My sister Erin became a mom of a baby boy, Noah, and the entire family traveled few states away where she lived to celebrate the much-anticipated arrival of their bundle of joy.
Excited to meet my nephew, I bought a bunch of baby stuff and a teddy bear for Lily, my beautiful goddaughter whom my sister adopted some two years prior.
However, when we arrived at Erinโs suburban home, I noticed that Lilyโs plastic slide wasnโt in the yard. The little garden she and I planted that summer was also gone. Puzzled, I knocked on Erinโs door, and the moment I got inside together with our mom and dad, Erin appeared at the door, holding her son in her arms.
โEveryone, meet Noah!โย she said excitedly, turning the baby towards us.
As I looked around the place, I noticed all of Lilyโs toys were missing, including her drawings and the photos of her that were proudly placed all around the living room the last time I visited.
Finally, I asked, โErin, whereโs Lily!?โ still smiling and holding her gift.
With all the indifference Iโve ever seen in a person, my sister said, โOh, I gave her back!โ
Being certain I misheard her, I asked for clarification. โWhat do you mean you gave her back?โ
I could see our parentsโ faces went stone cold as they too wondered what was actually going on.
โWell, I always dreamed of becoming a mother, and now that I have Noah, why would I need a daughter?โ Erin said, โLilyโs going to be just find, theyโll find another family for her.โ
I couldnโt believe what I was hearing.
โErin, are you mad? That girl called youย Momย for two years. Sheโs not a toy to return her, she was your daughter.โ
My sister, obviously, didnโt think the decision to abandon her adopted daughter was a big deal.
โRelax, sis,โ she said to me. โShe wasnโt mine anyway. Itโs not like I gave up my own child. Lily was justโฆ temporary.โ
Her words crushed my heard. How could my own sister be so cruel. What was she even thinking when she made such a crazy decision?
At that moment, all the memories I had with Lily flashed in front of my eyes. She was my sweet little girl, my greatest comfort through my miscarriages, my goddaughter, and now my sister gave her awayโฆ just like that!
Apparently, Erin and her husband didnโt want to split their love between Lily and their biological son. The worst thing of all was that they believed that the decision to abandon her adopted daughter wasnโt a big deal. She even accused me for blowing the situation out of proportion.
As we argued, someone knocked on the door. To Erinโs surprise, it was karma coming to get her.
Two people from Child Protective Services asked to speak to Erin. Apparently, her neighbor, the one they always argued with, alerted the services of Erinโs decision to abandon her adopted daughter the moment she welcomed a biological child in her life.
โWe have some questions regarding your adoption process and your ability to provide a stable home for your son,โ the woman, who introduced herself as Vanessa, said.
โWe have grounds to believe that you rushed the adoption termination and skipped essential counseling before giving up custody of your daughter, Lily.โ
Erin and her husband, David, claimed they followed legal procedures but Vanessa said they were alerted they returned the legally adopted child with no apparent transition plan, and that made them question their judgement as parents.
Erin broke into tears, but I didnโt feel sorry for her, not even a bit.
I simply couldnโt be around Erin a second longer, so I left.
All I could think of was Lily. I wanted to know where she was and how she felt. But learning all that wasnโt easy. The information regarding her whereabouts were not public.
Thankfully, thanks to my lawyer, we managed to track Lily down. She was placed in a foster home. My heart broke. She changed a couple of foster homes before my sister adopted her, and now she was going through the same once again.
Luckily, I got the right to visitation, and it didnโt take long before I filedย adoptionย papers myself. Lily was a huge part of my life, and unlike my sister, I couldnโt turn my back to her.
It took a lot of time, patience, and a bunch of paperwork, but Lily was finally where she belonged, by my side.
Once the adoption process was final, my husband, Aaron, hugged me and said, โWe finally did it.โ
His support and his love for Lily meant the world to me.
Last week, Lily turned six. She had a beautiful birthday party.
She sometimes hoards food, afraid it would be taken away, and has nightmares, but over time, she will be a lot better. And yes, she was convinced for a long time that she did something wrong and thatโs why my sister abandoned her.
Lily, my sisterโs adopted daughter whom she didnโt like any longer became my world.
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