After the death of his daughter, the father was cleaning her room when he suddenly found something that made him cry. It was a note that, upon reading it, brought tears to his eyes and sent shivers down his spine.
***
Athena Orchard lives in Leicester, England. She is dedicated to boxing and takes care of her six sisters and three brothers. Before Christmas, Athena discovered a lump on her head, which she decided not to think about, of course. A few days later, the girl lost consciousness in the kitchen. Athena, always cheerful and joyful, began to deteriorate visibly with each passing hour. Doctors delivered a horrifying diagnosis: bone cancer. During a seven-hour operation, the doctors managed to remove the tumor from her spinal column, after which the girl had to undergo grueling chemotherapy. She lost all of her hair.
Athena, who once had so much energy, became too weak to get out of bed. “She always remained cheerful and told me not to cry,” recalls her mother, Caroline. “We knew her cancer was very aggressive, and… she fought as best as she could.”
A few days after her thirteenth birthday, Athena passed away surrounded by her entire family. Some days later, with a heavy heart, her father began to gather her belongings. As he took the mirror off the wall, he was astonished to find something on its reverse side. The mirror was completely covered with words of a poignant message from his daughter. “I couldn’t believe it; there were nearly 3,000 words,” said Dan. “It struck me deeply. I started reading word by word, but then I had to stop—it was too heartbreaking.”
The handwritten farewell message from Athena was filled with wisdom and comfort for those she left behind on Earth. Here are some of her quotes:
“Happiness depends on us. Perhaps it’s not about a happy ending but about the story itself. The purpose of life is to live with a certain purpose. The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is a small ‘extra.’ Happiness is the journey, not the destination. Thank you for being there. Be happy, be free, believe, and stay young. You know my name but not my story. You know what I’ve done but not what I’ve been through. Love is like glass. It’s beautiful, but it’s easily broken. Every day is special, seize it all. Tomorrow, you could be fatally ill, so cherish every moment.”
“Life is only bad when you make it bad. Love is very rare, life is very strange. Nothing lasts forever, and people change. Life is a game for everyone, but love is the only reward. If someone loves you, they will never let you go. It doesn’t matter how tough the situation is. Remember that life is full of ups and downs. Without the downs, the ups mean nothing.”
“I want to fall in love with someone to whom I can open my heart. Love is not when you want to spend your future with someone, but when you simply can’t imagine your life without them. There’s no reason to cry, I know I will always be with you.”
No one could understand how this girl found the strength to write such a message.” She never mentioned this note, but it sounds so much like her,” said her father. “Athena was very deep, she loved writing. It was part of her and always made her happy.”
Athena is no longer alive, but she made herself immortal through her words. “This mirror will remain in the house forever. We read these words and feel that she is still with us.” Despite her illness, Athena never lost the ability to see the beauty in life. Her positivity could be felt in all her thoughts. Thoughts that the girl scratched on the back of her mirror.
