Instead, I poured everything I had into raising him. I loved him more fiercely than I knew was possible.
We built traditions—especially our Sunday walks through the park near our apartment. Stefan liked to count ducks by the pond. I liked watching him, his brown curls bouncing in the sunlight.
That Sunday felt ordinary.
Stefan had just turned five. He was at the age of monsters under beds and astronauts visiting in dreams. His imagination was endless.
We were passing the swings when he stopped so abruptly I nearly bumped into him.
“Mom,” he said quietly.
“What is it, honey?”
He stared across the playground. His voice was certain. “He was in your belly with me.”
My stomach tightened. “What did you say?”
He pointed.
On the far swing sat a little boy pumping his legs. His jacket was too thin for the cold, stained and worn. His jeans were torn at the knees. But none of that mattered.
It was his face.
Brown curls. The same arch of eyebrows. The same shape of nose. The same way of biting his lower lip when concentrating.
On his chin was a small crescent-shaped birthmark.
Identical to Stefan’s.
The ground beneath me seemed to shift.
The doctors had been certain. His twin had died.
“It’s him,” Stefan whispered. “The boy from my dreams.”
“Stefan, that’s nonsense,” I said, though my voice barely held steady. “We’re leaving.”
“No, Mom. I know him!”
Before I could stop him, he ran.
The other boy looked up as Stefan approached. They stood face-to-face, staring. Then the boy reached out his hand. Stefan took it.
They smiled at the same moment, the same curve in their mouths.
I forced myself to move toward them.
A woman stood nearby watching. Early forties, tired eyes, guarded posture.
“Excuse me, ma’am, this must be a misunderstanding,” I began carefully. “I’m sorry, but our kids look incredibly similar…”
She turned toward me.
And I recognized her.
The years had added faint lines around her eyes, but I knew that face.
The nurse.
The one who had steadied my hand while I signed those papers.
“Have we met?” I asked slowly.
“I don’t think so,” she replied, but her eyes shifted.
I mentioned the hospital where I had delivered my twins.
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