Kevin thought the hardest aspect of moving to Massachusetts with his daughter Lucy would be getting acclimated to the slower pace of life compared to New York City.
He worked for a small architectural firm in Ashford, a pretty town with clapboard buildings that leaned a little with age and church bells that rang on Sunday mornings.
Lucy was 7, smart, curious, and always chatting. She got acclimated to it quickly, faster than he expected she would. Their new house was a little two-story building with peeling white paint and creaky flooring. To her, though, it was a castle compared to their small flat in the city.
On their first night, she ran from room to room, instructing them where to put her books, which wall needed fairy lights, and that the attic was “definitely haunted but in a fun way.”
Kevin laughed because he was happy that she was so happy. He wanted her to be positive more than ever. The relocation was an opportunity to start anew and escape away. When Lucy was still a baby, her mother Sarah left them.
She was told by the authorities that she “wasn’t ready for family life.” Kevin has been taking care of Lucy on his own since Sarah departed their life without saying much.
He thought he was done with that portion of his life. But then he saw the girl in the library, and things changed.
It was a Thursday afternoon a week after they had moved in, and it was raining. Kevin took Lucy to the town library to get a card. The big windows let in gray light, and the building smelled like paper and polish. Lucy swiftly moved to the kids’ area, leaving him to read biographies next to the circulation desk.
He noticed her then.
A girl who looked a lot like his daughter walked down the aisle between the shelves. She had the same black hair that curled at the ends, the same huge gray eyes, and even the same little scar on her chin from what looked like a tumble a long time ago. For a moment, Kevin thought it was Lucy. He felt panic in his heart.
He yelled, “Lucy?”
The girl turned around.
Not Lucy. The two girls looked a lot identical, but this one was a little taller, had her arms crossed, and seemed frightened. She froze when she saw him, and her eyes got wider. For a long second, they looked at one other. After that, she turned around and ran to the back of the library without saying anything.
Kevin followed her, his heart beating, but by the time he arrived to the parking lot door, she was gone.
He was shaken and went back to the circulation desk, where Lucy was now carrying a stack of books that was taller than her arms. “Can I have all of these, Dad?” she said.
Kevin smiled, but his thoughts was elsewhere.
That night, after Lucy went to bed, he sat at the kitchen table with a beer and thought about what had happened over and over again. It must have just happened by chance. There were people who looked like each other in small locations, right?
The girl might not have had anything in common with Lucy. That scar is still there, just where Lucy fell on the sidewalk and injured herself when she was four years old. What could be the reason behind that?
He told himself to let it go. But the picture kept coming back to him.
Two days later, it happened again.
He and Lucy were in the farmer’s market in the middle of town, walking between stands with fruits, honey jars, and knitted scarves. Kevin noticed Lucy talking to a woman about making fudge while carrying a bouquet of daisies near the flower seller. The same girl.
This time, he moved quickly. He went over and left Lucy with the candy store proprietor.
He yelled, “Hey!” “Please wait!”
The girl turned around, and her face seemed worried. For a while, he thought she might run away again, but instead she stood there with the daisies in front of her like a shield. Up close, the likeness was far more disturbing. She could have been Lucy’s sibling.
Kevin said softly, “I’m sorry,” knowing that she was worried. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” I just want to know whether we know each other.
She shook her head quickly. “No.”
“What’s your name?” he asked.
She took a moment to think. “Lila.”
Kevin’s mouth became dry. Lila. It seems like they wanted to give her a name that was quite close to Lucy.
Before he could ask any more inquiries, a woman came up to him. She was in her late thirties, had auburn hair in a bun, and a fatigued face that made her sharp features look softer. She put her arm around the girl to protect her.
The woman asked, “Can I help you?” in a calm voice.
Kevin stuttered. “I thought I knew her.” She looks a lot like my kid.
The woman looked quickly at Lucy, who was still at the fudge booth. For a moment, something crossed her face: guilt? panic? But then it was gone. “That’s a strange coincidence,” she said honestly. She turned Lila away before he could say anything else.
That night, Kevin couldn’t sleep. Coincidence couldn’t have caused the scar. There was no way that coincidence could explain how the woman looked.
He began to think about Sarah once more. What she did when she left them and where she went. He had heard that she had lived in Massachusetts for a while. Could it have been?
There was too much to think about.
He tried to focus on work, Lucy, and getting adjusted to their new life the next week. Still, he looked for Lila everywhere he went. They didn’t see one other again until the end of September, when they were both at school.
One day, Kevin went to get Lucy after she had joined the painting club. A gang of students walked out of the building and laughed at him as he stood there. One of them was Lila.
Kevin’s breathing ceased. She wore a smock with paint on it and had her hair in the same messy ponytail that Lucy adored. He thought he was seeing double for a second since Lucy and Lila were walking next to each other and appeared exactly the same, right down to the smallest details.
He couldn’t take it anymore. He hadn’t phoned Sarah in years, but he did that night after Lucy went to bed.
Her number was still good. She picked up on the second ring.
“Kevin?” She spoke slowly, as if she were tired.
He said, “I need to ask you something,” without any introduction. “Do we know that Lucy has a brother or sister that I don’t know about?”
No noise.
At last, Sarah let out a sigh. “I was scared of this.”
Kevin’s heart raced. “So it’s real?”
She added softly, “There was another child.” “A twin.” I didn’t say anything.
His knuckles were white from how tightly he held the phone. “Two? You mean Lucy has a sister? Could you please tell me why you didn’t tell me that?
“I freaked out,” Sarah remarked in a quiet voice. “We weren’t ready, Kevin.” I wasn’t prepared. I kept one and let go of the other. It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make.
He was angry and couldn’t believe it. “You left her!” For seven years, you kept this from me!
“I thought I was doing the right thing,” Sarah said, her voice breaking. “The adoption was done.” You were never intended to know. But if you’ve seen her, then fate had other plans.
Kevin hung up because he couldn’t handle it anymore.
The next day, he went to school and asked to see the principal. He carefully said that there seemed to be a student that looked a lot like his daughter, and he wanted to make sure. The principal finally admitted that Lila had been adopted at infancy and that her paperwork indicated she was a twin. She didn’t know what to do: keep things to herself or worry.
Kevin was stunned and quiet as he sat there.
That night, he told Lucy the truth. He set her at the table in the kitchen and shook his hands. “Sweetheart, I need to tell you something important. You have a sister. A twin.
Lucy opened her eyes wide. “A sister? Like, Lila? “I knew she looked like me!”
He nodded, and tears filled his eyes. “Yes.” Your mom made the choice before you could remember it. She thought she was doing the right thing, but it wasn’t fair to either you or Lila.
Instead of being mad, Lucy’s face lit up. She added in a gentle voice full of astonishment, “I have a sister.” “Hey Dad, I have a sister!”
Kevin went to see Lila’s adoptive mother, the woman with red hair from the market, in the weeks that followed. Her name was Joanna. She didn’t want to at first, was protective, and was careful. But in the end, she agreed to meet with him.
Over coffee at a quiet café, Joanna informed me that she had always known this day may come. She said in a low voice, “Lila asked questions.” “I never lied to her. I told her that she wasn’t my kid. But I didn’t know she would see her sister at school.
Kevin nodded, his throat thick of tears. “I don’t want to ruin your life.” I just want them to get to know each other. They deserve that much.
After a long time, Joanna finally sighed and looked at him. “You might be right.”
The park was the first place Lucy and Lila met in person. They sat next to each other on the swings and laughed like they had been friends for a long time. Kevin and Joanna sat on a bench and watched, quietly witnessing something that was bigger than either of them.
The enigma that had turned Kevin’s life upside down turned out to be a strange kind of gift. Yes, he no longer trusted Sarah. He hurt because he had been let down. But he had gained something amazing: a daughter he didn’t know existed and the delight of seeing Lucy’s world grow in ways he never expected.
It was hard. There were legal problems, mixed feelings, jealousy, and confusion. But they slowly found their beat. The girls spent their weekends, holidays, and birthdays together. They talked to each other on the phone every night before bed. Kevin, on the other hand, was at peace with the present, even though he was still furious about the past.
In the end, he had two daughters, not just one.
That changed everything.