“And I dreamed what it would be like to have that for myself. That instead of sitting nearby, untouched and neglected, that someone would want me. Someone would love me. I left that world for a family, and for the chance of love, and yet here I am.” I spread my arms wide, choking on my bitterness. “Just as ignored and unloved as before.” O’jek gives me a look of quiet intensity. “You are not ignored.” He pauses and then adds in a low voice, “And you are not unloved.”
