And just like that, the last shred of hope you kept with you was gone. Torn away from you.

This family had kept their eye on you. A mum and a dad, unable to bear children. Until you got the word that they decided on a newborn baby. Like always. Nobody wanted a six-year-old child. They only wanted babies.

You had been at the adoption center for as long as you could remember. The staff was decided whether to give up on you and move you to a children’s home, or keep you to stay and hopefully get adopted. With the family that had their eye on you adopting a baby, they were right on the fence of moving you to the home.

You were drawing in the common room like you always do, keeping to yourself. You were a good kid. Quiet, never wanting to play with the younger children. The babies were kept separate, in another area. It wasn’t very common that parents looked for children your age. But when they did, they didn’t want a child your age.

You saw the door open and looked up, along with the other children, all younger than you. It was a man and a woman, along with a staff member talking to him about this age group. She was adamant on them looking at the babies instead of the children, but the couple refused. All the other kids went up to him and his wife, giggling and playing. Sure, they talked back to get to know them.

They all had hope that they would get adopted still. Not you. You looked back down at your drawing, still coloring to yourself. John noticed you, and went to sit down at the table with you.

“What are you coloring, kid?” The man asked with a soft smile. His wife was with some other kids, trying to get to know them with the staff member. You looked closer at his name tag.

Hi! My name is John Price.