bench. She didn’t like to exhaust Little Betty, especially with her condition. Besides, the booth was not too far away. She would be back in no time.
“Stay here, okay? Wait for me and don’t move while I go buy the cotton candy,” Abi told her. Once the girl nodded and made a promise to wait for her on the bench, Abi finally stood up and walked towards the candy booth.
Abi kept checking on the little girl as she reached the candy booth and saw that the little girl was also looking at her as she sat on the bench with her little legs swinging in and out. Abi gave her a little wave and she received a wave back.
The sky was starting to change color, from yellow to a reddish hue, indicating that it was almost twilight, but Abi, who was now busy with the vendor, still didn’t take note of the time.
Once the pink cotton candy was in her hand, Abi smiled at the little girl who was still patiently waiting on the bench as she walked towards the pedestrian lane.
However, she took just three steps when suddenly, a fast car whipped past her, barely missing her.
It didn’t hit her but Abi fell backwards like a leaf being blown away by a strong wind. She, along with the cotton candy, fell on the ground as the car that came out of nowhere, screeched away from the scene.
“Oh god! What the hell’s wrong with that driver?!!” People who saw what happened started cursing the driver of that car who didn’t even bother to stop, while some old ladies walked towards her and helped her up.
“Are you alright?” they asked and Abi finally snapped from the shock. Her heart was still thumping hard from the adrenalin rush as what happened finally registered in her brain. It all happened so fast! One second she was smiling, walking towards the little girl with cotton candy in her hands and in the next moment, she was on her backside from a near miss car accident! She saw the cotton candy covered with dust on the ground and her head snapped towards the bench where she left Little Betty.
When she saw that Betty was already running towards her, she forced a smile towards the old ladies and brushed the dirt away from her backside.
“I’m fine. Thank you so much.” She thanked them with a smile as Betty finally reached her.
