“The courtroom was tense as the judge read through the papers in front of her. The girl named Ava sat silently next to her adoptive parents, her eyes downcast. The hearing was to finalize her adoption, but the judge had a feeling something was not quite right. So she focused her attention on Ava and asked her a very important question.
Ava had a difficult childhood. She never knew her biological parents, as she was left at a hospital when she was just a baby. She was taken into the system and has been searching for her permanent adoptive parents since then. She never had much luck, but this time around, it would be different.
This time, Ava was placed in the care of the Smiths, a loving family who had already adopted two children in the last few years. Ava felt happy with her new family and, for the next few months, really enjoyed living with them. But she couldn’t shake the feeling she was missing something.
So when the Smiths asked Ava if she wanted to join their family forever, she didn’t hesitate to say yes. So the next day, the Smiths told Ava it was time to finalize her adoption. They had asked her beforehand many times, and she was really sure about this decision. They assured her they wouldn’t feel badly toward her if she changed her mind. But Ava told them she was sure.
But little did they know, this wasn’t the case. Ava wasn’t sure at all, but she was in a difficult position. Should she tell them about her doubts, or should she proceed and live in a steady, loving, and secure household for the rest of her life? Of course, Ava chose the latter. How could you expect otherwise from such a young child?
Well, the Smiths called the adoption agency and told them the good news. They scheduled a day for the court hearing, and as they said goodbye, Ava’s caseworker said once more how happy he was for her.
As the days passed on and the date for the court hearing got closer and closer, Ava couldn’t stop thinking about the choices she had made. She started feeling more and more like the black sheep of the family, never really fitting into their plans and hobbies. But she wasn’t going to tell anyone. She wondered why she felt like this. Why couldn’t she be happy with the family she’s got?
Soon after, the day of the court hearing arrived. They headed over to the courtroom and went through all the standard procedures. Ava’s heart pounded in her chest as they walked through the hallway. Today would be the day she would finally legally belong to a family again.
But instead of feeling happy, her stomach turned at the thought. Ava had no idea why she was feeling this way. The hearing began, and they all stood when the judge arrived. Ava’s foster parents spoke first, praising their parenting skills and how much they loved and cared for Ava.
As the trial continued, Ava was sure the judge was fully convinced this was the right family for her. She hadn’t spoken a word yet, but the judge hadn’t asked her anything either. All Ava did was listen in silence and occasionally look down at her new shoes.
But that was about to change very soon. Suddenly, Ava noticed a sudden change in the judge’s body language. Where it had been open and relaxed the whole time, it was now a bit tenser, and so was her facial expression. She frowned at the paper before her and stuttered when she asked Ava’s parents the following question.
“Will you allow Ava to search for her parents post-adoptively?”
Everyone in the courtroom fell silent. Her parents, Mr. Smith, answered, confused. Ava’s interest was now sparked, even Oliver himself had never met her parents. They cold-heartedly left her as a newborn baby all alone in front of a hospital.
The judge looked at Mr. Smith with a serious face. “Answer the question, Mr. Smith,” she said, a stern look on her face.
“Of course, we’ll allow her,” Miss Smith quickly answered while comfortably resting her hand on her husband’s upper arm. “If she ever wants to search for them, we’ll support her.”
Miss Smith obviously tried to make her answer sound as convincing as possible. But in all honesty, she was not telling the truth. Of course, she and her husband had discussed the possibility of this when they decided to adopt a young child from foster care.
But they had come to the conclusion that letting the child look for the real parents would most likely only cause trouble in the long run. And it was like the judge could look right through Miss Smith. She had dealt with many cases like this before and really knew how to read somebody in this situation. She leaned over her desk a bit and looked Miss Smith directly in the eyes.
“Are you sure?” the judge’s question made Miss Smith tremble a bit. But it had the opposite effect on Ava. She immediately slammed her hammer down and called for a half-hour recess. Ava was caught off guard by this and expected that she would just go with her foster parents for the time being. But the judge specifically requested to see the young girl in her office for a bit during the intermission.
But not everybody agreed with this. Miss and Mr. Smith first wanted to know what the judge wanted to discuss with Ava and why they could not be present during these talks. Ava was dead nervous when she walked into the judge’s chamber only moments later.
The judge was sitting behind her desk, waiting for the little girl with a warm smile on her face and a cold glass of lemonade for the young girl. She wanted Ava to feel comfortable. She first asked Ava general questions about how she thought the court hearing was going and how she was feeling. But the young girl was holding a lot back with her answers. She was keeping everything short and to the point, and the judge could do nothing about that.
So the judge decided to switch approach and really try to make sure that Ava understood what was going on here and what was at stake. That if she wanted to let her true feelings be heard, this was the only chance to do so.
The young girl was very much taken aback by this, but the approach did seem to work. Ava was breaking right in front of the judge’s eye. She started crying, sobbing. But at least she was giving honest answers now, and the judge knew exactly what to do with that information.
When Ava had calmed down, she thanked the young girl and asked her to be this honest in court. If Ava could do that, then she would make sure that everything was going to work out for the young girl. Ava swallowed away her tears and agreed. The judge was right. She had to be honest here.
When the court got back in session a bit later, the Smiths were a lot more nervous than before. They had no idea what had become of the conversation between Ava and the judge, but they had no idea it was going to impact the hearing. And so it did.
“Ava, I have one very important question to ask you, and I am going to need an honest answer from you,” the judge said. Ava knew that this question from the judge was coming, but she still felt as nervous as could be. And who could blame her? She felt that the eyes of every single person in the court were fixated on her and her alone, and the answer she would give would determine everything in this case.
The judge did not waste any more time. “Ava, do you want to be adopted by the Smiths?”
Mr. and Miss Smith first looked back at the judge in disbelief before turning their attention back to Ava. They could not believe that this question was even being asked, and Ava caught them very much off guard with her answer.
The young girl took a deep breath and nearly shouted it through the courtroom, stunning everybody into complete silence.
“No.”
The Smiths could not believe it, but Ava was also actually able to give an explanation for her rejection of them. This whole time, she had been wondering why the prospect of being adopted by the family had not seemed like a good idea to her, even though at face value, it was great.
But the judge made her realize that it did not matter that she could not think of a good reason. They were talking about adopting her. She was going to most likely be considering these people her parents for the rest of her life if she decided to go through with it. If there was ever anything that needed to feel 100% perfect, this was it. And seeing as this was simply not the case, they should not go through with the adoption.
Maybe it seemed like a bad choice, but Ava’s feelings here were the most important aspect of the whole situation, and luckily, the judge helped her see that.
Mr. and Miss Smith were obviously very disappointed, but they could also not be mad or something. They understood the perspective and arguments of the judge. And as much as they wanted Ava to be their daughter, if it did not feel right for her, then they should not go through with it.”
