"Please sign your name here to complete the process."
Anastasia looked up to meet the eyes of the woman. She hesitantly reached forward to grab the pen, her hand shaking.
Looking to her side, she saw her husband nodding encouragingly at her. She sighed and looped her signature on the line next to his, closing her eyes as she did so. She didn't want to look, to see what she had just done.
Taking a deep breath, the young woman opened up her eyes as she handed the clipboard back to the lady without a word. As she took it into her hands, Anastasia could see her signature on the bottom of the paper. Her breath caught and her eyes got hot, tears pooling in the corners.
It was done. She was really doing this. She was giving up her firstborn daughter.
Her husband, Arthur, gave her a smile. One that she couldn't return. She saw his smile drop, sighing as he grabbed the carrier with their week old baby daughter in it. He handed it over to the kind lady, and Anastasia could feel her heart literally breaking in half. The lady saw her face and handed her the child to hold one more time. Anastasia gladly took her into her arms, gazing at the sleeping baby.
Oh, how beautiful her darling daughter was. They had the same dark brown hair and light tan skin tone. The one thing she had inherited from her father was her eye color, a gorgeous grayish-blue.
As she gazed lovingly at her daughter, the one-year olds eyes opened, smiling when she saw her mother. Anastasia smiled back though tears were pricking in the corners of her eyes. She felt a presence behind her and turned to see her husband. He wrapped one arm around her, holding his family and smiling down at his daughter.
"I... I know it's hard, Anastasia, but we're just starting out our career. We can't afford to have a baby right now." She nodded along, knowing he was right but wanting so desperately to just hold onto her darling child forever.
She was only nineteen and he had just turned twenty, they were far too young to even think about having a child. And her career was just taking off, there would be no time for her to properly care for this baby.
If she truly loved her, she would let her go. No matter how much her heart shattered at the thought of it. Because all that mattered to her was that her child was happy. As long as she was happy, Anastasia could be too. Or at least she could try.
"If at anytime you want her back, you can come get her." Anastasia nearly forgot about the woman standing there. She had been so lost in her thoughts that everything except her baby and husband slipped her mind.
The couple nodded grimly, signifying that they understood what she had just said.
Anastasia handed her daughter back over to the lady with shaky arms, a melancholy expression taking over her face.
She knew that they would have to leave now, or they would never be able to.
As soon as Anastasia turned and began walking out of the room, her baby began crying, as if she could sense her mother leaving her forever. Anastasia had to will herself not to turn and take her child back, cradling her delicately and murmuring how much her mother loves her and will never let her go.
But she didn't do that. Instead, she left.
The cries got louder and louder, increasing in volume with every single step that she took away from her.
Anastasia finally allowed one, single tear drop to roll down her cheek as she walked away. Never to see her sweet, beautiful baby again.