One of the neighbours called Dr. Smith, and he immediately rushed down to check up on her.
After he was done, he came out of the room with an emotionless face.
"Where is Daisy?" he asked Mr. James.
"My wife took her to my house, poor girl. She was the one that found out that she was gone," he replied.
"How is she doing?"
"I don't really know, Doctor. Her grandmother was the only one she knew. It is going to be very hard for her."
"Yeah, I know. Please take me to her," the doctor said.
"Okay, follow me."
Both of them went outside the house and headed to the James' house.
But before they started to head there, Dr. Smith called the hospital and told them to come down and carry Daisy's grandmother.
When they got to the house and went in, Daisy was seated in the living room drinking some tea that Mrs. James prepared for her.
As soon as she set eyes on Dr. Smith, she got up from the chair immediately and rushed to him.
"Dr. Smith, what is wrong with my grandmother? Hope she will be okay? When will she wake up?" she asked, not giving the doctor a chance to reply.
"Daisy, I want you to take a deep breath," the doctor said.
"Good, that's much better," he commented when she did as he said.
"My grandmother is okay, right, Doctor?" Daisy asked, searching the doctor's eyes.
"Daisy, I—"
"She is fine, right?" she interrupted.
"I am terribly sorry, but your grandmother is gone, Daisy," he dropped the bombshell that Daisy was trying not to believe.
"No, that is a joke, right? My grandmother can't just be dead just like that," she asked again with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"I am sorry, Daisy."
That was the last straw. Dr. Smith had already confirmed her fears. Her grandmother was truly gone.
Daisy turned and started to walk back to the chair, but she didn't make it three steps when she suddenly fell on the floor.
Dr. Smith rushed and carried her up.
"Daisy! Daisy! Can you hear me?" he called, but there was no response.
Without wasting time, he carried her out of the house, rushing to his car.
He kept her in the back seat, entered the car, and drove away.
In less than ten minutes, he arrived at the hospital, and he carried Daisy inside.
She was immediately taken to a room where she was attended to by another doctor while Dr. Smith stood outside her door.
A nurse later came to inform him that Daisy's grandmother's body had arrived, so he followed her to attend to the body.
After he was done attending to the body, he freshened up and went to his office.
He called one of the nurses working with the doctor attending to Daisy, and she told him that Daisy was sleeping now.
He took his phone and dialed a number. The call was answered on the first ring.
"Mr. Anderson, this is Dr. Smith. Mrs. Rose has passed away," he reported.
The person on the other side said something, and he then replied, "Okay," and hung up.
---
Daisy woke up with a slight headache. Her eyes scanned the room, wondering where she was. Then the memories came crashing down, and her eyes watered immediately.
Just then, Dr. Smith entered the room. A smile lit up his face when he saw that she was awake.
"How are you feeling, Daisy?" he asked.
"I don't really know, Doctor," she truthfully replied.
"I understand, dear. Losing someone is something you don't get over soon. It is going to be fine, okay?" he consoled.
"I hope so," Daisy weakly replied.
"Um, I know you might be wondering what happened to your grandmother. Well, she had been sick, but she didn't want to tell you. She didn't want to worry you," he began.
Daisy's eyes widened in surprise. She had never thought or imagined that her grandmother was sick.
"Yeah, she was," Dr. Smith remarked as if he read her mind.
"She will be buried tomorrow. She said that she should be buried soon once she died.
She saved some money in her account for you, and there is someone you are going to meet tomorrow."
"Who is that?" Daisy managed to ask, with tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
"You will know by tomorrow. Meanwhile, I will tell someone to get you food so that you will eat."
"I am not hungry, Dr. Smith," she said.
"I know, but you still need to eat."
"Let me go and tell them," he said, and then left the room.
The food was brought in shortly, and Daisy managed to take two bites before she pushed it away.
The food was carried away by one of the nurses, and another nurse led her to the bathroom, where she took a shower and came out.
She then sat down by the window and gazed outside at the street.
Her heart ached for her grandmother's death. She had lost the only person in the world that truly saw her.
She didn't know how long she stayed there, but darkness had come when she got up from the chair and went to the bed.
She lay down and closed her eyes. Sleep came immediately as if it couldn't wait to ease her burden a bit.
The next day came just like other days. Daisy woke up in the hospital, wishing that everything that happened was a dream.
But when Dr. Smith entered the room dressed in an all-black suit, Daisy had to face reality.
"Good morning, Dr. Smith," she greeted.
"Good morning, Daisy. How do you do?"
"I might be fine or not," she replied.
"You will be fine," he replied and pulled her into a hug.
"She was the most amazing grandmother," she sobbed.
"Yeah, she was," he agreed, trying to keep the tears from falling.
"I can't believe we are burying her today."
In order not to soak his clothes, Daisy broke the hug and looked at his face, only to see that he was crying.
He quickly turned and wiped his face, then turned back.
"Freshen up. A dress will be brought to you," he said, and without waiting for her reply, he left the room.
Daisy went to the bathroom and showered. She came out and saw that the dress had arrived.
She looked at the cute black dress, her heart shattering to pieces.
With tears in her eyes, she dressed up and came out, bumping into a nurse at the door.
The nurse dragged her back into the room and gave her a black veil, which she wore with black spectacles.
When she came out of the room, Dr. Smith was already outside, and they both began to walk away.
They got outside, entered Dr. Smith's car, and drove away, heading to the cemetery.
Arriving there five minutes later, Daisy and Dr. Smith went inside, heading straight to the place where they were conducting the burial.
The priest saw that Daisy, the deceased granddaughter, had arrived, so he began the ceremony.
When it was finally time to cover her grave, Daisy closed her eyes and sobbed uncontrollably.
Dr. Smith pulled her close and started to comfort her.
After everything, he led her out of the cemetery, and they both stood by the road.
"Dr. Smith!" someone called, and they both turned around.
A man was walking up to them with a shocked expression on his face.
When he got closer to them, his stare went directly to Daisy, who instantly covered her face and looked away.
"And you, Mr. Anderson?" Dr. Smith asked.
"Yes, I am," he replied, still glancing at Daisy.
The doctor held Daisy's shoulder and told her to look up.
"I know this might be shocking to you, Daisy, but this is your father," the doctor explained.
Her eyes widened like saucers as she turned to the man.
It was true. He had the same eyes like her, the same nose, and the same mole on the neck.
"But—"
"I am so sorry, dear. I didn't know about you until your grandmother contacted me last month. I had wanted to come down and get you, but she insisted that I should wait so that she would talk to you first," the man explained.
Daisy was speechless. She suddenly lost her voice to speak.
This was too much for her to process—her grandmother's death and now this.
"But she never told me that I have a father," she managed to say when she finally found her voice.
"She was waiting for the right time, but unfortunately it didn't come," Dr. Smith replied.
Then he brought out his phone.
"Watch this, dear," he said and gave the phone to her.
Daisy looked at the video on the phone with a heavy heart and clicked play.
Her grandmother was in the video, looking so healthy and nothing like the woman buried.
"When you are finally watching this video, I might be gone, dear, but I want you to know that I love you," she began in her sweet, familiar voice.
"I will always think of you, and I hope you do the same for me. I recently found your biological father, and he was so happy to come and get you, but I refused. I couldn't let you leave me just like that. You are my granddaughter. But when I am gone, please, I want you to follow him. He is your father and will take care of—"
Daisy stopped the video and handed the phone back to the doctor.
Her hands were in her mouth, trying to muffle her sobs.
She was going to watch the video later, not just today.
She looked up and saw the man who was her father looking at her too.
Without thinking, she rushed to him and hugged him tight.
The man stiffened slightly, surprised at the sudden hug, but it was only for a second before he returned the hug.
As Daisy hugged her father, she felt her spirit getting calm, like the feeling of finally coming back home after a long day working.
"I will take care of you, my dear daughter, even if it is the last thing I do," he promised.
A faint smile crept onto Daisy's face. Finally, she could belong. Finally, she could get to experience that fatherly love she lacked.
Everything was going to be alright. Her father was here to protect her.
But what Daisy didn't know was that fate had another cruel plan for her.