Reminders of Him

by Colleen Hoover

already fighting for its first breath. I lost the custody battle before Diem was even born. There aren’t many rights a mother has when she’s sentenced to several years in prison. The judge said, because of the nature of our situation and the duress I’d caused to Scotty’s family, he could not, in good conscience, honor my request for visitation rights. Nor would he force Scotty’s parents to maintain the relationship between my daughter and me while I was in prison. I was told I could petition the court for rights upon my release, but since my rights were terminated, there’s probably very little I can do. Between Diem’s birth and my release almost five years later, there has been little anyone could, or would, do for me. All I have is this intangible hope I try to cling to with childlike hands. I was praying Scotty’s parents just needed time. I assumed, ignorantly, that they would eventually see a need for me to be in Diem’s life.