Lifeboat

  Ma Ling needed a lifeboat. She understood the concept, but didn't know the Mandarin word for rescue. She knew that at the age of five, and with the added burden of missing fingers and toes, her odds of being adopted were slim to none.

Ma Ling watched the light-skinned, well-dressed people tour the orphanage on Fridays. They were always smiling, always taking photos, but they only had eyes for the baby girls in their arms. They never noticed the older girls, never spoke to them.
  Once a red-haired woman came to visit Ma Ling's room. She handed out lychee candy and smiled a lot. Ma Ling smiled back at her and tried to make her drab Hello Kitty t-shirt look presentable, but she knew not to get her hopes up. Sure enough, no one in Ma Ling's room went home with the lady.
  The orphanage director came to the room the next day and took photos of each of the five year-olds, something she had never done before. Lifeboat, Ma Ling thought. Send me a lifeboat.

  This is our Ma Ling. Our daughter Malani, adopted December 5, 2010 at the age of 8 1/2. We weren't her lifeboat--she was ours.