The state custody forms were printed on thick yellow paper.

Two weeks had passed, and I sat in the hospital lounge folding my few spare shirts into a plastic bag.

Mrs.

Higgins from county family services sat across a low table from Rachel.

“The hospital’s policy is very strict about abandoned minors,” Mrs.

Higgins said.

She slid a second yellow page across the scratched wooden table.

Rachel nodded and signed the bottom of the form with a black pen.