This Woman Played One Final Joke On Her Husband Before She Died Of Cancer And It's Taken Him Years To Figure It Out

"It's brought my mum back to life for him — just for a moment."

Antonia Nicol is a 46-year-old firefighter with the London Fire Brigade in England. Her late mother, Phedre Fitton, had been living in Johannesburg, South Africa, with Antonia's dad Nigel before she died in 2013 from cancer.

Since her mom's death, Antonia has been tirelessly traveling from her home in London to visit her dad in Johannesburg and spend more time with him. Most recently, she has helped him transition into his new life in a retirement home. "It was very difficult," she told BuzzFeed News.

Antonia said one of Phedre's last directives to Nigel before she was admitted to the hospital about four years ago were "strict instructions to water the plants in the bathroom." So Nigel has been "religiously" watering this plant. He's been very proud of himself for not only keeping the plant alive, but doing so well that the plant looks vibrant today.

Well, when Antonia flew to Johannesburg to help her dad pack and move to the retirement home, they both finally noticed something. The plant in the bathroom was plastic. It was a fake plant.

"It was so funny when we found out — we laughed so much," Antonia said. "It was like she was there with us again."

This week, Antonia decided to share this moment on Twitter, where it's gone viral.

@Flaminhaystack I was actually welling up til the punchline!!!

People say they're tearing up over the joke itself, and over the sweet and unique tribute to Phedre.

Life was meant to be LOVED. Don't take anything too seriously, or too harshly, because we all die in the end. The o… https://t.co/EUyXrIpNz1

Note: Antonia also used a stock image of a plant (which some people are using against her to call the validity of her story into question) but she said it was just a visual. After the tweet went viral, she asked her dad to take a photo of himself "watering" the plant. (So, internet sleuths, good job, but calm down.)

People are hailing Phedre a "legend" and an inspiration.

@Flaminhaystack OMG! What a legend! Sorry to hear of your loss <3

Me as a wifey, aspire to be this extra https://t.co/UXkneF1tFr

Others who've lost family who had a similarly "wicked" sense of humor really related.

@Flaminhaystack Sorry to hear of your loss. I lost my lovely mum last year, she was 85. But she would've loved that… https://t.co/OkUx8HkK4D

One person shared their own unique and silly story. "The comments coming out on the tweet about other people who have lost loved ones makes it even more beautiful," Antonia said. "People are connecting over a shared feeling of love and loss."

@Flaminhaystack Before my mom died we made a picture with the whole family there she is sitting in the middle of al… https://t.co/pukJsVeJkz

She added that her dad, who is recovering from a serious operation, knows about the surprising impact and laughs the story has caused, and it's touched his heart.

This one gave me a genuine smile from ear to ear. https://t.co/JlTFlWeDJU

"It's brought my mum back to life for him — just for a moment," she added.

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