Hope.

When you are one of the only teenagers around the area who is sitting in studiously bent over books at the weekend, your friends tend to think there is something amiss.

"But I Anister Benson sixteen years old am definitely needing to be so engrossed in my books as college is looming and I have a crazy amount of work to be doing."

"I live in London whitechapel and have since I was born. I love it here I have loads of friends and I like my school, in fact it is my favourite place."

Anister was working so hard as she had promised her father that she would do her best in school and college, unfortunately he had passed away four years ago from an unexpected and aggressive form of cancer, none of then saw it coming and had no idea that he was so ill so it was an enormous shock. He had two years from the diagnosis until he passed and it was a horrific time and though he tried to keep upbeat and busy for the sake of his family, he suffered greatly.

Anister had promised him she would do well, she had always been In the top five percent of her class during high school and she had always loved to read.

Her father had been the one to read to her at night as a toddler and as she got older he would say to her that books are like opening so many different doors into a whole new world and this filled her with joy and excitement.

As his illness progressed he promised her that hope would be with her, even through the hardest of times and at the end of her struggle there would be hope for a great life In the world.

"Anything can happen." He would say.

"Anister how is the work going your friends are here and have you finnished for the evening?."

"Yes mum," she shouted from upstairs I have finnished for tonight."

Sarah and scout her best friend and her boyfriend were waiting in the kitchen chatting to her mother.

She came bounding down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Hey guys how are you this evening all good With you?."

"Yes we are good,just thought we dive by and see you."

Sarah was her friend since lower school when Anister accidentally knocked off of her feet in a game of tag in the playground and they became instantly best friends.

Anister and Scout me at Sarah's fifteenth party and they all got on so well.

You guys off out anywhere interesting tonight?." Asked Anister.

"Down to the youth club and for a Macdonalds I hope." Smiled Scout.

"Is it ok if I go mum?, i have been working since i got home from school and i could use some chill time."

"Yes hunni absolutely as long as you are not behind." Her mum said questioningly, and tilting her head with a kind of wryly smile, so it was more of a prompt than question.

"Of course yes mother." She said sarcastically.

So the three of them left the house and set off towards the town centre.

"Your mum rides you quite hard doesn't she." Scout said.

"Yes she does, its because I promised my father that I would do my best he wanted to know that even if things were looking bad and everything was falling apart my education and my learning were the things that keep you going when it was the worst time.

He would say " The cure for feeling sad is to learn something."

"And I believe him it's important, he never thought that the education system was the beginning and the end of your life, but he did believe that reading and discovering Information for yourself was important."

"Yes I have to agree you can become the author of your own life." Sarah said.

"This is deep for a Friday night!."

Laughed Scout.

"Yes of course so right." Answered Anister laughing.

"Let's have some fun." She replied.

They walked into the youth club and met some other friends from school and joined in a game of pool with another friend and played a game of doubles.

After a rather massive beating due to Anister potting the black ball twice before it's time. They then headed off to the restaurant to relive Scout of his hunger pangs.

As they all sat around the table scout enquired what she would be doing when she finnished her so important exams, if she had a plan of what she wanted to do as a career.

"I hope to get into medicine, I would like to be a doctor so I can help people like my father, the way the nurses and doctors looked after him when he was in the hospice was amazing they are actually angels."

"That is quite a calling and a lot of work are you sure you can get through it?."

" I hope so, I really do but my father said one day when I graduated I would realise why the work in this profession was so important."

"Well that is as good as reason as any to graduate and do what your father hoped you would do." Sarah said whilst putting her arm around Anister and pulling her towards her and kissing her head.

It was now four years down the line and as hoped Anister had indeed graduated medical school and was now working In the same local hospice as her father had been in and she was, despite a long and grueling few years putting In the work and coming through with honours.

She was still a trainee doctor and loving the work she was doing.

She thought it would be so hard to return to the last place she saw her father but it was not that way at all she loved giving the same care to these people that the staff gave to her father.

It was nearly Christmas now and the hospice has,as always a light a life ceremony in remembrance of past patients . And as the ceremony was in full flight one of the senior nurses stood up to do a speech in remembrance, and she said many years ago they had a time capsule buried in the garden of remembrance and all of the patients put something into it for their families and one member of staff.

Anister thought this was amazing and she wondered if she and her family who had come over for the ceremony would have anything from her father.

But as all the family names were called out and it got to the end her family were not mentioned.

"Maybe it was after my father was here she thought,or before."

Then the sister said that it was time for the note for the member of staff to be read out.

As she opened the note the sister said.

"This note is for a new member of staff in the hospice who has been working very hard and has made great progress."

"Anister Beson this note was left for you by your father to be opened when you became a member of staff here."

Anister could not believe what she was hearing "how could he know I would be here, even I was not sure I would be here."

The sister read out the note to her.

"My darling daughter i knew you would make it this far and i am so glad and proud of you for all your hard work. This was my hope for you and I know you would have worked hard for this, I always had hope."

"All my Love dad."