When I Was 5, Police Told My Parents My Twin Had Died – 68 Years Later, I Met a Woman Who Looked Exactly Like Me

I was staring at my own face.

I walked toward her.

Older in some ways, softer in others. But mine.

Advertisement
My fingers went cold.

I walked toward her.

She whispered, “Oh my God.”

My mouth moved before my brain caught up.

“Ella?” I choked out.

“My name is Margaret.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“I… no,” she said. “My name is Margaret.”

Advertisement
I jerked my hand back.

“I’m sorry,” I blurted. “My twin sister’s name was Ella. She disappeared when we were five. I’ve never seen anyone who looks like me like this. I know I sound crazy.”

“No,” she said quickly. “You don’t. Because I’m looking at you and thinking the same thing.”

Same nose. Same eyes.

The barista cleared his throat. “Uh, do you ladies want to sit? You’re kind of blocking the sugar.”

Advertisement
We both laughed nervously and moved to a table.

Up close, it was almost worse.

Same nose. Same eyes. Same little crease between the brows. Even our hands matched.

She wrapped her fingers around her cup.

“I don’t want to freak you out more,” she said, “but… I was adopted.”

“If I asked about my birth family, they shut it down.”

My heart tightened.

Advertisement
“From where?” I asked.

“Small town, Midwest. Hospital’s gone now. My parents always told me I was ‘chosen,’ but if I asked about my birth family, they shut it down.”

I swallowed.

“What year were you born?”

“My sister disappeared from a small town in the Midwest,” I said. “We lived near a forest. Months later, the police told my parents they’d found her body. I never saw anything. No funeral, I remember. They refused to talk about it.”

Advertisement
We stared at each other.

“What year were you born?” she asked.

I told her.

She told me hers.

She let out a shaky laugh.

Five years apart.

“We’re not twins,” I said. “But that doesn’t mean we’re not—”

“Connected,” she finished.