“Wouldn’t You Like to Have a Daughter? I Could Be Your Daughter, If You’d Like.” The Girl Joined Our Family On Her Own

This story takes place 15 years ago. A girl at the orphanage looked up at me with her bright green eyes for a few minutes and suddenly asked, “Do you have a daughter?”

I replied, surprised, “No, I don’t.”

She let out a small sigh and, with a rather sad look, said, “Wouldn’t you like to have one?” As I tried to make sense of her words, she spoke again: “I could be your daughterif you’d like that, of course.”

My thoughts began to race. I already have a son who is twenty years old. I don’t really need another child, do I? Yet her words, “A daughter is never too much,” and the earnestness behind her wide eyes deeply moved me.

I had always dreamed of having a little girl. I longed for a tiny princess to buy dresses for, to style her hair, to share dolls and accessories, to play all those girlish games together. But I only had a boy, and I never dared to try for a second child. I found myself thinking: I’m an adult woman now. Could I truly raise a daughter at my age? Especially when it had only been a dream for so long. But in that moment, I said, “Of course, I’d love that!” She flung her arms around me, as though we’d belonged together since the day she was born.

With that hug, she poured into me all the affection shed stored up during her years in the orphanage. Her name was Charlotte. She was only five, and she had come to the orphanage at just eighteen months old. Her parents had died in a terrible car accident involving seven people. Since then, Charlotte had dreamed of a proper family. But, as is often the case, her wait at the orphanage had dragged on while other children were taken in.

You cant imagine the joy she felt at gaining new relativeshow she quickly learned and remembered the names of every single member of her new family. Everyone instantly adored her; she was such a loving little girl. My husband had his doubts at first, but Charlottes charm won him over from the very start. Soon enough, she was calling us Mum and Dad, and my husband couldnt bear the thought of ever being without her.

Charlotte settled in with little fuss and quickly kept pace with other children her age. When she started Year One at school, her intelligence and logical thinking stood out from the very beginning. Most recently, shes found a new interest: Charlotte has begun writing poetry. Shes become the favourite of just about everyone, and each day Im grateful I visited the orphanage that dayto check in, and ended up meeting her.