Maria raised her hand to wipe her tears and smiled at Avery. "That day, I secretly swore that in this life. I would be a mber of the Carter family as long as I lived and a ghost of the Carter family if I died."
Avery nodded gently and used the towel to lightly wipe the tears from Maria’s face.
Maria sniffled and said in a low voice, "I didn’t intend to talk about my biological parents ever again."
"But you’re Mom and Dad’s biological daughter. You’re their precious child. I don’t want you to misunderstand or for anyone to sow discord between us in the future, so I think I should tell you this."
"Well, thank you for telling this. Avery caressed her head again and said firmly, "Believe , you’re already grown up and can decide your fate."
"No one can control your life anymore. Don’t feel hurt because of what happened in the past."
"Avery, you are just as nice as your adoptive parents and brothers." Maria sniffled again and smiled. "I have been thinking that I must live a very happy life to be worthy of the kindness your family has shown ."
Avery nodded and looked at her. "Your feet must be numb by now, right? Can you get up?"
However, Maria shook her head. "There is one more thing I think I should tell you."
"Alright, go ahead," Avery said.
Maria glanced at the door and, after confirming it was closed, said in a low voice, "Josie... is also adopted."
"I... begged our family to adopt her."
Avery was sowhat surprised, though not entirely caught off guard.
She had already suspected that Josie was not her parents’ biological child, but she had not expected that there might be more to the story.
Maria sniffled in embarrassnt. "You are so smart. You must have noticed Josie is not Mom and Dad’s biological daughter"
"Two years ago, during the sumr vacation, Maria perford poorly on her SATs, failing to et the standards for a decent college.
Her family enrolled her for a repeat year, hoping she would work hard to pass the test.
That sumr, her teacher organized the students to volunteer at an orphanage. Maria found the work aningful and went to help almost every day.
It was there that she t Josie."
"It was a windy and rainy morning, but I arrived very early. At a glance, I saw a cardboard box at the entrance of the orphanage. There was an umbrella placed on top of the box."
"I thought there were kittens or puppies inside. I ran over, and to my surprise, it was agute little girl who looked like an angel"
Avery’s pupils dilated, and her fingertips began to tremble slightly. She thought, "Could the little girl in the cardboard box be Josie? Was soone heartless enough to abandon such a young, adorable child at the orphanage?"
Maria’s eyes grew wet again. "The little girl looked like two or three years old, sleeping soundly. She was covered with a small blanket, holding a Hello Kitty doll in her arms, unaware she had been abandoned."
Avery sighed inwardly
The tragedies of this world never seem to end.
Marta continued in a low voice, "There was a note inside the box It read: Alina, two years and eight months old, born on December 26th."
"She was dressed well, and her face was fair and clean. The person who raised her did not seem to lack money. I cannot understand why soone with ans would abandon such a sweet child."
"I took her into the orphanage, and after a checkup, we discovered that she had polio and a slight limp in her right leg"
"The child was very obedient. She did not cry after realizing that she had been abandoned. She did everything the adults asked of her. When no one cared for or played with her, she would carry her Hello Kitty doll and hide in a corner, singing
softly."
"I could not understand what she was singing, but her voice was beautiful, like an angel’s"
"She was very attached to . Although she was not talkative and was shy around strangers, every ti she saw , it was as if she had wings. Her eyes would light up, and she smiled like a blooming flower as she ran towards ."
"Every ti I saw her, I thought of myself when I was younger. I rembered how I pounced on our parents when they ca to find ."
Maria cried harder this ti, shedding more tears than when she had talked about herself.
Avery listened silently, not interrupting her thoughts.
"I really liked this child and missed her. Every day before dawn, I would bring the snacks I made at ho and run to the orphanage to see her."
"When I was about to leave, the child would often hold my hand and ask if she could co ho with . I... I could not
answer..."
"I wanted to bring her ho, but... but the family had already adopted . At that ti, sothing had happened to the family, and everyone was struggling. I could not bring myself to ask the family..."
Avery’s heart thudded once again. She wondered, "Could this have been two years ago! Had my family fallen on hard tis again?"
"But I really could not let go of that child. I could not leave her in the orphanage", Maria said, struggling to control her emotions and prevent herself from crying. "School was about to start, and once it did, I could not visit the orphanage. .. I fell ill..."
Her illness was quite severe. She had a fever and was vomiting. She was constantly shedding tears.
She would vomit out any dicine she took. Despite being barely conscious, she would crawl out of bed, crying and insisting on going to the orphanage to see the child.
Her father noticed her condition and had a lengthy discussion with her.
Finally, she expressed her heartache and tearfully asked, "Daddy can our family adopt that child? I understand that our family is struggling, and it might be difficult to care for another sick child, but I am willing to take on the responsibility"
"I would go out to work, rent a small house, and care for her myself"
To her surprise, their father responded decisively, "Alright! Make sure you take your dicine properly. Once you have taken your dicine, your mother and I will accompany you to the orphanage to see that child ourselves."
This decision brought her a renewed sense of hope.
After their parents visited the child, they were very fond of her and inquired about the adoption process imdiately. Their parents brought the older brothers to see the child the next day. The older brothers liked her very much and unanimously supported the family’s decision to adopt her as a younger sister,
Maria looked up, took the towel from Avery’s hand, wiped her tears, and smiled gently. "Mom and Dad went to great lengths to complete the adoption procedures and bring the child ho. They
nad her Josie."
"Even though the family was facing financial difficulties at that ti, our parents and brothers still made every effort to raise money for Josie’s dical treatnt."
"I decided to stop my studies and work instead. I would earn money to support the family while also taking ti to care for Josie."
She did not explain why Josie was nad "Josie."
However, Avery knew it was because Josie was the ninth child in the family.
In this family, she had a twin who was either a sister or a brother
One of the changes in the family must have been related to this twin.
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