Benedetta Mattei keeps surprising us with gifts: in her last column, she told us about her fierce desire to return to school—and wrote directly to the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella. He wrote back. You can read his note in our Open Dialogue section (and on our Twitter). We have to thank them both, with all our hearts: Benedetta for introducing us to our President, and the President himself—whose handwritten reply shows how much it matters to pay attention to a sixteen-year-old like Benedetta.
Another sixteen-year-old, Sevy Marie Eicher, a rising artist and creator of our cover drawing, brings us into this issue's focus on adoption. We've explored this theme before, but we return to it now because we believe it matters deeply: we tell stories that the world might call reckless, yet when lived with real awareness, they become acts capable of changing a child's life. What could be more precious?
Every adoption story is different, never without its struggles. But adopting a child with special needs? That brings still deeper complexity. Sevy Marie is no exception. Born with Down syndrome, she spent twelve years in Bulgarian institutions, passed from one to another. Then in 2016, an American family—already with two biological children and one adopted son who also has Down syndrome—recognized that she was the girl they'd been waiting for. As Paolo Catapano writes in our feature, when you stand before a real child, doubt dissolves. The decision arrives, ready and waiting. At twelve, Sevy arrived in Texas. About two years later, this girl who could only sign and struggled to bond with her mother found something unexpected: drawing became her language. Through her hands came face after face. Among them, the portrait of a queen that graces our cover—followed by vibrant, explosive works that pour from her with singular, deliberate artistry. What could be more precious than watching a girl discover the queen inside herself?