I met my adoptive mom when I was twelve. To be honest, I didn’t love her. I just wanted out of the orphanage, and she was my ticket. She tried so hard to make me feel at home—buying me new clothes, cooking my favorite meals, showing up at every school event—but I never gave her the gratitude she deserved. I was cold, distant. I told myself she wasn’t my “real” mom.

A year ago, she passed away. Standing at her funeral, I felt nothing but a strange mix of guilt and emptiness. Then, a stranger approached me and handed me a small porcelain figurine.

“She wanted you to have it,” the woman said gently.

I didn’t understand why. I barely looked at it before anger got the better of me. I smashed it against the floor.

That’s when I saw it—a tiny rolled-up piece of paper hidden inside. My hands started shaking as I picked it up. It was her handwriting. A series of numbers, followed by one word: PASSWORD.

I remembered her once mentioning a bank account, but I had brushed it off. Curiosity took over. I found the account—and what I saw left me speechless. She’d been saving money for me all these years. But there was a note attached to the will:

“The funds will only be released if you become a registered foster parent.”

I sat there, stunned. Even after death, she was still guiding me—still teaching me how to give back the love I once rejected.

I’ve started the process of becoming a foster parent. And honestly, it scares me. Not the responsibility, but the thought that some child might look at me the same way I looked at her—cold, ungrateful, distant. Maybe that’s exactly what she wanted—to help me understand what real love means, the kind that asks for nothing in return.

And for the first time in my life, I think I’m finally ready to learn.