The One Condition

Olive found the strength to voice the emotions she’d been hiding for so long, with the judge’s calming words still echoing in her mind. She wanted a family desperately, but there was still a tiny part of her that clung to the hope that one day, her birth parents might return.

It might have seemed unrealistic, but this hope was a core part of who she was. Olive spoke up, explaining that for her to embrace a new family fully, she needed to keep that door to her past open, just in case. This was her condition—a way to open her heart to a future while honoring her past.