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Sixteen-year-old Eric slips away from his foster family during a camping trip, driven by a desperate desire to find his biological mother and the answers he\u2019s longed for. But as he uncovers hard truths about his past and the meaning of family, Eric\u2019s journey takes an unexpected turn.\n On a family car, heading to a camping area, at almost sixteen, Eric’s mind was full of thoughts, he understood his place in the Johnson family. They had taken him in when he was twelve, treated him like one of their own, even though he wasn\u2019t their biological child. They\u2019d shown him kindness he\u2019d never experienced before. But with Mila now in the picture, things felt different. Eric wondered if they still wanted him.\n \u201cWe\u2019ll stop here at the gas station for a break,\u201d Mr. Johnson said, pulling over. Eric\u2019s eyes, however, were drawn to the weathered diner sign across the road, stirring an odd sense of familiarity. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a worn photograph\u2014the only link to his past, showing him as a baby with his biological mother, with a sign just like the one at the diner in the background.\n Mrs. Johnson noticed him staring at something in his hand. \u201cEverything alright?\u201d she asked warmly.\n Eric quickly tucked the photo away, forcing a small smile. \u201cYeah, just thinking.\u201d\n Mr. Johnson called from the car, \u201cAlright, family! Let\u2019s get back on the road.\u201d\n An hour later, they arrived at the campsite. Eric helped Mr. Johnson set up the tents, though his mind remained on the photo. After dinner by the campfire, the others went to bed, leaving Eric alone with his thoughts.\n \u201cI\u2019ll stay up a bit longer,\u201d Eric told Mr. Johnson, who nodded before heading to bed.\n Sitting by the flickering embers, Eric studied the photo again. On the back were the words \u201cEliza and Eric.\u201d The woman in the picture smiled faintly, but Eric couldn\u2019t remember her. He felt a pang of guilt as he glanced at the Johnsons\u2019 tent. They\u2019d been nothing but kind, yet he still felt out of place.\n Sighing, he slipped the photo into his pocket, grabbed his backpack, and left the campsite, heading down the road toward the diner. Hours later, the dim lights came into view.\n Inside, the diner was gloomy. An old man at the counter frowned as Eric approached, photo in hand. \u201cWe don\u2019t serve kids here.\u201d\n \u201cI just have a question,\u201d Eric said, showing him the photo. \u201cDo you know this woman?\u201d\n The man frowned at the image. \u201cWhat\u2019s her name?\u201d\n \u201cEliza,\u201d Eric replied, hopeful.\n The man nodded toward a noisy group in the corner. \u201cThat\u2019s her.\u201d\n Eric\u2019s heart pounded as he approached the table. The woman from the photo was older, worn, but it was her. \u201cEliza, hi,\u201d he said nervously.\n She looked at him with a frown. \u201cWhat do you want, kid?\u201d\n \u201cI\u2019m your son,\u201d Eric said quietly.\n \u201cI don\u2019t have any kids.\u201d\n Eric held up the photo. \u201cIt\u2019s me, Eric. See?\u201d\n Eliza\u2019s expression hardened. \u201cThought I got rid of you,\u201d she muttered.\n \u201cI just wanted to meet you,\u201d Eric said, his voice trembling.\n Eliza smirked. \u201cFine. Sit down. Maybe you\u2019ll be useful.\u201d Her friends chuckled as Eric sank into a chair, feeling out of place.\n After a while, Eliza glanced toward the counter. \u201cTime to leave. Let\u2019s go before the old man catches on.\u201d\n As they stood to leave, Eric hesitated. \u201cBut we haven\u2019t paid,\u201d he said.\n \u201cThat\u2019s not how the world works, kid,\u201d Eliza replied, snatching the cash from Eric\u2019s backpack.\n The old man at the counter noticed. \u201cHey! You didn\u2019t pay!\u201d he shouted.\n \u201cRun!\u201d Eliza yelled, dashing out. Eric had no choice but to follow. Police lights flashed nearby, and as Eliza ran past him, she shoved him. \u201cI told you\u2014I don\u2019t have any kids!\u201d she shouted, disappearing into the night.\n A police car pulled up beside Eric. \u201cI didn\u2019t do anything wrong,\u201d he said, tears in his eyes. \u201cI tried to pay, but she took my money.\u201d\n An officer placed a hand on Eric\u2019s shoulder, guiding him into the backseat gently.\n At the police station, Eric was led to a small room where he was given a cup of tea. His heart skipped when he saw the Johnsons talking to an officer nearby. Mrs. Johnson rushed over, wrapping him in a tight hug. \u201cEric! We were so worried!\u201d\n Mr. Johnson approached. \u201cWhy did you run off like that?\u201d\n \u201cI wanted to find my mom,\u201d Eric admitted, \u201cbut she wasn\u2019t what I expected.\u201d\n Mrs. Johnson\u2019s face softened. \u201cWe consider ourselves your parents.\u201d\n Mr. Johnson nodded. \u201cWe\u2019re sorry if we didn\u2019t make that clear.\u201d\n Eric looked at them. \u201cI thought you might not want me anymore, now that you have Mila.\u201d\n Mrs. Johnson hugged him again. \u201cWe don\u2019t give up on our children.\u201d\n \u201cYou\u2019re as much our child as Mila is,\u201d Mr. Johnson added. \u201cThat\u2019s never going to change.\u201d\n Tears fell as Eric realized he had found his real family. Mr. Johnson continued, \u201cThis trip was actually for you\u2014to tell you we want you to officially be our son.\u201d\n Mrs. Johnson added, \u201cAll the paperwork is ready, but only if you want it.\u201d\n Eric hugged them both, finally feeling at home.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sixteen-year-old Eric slips away from his foster family during a camping trip, driven by a desperate desire to find his biological mother and the answers he\u2019s longed for. But as he uncovers hard truths about his past and the meaning of family, Eric\u2019s journey takes an unexpected turn. On a family car, heading to a …\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":95065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1439],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95064"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95072,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95064\/revisions\/95072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/01%5C/473029270_1127747242171719_6692844751010250031_n.png%5C%22 "\\"\\"")
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