Fate’s Design
Stephen, a man no longer in his youth, buried his wife five years ago after a long and painful illness. They fought it together but couldn’t overcome it, and she passed from this world into the next.
At forty-eight, Stephen became a widower, struggling to adjust to solitude. Though relatives and friends urged him to remarry, he couldn’t bring himself to consider it.
“You’re still young,” they’d say. “Find a good woman and be happy.”
“I’ll never find another like her,” he’d reply. “There may be better or worse, but never another like my wife.”
Stephen’s younger brother, Daniel, lived across town. There was a significant age gap between them—over fifteen years. Their mother had struggled to conceive again before Daniel was finally born. The brothers were close; Stephen helped raise him, and little Danny idolised his elder sibling.
Their parents passed when Daniel was twenty-one, and Stephen supported him through university and marriage. But fate had other plans—Stephen lost his wife, and around the same time, Daniel’s marriage fell apart.
Every evening, Stephen took a stroll through the park near his home, a habit he and his wife had shared. One evening, as he walked toward the pond where ducks and even a few geese swam, he noticed a girl sitting on a bench, wiping away tears. He couldn’t walk past.
“Good evening, miss. Do you need help? Has something happened?”
She looked up at him with sorrowful eyes. “No one can help me, thank you. I just don’t know where to go now…”
Stephen sat beside her. “What do you mean? Where have you come from? What’s your name?”
“My mother threw me out. Her flat’s full of strangers now, and I’m afraid of them… I’m Daisy.”
“Daisy, let’s start from the beginning. It’ll be dark soon—you can’t stay here all night.”
Daisy had lived with her parents in a cramped one-bedroom flat inherited from her grandfather. They’d moved from a dying village where work had dried up. Her father passed when she was fifteen, leaving her with her mother, who soon turned to drink.
“Mum, why do you do this? It won’t end well,” Daisy would plead.
“What do you know about life?” her mother would slur. “Your father left me alone—what else am I supposed to do? Have a drink yourself; you’ll feel better. You just don’t understand.”
Daisy studied at a nursing college, determined to support herself. Her mother, fired from job after job, relied on her.
“You’ve hit rock bottom—they won’t even hire you as a cleaner. How are we supposed to live?”
“You’ll get a job soon enough,” her mother muttered.
Things worsened when strangers began filling their flat, drinking through the night. Daisy slept fitfully behind a wardrobe, afraid.
After graduating, she found work as a nurse, preferring night shifts to avoid the chaos at home. She dreamed of renting her own place.
One evening, returning exhausted from a gruelling shift, she found their flat stripped bare. Only her old winter coat remained. Her mother lay passed out on the floor.
Daisy fled in tears, ending up on that park bench.
Stephen listened, heart heavy. “Daisy, life brings hardships, but there’s always hope,” he said gently. “I thought my world ended when I lost my wife. But fate had other plans—we must keep living.”
“What hope do I have? I’ll never afford a flat. Where can I go?”
“Listen. I live alone in a large house. I could use help, and you’d have a safe place. I’d treat you as my own daughter.”
Stephen was a good man, and Daisy thanked fate for bringing him into her life. She took over the household, bringing warmth and home-cooked meals. Evenings were spent talking—Stephen had a wealth of stories, and she listened eagerly. His kindness melted the walls around her heart.
But fate twisted again. Stephen found himself looking at Daisy not as a father would, but with growing love. One evening, he confessed.
“Daisy, I’ve fallen in love with you. You’ve brought me back to life. Will you marry me?”
Daisy, unsure if her gratitude had blurred into love, agreed.
A year later, their son Danny was born. Stephen glowed with happiness.
“Now I’m truly happy. Stephen and Danny are my destiny.”
One day, Stephen announced, “My brother Daniel is visiting tomorrow. He’s eager to meet you and his nephew.”
Stephen was right—Daisy liked Daniel instantly. At their first meeting, her heart raced uncontrollably. She couldn’t tear her eyes away.
Daniel, too, was struck. “God, she’s beautiful,” he thought.
Over the next few days, Danny adored his uncle, squealing with delight whenever Daniel played with him.
But when Stephen was away, Daisy’s heart pounded with forbidden longing. Daniel confessed his feelings.
“I can’t betray Stephen,” she said firmly.
“I know,” Daniel replied. “But there’ll never be anyone else for me.”
He left abruptly, puzzling Stephen.
Months later, Stephen collapsed at work. By the time Daisy reached the hospital, he was gone.
Daniel returned to help with the funeral, offering to stay, but Daisy sent him away.
One night, she dreamed of Stephen removing his wedding ring and handing it to Daniel—a silent blessing.
She called Daniel, and they visited Stephen’s grave together. The sun shone brightly, and his photograph seemed to smile.
“Look,” Daniel whispered. “Stephen approves.”
A year later, their daughter Alice was born. Danny adored his little sister, asking when she’d be old enough to play with him.
