"Mom."

"Oh, Maria? You're up already?"

Julie beamed upon seeing Maria, but embarrassment shadowed her face instantly.

Maria gleaned right then that Julie had been crying. The tear stains on her face gave it away.

After recounting her past, Maria felt an overwhelming desire to go back to sleep. She had no idea about how Julie coped with the grief of finding out where her biological daughter's heart went after all these years.