NyelleTwenty years ago."Who's going to adopt her? Every family that takes her returns her."The voices followed me everywhere in the orphanage. They weren't cruel voices. If anything, they sounded sympathetic, which somehow made it worse."She's such a good child.""Yeah, but she has leukemia."Then came the pity and sad looks.Poor child. I hated those words.Families would visit, smile at me, hold my hand, tell me how lucky I was. Some even brought toys. For a little while, I would let myself believe things were finally changing. Then they would learn about my illness.And suddenly they didn't want me anymore.Again and again, I found myself back in the same bed, staring at the same ceiling.Each time, I would clutch the moon-shaped necklace hanging around my neck until sleep finally took me. It was the only thing I had from my real parents. The only thing that belonged to me. Sometimes I would lie awake wondering why they left me behind. Maybe they didn't want a sick child. Maybe
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