(I own only plot)
"Why does she smile?" Someone asked.
"I don't know, it's not like she has anything to be happy about. She comes from that posh boarding school. That lot abuse her."
"Why is she so loving? It's not as if she has anyone to call her own."
"She doesn't deserve anyone to love."
"Why does she bother with food? She's too fat as it is."
"She's a lump of greed, that's what it is."
"Why does she still act like she's got self worth?"
"She wants to believe that she's good enough to be a human being."
"Why don't you just go drop dead?" Someone asked her, face to face.
The woman shrugged. "Maybe I will." She replied.
The truth was, she was dying. She had advanced cancer. But she felt that everyone around her deserved the peace of mind, thinking that she would be there forever. She hadn't told anyone. Her doctor told her "You may have to tell someone, you're going to die."
"They deserve to live on, without knowing that some random person's on her deathbed."
She gave them notice and she left the school. She carried on, taking to the streets. She had a letter in her pocket, she was going to post it to the man she loved. She was on her last few days and she lay in the shade of a few trees. She had drinks and snacks, living it out easily. One afternoon, someone came across the dying woman and took her in. He tended her, tried to give her some extra time. She just choked out "I don't have long. Just take this letter and it'll explain it all." The man took the letter from her weak hand, seeing how brittle she was. She'd refused treatment for what she had, but she carried on.
Her last day soon came around. The man held her hand. "I'm sorry I ever left you, darling. You deserved so much better."
"It's nature. I'm ready for this, come what may. Did you get through that letter?"
"Yeah." He whispered.
"Then go for it." She smiled. He kissed her gently, then sadly watched her eyes glaze and the slow, laboured breaths stop completely. He'd been the only one to know her devastating, fatal condition. He hated himself for leaving her, but to let her die like that had tortured him. But at least her last few hours had been the best he could give her.
"I love you." He whispered to the body on the bed. He hated seeing her so pale and lifeless. She was his only miracle and something he'd never forget.
He went to the address she'd given him and the man who answered the door asked "So, she's sent you to collect this?"
"Yeah." The man replied, hurting for the loss of the woman he'd left, found and lost within four days. He received a tiny baby and a load of supplies.
"Right. The baby's only a few weeks old. We've had it checked out on the mum's orders. It's clear of any diseases, fatal or otherwise. She just said the father would know what to do with it."
He took his child home and learned to raise it. He placed photos on her grave, telling the dead woman of all their little child's antics. He missed her dearly, wishing that he could have kept her. She meant the world to him, even though she was dead and gone. Their tiny child grew up to be a strong, brilliant young woman, reminding her father of the woman he loved. He treated the child how he wished he could have treated her mother. One late night, his child said "Mum told me that you give her updates on what's going on. She told me to say that she loves you."
He smiled for the first time since her death. "I love her, too."