waif \WAYF\ noun
Meaning
1 a : a piece of property found (as washed up by the sea) but unclaimed
b plural : stolen goods thrown away by a thief in flight
2 a : something found without an owner and especially by chance
*b : a stray person or animal; especially : a homeless child

Her time at the orphanage was neither happy nor sad, memorable nor forgettable, full of incident nor lifeless. She was exactly like the other girls, and she never fought to change that. She was a waif, a stray, a bundle collected in off the street and cared for, though with no belief that their was purpose nor point in its existence. It wasn't in fact till she was 68 years old that she realised her true potential, as a painter. Her hands were ancient seeds buried deep into the soil, and tilled and tilled, until at last, quite forgotten, they produced shoots more beautiful than any seen before, at least in the town of Michigan.