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from her forehead.
“You are not a burden,” she told her. “You are a blessing.”
In the months that followed, Ivy found comfort in the gentle structure of her aunt’s home. Carol gave her a house key so she could come in after school. She let her paint her bedroom walls sky blue, and when Ivy changed her mind, she simply brought home more paint and helped
her start again.
Her aunt supported every small step toward confidence. She encouraged school projects and hovered over essays with patient enthusiasm. If Ivy needed a certain shade of paint, Carol found a way to stretch her budget and take her across town to find it. She never complained about the cost of supplies or the time spent driving from store