Love isn’t meant to have conditions. But for my sister Erin, it did. Without hesitation or remorse, she g.ave up her adopted daughter as soon as she had a biological son.
As I struggled to understand her c.r.uelty, she simply shrugged and said, “She wasn’t mine anyway.” But karma, as it turns out, was already on her doorstep. There are moments in life that shatter you, moments when everything you thought you knew suddenly crumbles. For me, those moments were encapsulated in four words spoken by my sister about her four-year-old adopted daughter: “I gave her back.”
We hadn’t seen Erin in months. She lived a few states away, and when she got pregnant, we gave her space. But when she had a baby boy, the entire family decided to visit and celebrate. I packed up my car with gifts, including a special teddy bear for Lily, my goddaughter, whom I adored.
When we pulled up to Erin’s house, I noticed something strange. The yard didn’t look the same. The plastic slide that Lily loved was gone, as was the small garden of sunflowers we had planted together last summer.
Erin answered the door with a smile, cradling a swaddled bundle in her arms. “Everyone, meet Noah!” she announced, turning the baby to face us.
We all cooed and gathered around. My mom reached for the baby, and my dad immediately started snapping pictures. As I glanced around, something felt off. All signs of Lily were gone. No photos, no toys, no drawings on the fridge.
“Where’s Lily?” I asked, still holding the teddy bear, my voice light.
Erin’s face instantly froze. She exchanged a glance with her boyfriend, Sam, who quickly looked away, busying himself with the thermostat.
Without a hint of shame, Erin said flatly, “Oh, I gave her back.”
I stared at her, confused. “What do you mean, ‘gave her back’?”
The room fell silent. My mother stopped rocking baby Noah, and my dad lowered his camera. The tension was palpable, suffocating.
“You know I always wanted to be a boy, mom,” Erin said, almost as if explaining something obvious. “Now I have Noah. Why would I need a daughter? And don’t forget, Lily was adopted. I don’t need her anymore.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. “You gave her back?” I repeated, my voice rising, my gift box slipping from my hand and tumbling to the floor. “She’s not a toy, you return to the store, Erin! She’s a child!”