Shocked, Thelma asked Sister Julie about the child. That’s when the truth came out: the girl, named Cindy, was Thelma’s younger sister. After Thelma left, Erin had remarried and given birth to Cindy — only to be abandoned again. Erin later died in a tragic plane crash, and Cindy had been taken in by the same orphanage.

Devastated by the loss and her missed chances, Thelma made a promise to change things. She adopted Cindy and raised her as her own. Nine years later, Cindy is a thriving teen with dreams of becoming a doctor — fulfilling the dream their late mother once had for Thelma. And Thelma, now married to Curtis — the kind stranger who once gave her a ride back to Atlanta — knows she didn’t just reconnect with her past that day… she found her future.