Some People Give Birth. Others Choose to Stay.
Daniel closed the door slowly.
Inside, the house was quiet again — but not the same quiet as before.
Lily wiped her cheeks.
“I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner,” she whispered. “I was scared she’d take me.”
Daniel pulled her into his arms.
“She never had that power,” he said softly. “Not for one second.”
Lily clung to him like she was still four years old with a pink backpack and nowhere to go.
“You didn’t have to keep me,” she whispered.
Daniel pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes.
“No. I didn’t. But I wanted to. Every single day.”
Some people become parents by biology.
Others become parents by choice.
And when the past came knocking, Lily finally stood up for the love that never walked away.
If this hit you hard, ask yourself this: what makes someone a parent — blood, or the choice to stay when it’s hardest?
