Mom stood at the counter, quietly chopping carrots, her face pale and drawn. Without turning around, she said softly, “Why didn’t you listen?”
Then the man turned to face us. He wasn’t an exact match, but the resemblance was so strong it felt like looking at a living echo of someone we had buried. Through tears, Mom finally explained. His name was James — our father’s twin brother. We were stunned. We had never heard of him before.
