Warm.
Laughing.
And completely unaware of the impossible journey that had brought us together.
I closed my eyes.
I wanted to tell her everything.
That I had named her Lucy.
That I’d spent five years mourning her.
That I had imagined her growing up in countless different ways.
But I knew she wasn’t ready for those truths.
So I simply held her.
Then Ellie pulled back.
She studied my hair.
“Auntie Claire, can you make mine look like yours?”
I laughed through my tears.
“Of course, sweetheart.”
“Two pigtails!”
“Wouldn’t