[ORIGINAL CHAPTER]

I knew that this day would come, but it didn't make it any easier I sat beside her hospital bed as my mother got weaker and weaker by the minute as she looked at me I couldn't help the tears that fell down my face "it's alright darling" my mother said as she tried to reach my face to wipe the tears away. Before reaching under her blanket for an envelope and placing on the bed near me. As I looked at it was addressed to me "what's this?" I asked "you need to know the truth" mother said her voice weak as I looked down at the letter.

Before her eyes began to close and monitors began to beep "no" I said I began to cry before doctors and nurses came in moving me out of the way all I could do is watch her die, after she passed I sat outside the hospital on a bench as I opened the envelope taking out the contents there was a letter, a photograph and a check as I opened the letter i began to read it.

"Dear Jodie, if your reading this letter it means I've passed I'm sorry that I've kept the truth from you all your life but here it is, I met your father at Veterinary school we were friends for a long time and one night we got drunk together and slept together it was a mistake especially since he was married I transferred medical school after I found out I was pregnant and never spoke to him again I didn't want to be reason his marriage ended but you deserve the truth because you need a parent in your life, The photo is a photo of myself and your father, his name is Daniel Trevanion he's a vet and from what I've been told he has moved to South Africa buying a game reserve called leopards den please find him sweetheart, Mum xx".

As I finished reading the letter I wiped the tears away before looking at the photo, I had always wondered what my dad looked like I always had an idea of what he looked like, and I always dreamt about the day I would meet him but now I wasn't sure if I wanted to when I arrived home it felt odd because it was so empty and quite, usually when I arrived home I could smell food as soon as I opened the door, music playing from the kitchen as she could but now nothing.

As I turned the light on I looked around at the photos on the fireplace before i sat down on the couch trying to make a decision on what I would do next I knew my mother wanted me to go to Africa to find my father but I had a life here running my own Veterinary practice alongside my mother until she got sick, I had friends but no family my grandparents were old fashioned they threw my mother out when they found out she was pregnant but she wasn't married.

I thought about it all night before I fell asleep on the couch, the next morning I woke up and after a good nights sleep I made a decision I was going to go so I spent the next day sorting out everything because we had been given an offer for the practice a year ago but we turned it down and it was hoping that the offer was still there so I called up and sold the business which was hard because it was originally my mothers which she set up a gift to me for finishing veterinary school.

But I knew that I needed to sell it along with everything of value in the house apart from a few things that I couldn't let go of, we weren't poor but we got by because my couldn't work as much as she wanted to because of me but once the practice got up and running we bought the house which made my mother so proud that she finally owned her own house. But with the money from the practice and the house i would be set up in Africa.

I spent the rest of the day packaging up the rest of my belongings there wasn't much because I didn't want memories from here because I was already hurting. Anything I couldn't take with me I packed up into bags and boxes before taking them to a charity shop because I wanted to travel as light as I could, however most of the things I was getting rid of were my mothers I felt guilty for getting rid of her things so quickly she had only died a few days ago but they all couldn't come with me and having her things around me constantly reminded me that she was no longer here which hurt more than anything I has felt in my life. However I did keep some of her clothes because I didn't have the heart to get rid of them all I also kept her jewellery because there was never a day when she wasn't working that she did wear it. 

I didn't keep much of our belongings because I didn't know if there would be much room where I was going to be in house was packed up I sat down on the couch looking for any Veterinary jobs in South Africa but as I was looking I saw a post for a junior vet at Leopards Den which seemed like fate, even if I didn't get the job there I was still going to go so I looked for somewhere to stay when I found a game park close to leopards den i thought I could stay there for a while I got everything straight, so I booked a single way flight to Africa, before calling up every moving company I could until I found one that could pick everything up in a couple of days before having them transported to Africa.

I had already had the funeral arranged because that's what my mother wanted so the funeral would be tomorrow, she would be cremated, she said she wanted to be scattered in Africa because she had never got the chance to go. The next morning I woke up and got dressed into a black dress and some shoes before heading out to the funeral it was a big gathering a lot of people liked my mother, especially because she was always willing to help people out even for free to those who couldn't afford the care for there animals.

She was well loved which made up for the fact that there was no family at the funeral, I kept my composure and read out my mothers favourite poem there was a sort of party afterwards but I left before because even though there was so many people I had felt more alone than I had ever before. Once I got home I ordered a take away because I had sold everything in the kitchen before laying down on the floor and covering myself in a blanket before falling asleep early because I had a busy day tomorrow.
End Of Chapter 1