In 1993, a deaf baby was left on my doorstep. I took on the role of his mother, but I had no idea what the future would hold for him.

In 1993, a deaf baby was left on my doorstep. I took on the role of his mother, but I had no idea what the future would hold for him. "Misha, look!" I froze at the gate, unable to believe my eyes. My husband clumsily stepped over the threshold, bent under the weight of a bucket filled with fish. The coolness of the July morning cut right through to the bone, but what I saw on the bench made me forget the cold entirely. "What is it?" Mikhail set the bucket down and came over to me. On an old bench by the fence stood a woven basket. Inside, wrapped in a faded blanket, lay a child. A little boy, about two years old. His huge brown eyes stared straight at me—not with fear, not with curiosity, just stared. "My God," Mikhail breathed, "where did he come from?" I gently ran my finger through his dark hair. The boy didn’t flinch, didn’t cry—he only blinked. In his tiny fist was a crumpled piece of paper. I carefully pried his fingers open ...