Nowhere to go and nothing to look forward to

I sat in a classroom at the Beijing Juvenile Rescue and Protection Center, waiting for my interviewee. I didn't specify a particular child, but simply waited for the first one to finish lunch. After a short while, a child entered the room. My first impressions were of short brown hair and a skeletal frame under a white uniform. It was difficult to determine the child's gender.

"It's nice to meet you," I said and received a gentle response. "Hi," said the child, a girl. "My name is Xiaoya," she said politely, with a shy smile. It was hard to believe she's 12 years old because she stands less than a meter tall. I didn't see any abnormality until she walked up to me and sat down on a chair. Then I noticed that her legs were bent and malformed.

"Where are you from?" I asked. "I can't remember," she replied, looking at the floor. "I was abandoned when I was about 3 and can hardly remember my home and family, except my grandmother."