From the Author:

This book is dedicated to my friend and writing partner, Sara. Thank you, Sara. You are the reason I am a part of Radish Writers today. Thank you for your endless support and prayers. Even though we are one sea apart, you shall live in my heart.

* * *

Have some poetry first.

A Stranger

There is a love I reminisce,

Like a seed

I have never sown.

Of lips that I am yet to kiss,

and eyes not met

my own.

Hands that wrap around my wrists,

and arms

that feel like home.

I wonder how it is I miss,

these things

I've never known.

- Lang Leav

Prologue

I didn't know who my father's kidney transplant donor was.

Who was that generous being sent by nature to save the dear life of my father? My father only had one kidney. By birth.

And that is why, when I was informed of the serious, miserable situation by the college secretary, I left all my belongings in the classroom and ran like it was midnight and I was Cinderella. Dear God, first you give my father just one kidney and then you fail it. How unfair.

But He also sent someone to save him. My mind said.

God had to save my father. Since he was a doctor by profession and had saved so many hearts. So many dying and failing hearts.

His own deeds had come back to save him.

So as the door to his hospital room opened, I dashed inside, leaving all my tears suspended in the air, and crashed my head right where father had been operated. Jesus.

"Ow!" Father yelped. "S-Sadie?"

I quickly lifted my head. "Oh, I am so sorry, Daddy! Is this where you had your operation?"

I knew Daddy was still in pain as his one eye was shut and the other appeared watery.

"N-No, dear. It's the other side," he replied.

Daddy was lying. The other side never had a kidney. He just wanted me not to feel guilty.

"Oh, Daddy!" I hugged his shoulders. "I thought I'd lost you!"

"You will never lose me, Sadie. I will always be here."

"Sadie, get off your father now," my mom said. "He has just had his operation."

I moved away, wiping my tears. I looked at my father.

He was magnificent.

He was beautiful.

And he was too precious.

I needed to thank the person who had saved him. And start worshipping them if need be.

"Kaylee..." I heard Daddy's soft voice coaxing mom to stop crying. "I am alright now."

Mom wiped her tears away and said, "Yes, but I thought I would never see you again, Hill."

If Mom was using Daddy's last name then it meant something serious within her soul.

"Come on, Mom," I tried to joke. "We all know you don't love Daddy."

Both of my parents laughed. Daddy tried to give mom a hug.

Daddy and I were so close to each other that we often joked about Mom not being a part of the family. Sometimes, I even made Mom feel like a third person. Daddy was my father. He was my mother. I just wish he had given birth to me too.

A young nurse entered the room. She first looked at Daddy and smiled, and then looked at me and Mom. She then moved closer to Daddy's bed with her hands together and a peaceful, easy smile playing at her lips.

"Dr. Hill...the entire cardiology department is delighted with your good news." She looked at me. "And we pray for your fast recovery."

Daddy nodded at her, smiling.

"Thank you, Paisley," he replied. The nurse remained in the room for a few more minutes, but then left.

"Sadie, let's get you something to eat from the café. I know you didn't eat anything in college," Mom said, already moving towards the door. I smiled at Daddy and followed Mom.

When we came back, Daddy's entire room smelt different. It smelt more... 'soft' and...fresh, and a bit....a bit something. Like something that is a smell as well as a feeling. It's something that you know will stay for long and will narrate the visit of its owner. Am I making sense? Well, I don't know! You just know it. You would know it if you were there.

And Daddy seemed more happy and pleased. I was sniffing so hard that Daddy noticed.

"Sweetie, if you had been here five minutes earlier, you would have met him," Daddy addressed me.

"Met whom, Daddy?" I asked while taking a seat close to his bed.

"The guy who donated his kidney to your daddy."

My eyes immediately widened. That person...that savior was here. He had come and gone. I must meet him.

I stood up from my seat, earning my parents' attention.

"He wouldn't have gone that far, would he?" I asked, speed-walking to the door.

"Ah...Maybe not," Daddy began, unsure of whether he should let me continue. "He said he was returning home, though."

I jerked the door open and ran towards the main exit. My parents' voices starting to fade away. I picked up my pace and let the air brush my hair.

It might sound crazy, but from a young age I have always been fascinated by things or people or events that prove beneficial for Daddy. Maybe it was my love for him that meant if he liked something, I liked it too. If something is good for him, it's automatically in my good books.

As I said earlier, my Daddy's deeds had come to save him in this hour of life and death. But a person's deeds take some kind of form when they arrive. They can be disguised as things, events, people or news. And it was this person. It was him who embodied all those good things Daddy did for his patients.

You may not be able to relate to me but this is how I put my life before me. It's how I try to explain it and live it.

But I also want you all to know that this wasn't always the way I saw life. I adopted this way when I met...him.

Yet, on this one particular day, I couldn't really meet him.

I took a sharp turn, inhaling strongly. The main exit was just ahead of me. And although I had no clue what that person looked like, I had no idea whom I was looking for, I immediately knew it was him when he exited, taking a turn and disappearing into the pouring daylight.

I only caught the sight of his back where his black hooded jacket said...in threatening words...Bull.