Who Are You by Yasmin Susani(4B)



“Who are you?” I asked the stranger who had suddenly approached me.
“Why does he seem so familiar?” I asked myself. That stranger, that old man. I saw something in his eyes. His vulnerability. Why does he seem so sad? That strange man came up to me while I was having coffee and he left me an envelope.  My birthday was today and I assumed that it was a prank from some of my friends.  I decided to ignore it but curiosity compelled me to open it. I pulled out the contents and was bewildered. What are these photos? Who are these babies? They looked so familiar. In each picture was a pair of twins, not the same gender but the same facial features. The date on each picture was exactly the same as my birthday date. Do I know these people?
So here’s the thing, I came from a broken family. I remembered vividly that my parents had always been quarrelling. I was so young when they divorced. I was not able to understand anything. Their shouting made me shudder under my blanket. When I slowly grew up, I realised that I was living without a dad. I often questioned myself in confusion.
At one point, I asked my mom “Where’s daddy?” and she replied with an inexplicable expression, “He’s working.”
I was so used to not having a father beside me that I felt uncomfortable when I was along with a guy. Do I have siblings? That question remained a mystery. There were so many questions flitting through my mind that I could never seem to answer.
Curiosity-stricken, I did not realise that I was late for work. I rushed to my office that was just a few blocks away from the coffee shop. As soon as I reached my office, the whole place was dark. I was freaking out because I was scared of the dark.
Just as I turned on the lights, I saw my colleagues holding a cake. They smiled at me and started singing the happy birthday song. Stunned and speechless, I started to cry tears of joy. It was my first time being surprised on my birthday. I was so thankful to them for making it a memorable one. I spent the rest of my day happily, forgetting what had happened in the morning.
When I reached home, I went into my room and gave out a big deep sigh. I took a refreshing bath and ate a pizza for dinner to cheer myself up. While I was watching TV, I received a phone call from mom.
I told her what had happened and all she said before hanging up was “Maybe someone is just pulling a joke on you.”
Something in her voice was so fishy. Again, I looked at the one of the pictures about the twins. What do these pictures mean? Why did someone give me these pictures? I do not even know who the babies are.
Days passed and I tried to keep my mind off the pictures. But nothing seemed to work. I was so tired of the things that went through my mind. I called my boss and told him that I would be unreachable for a day or two. During my free time, I studied the pictures and tried in vain to solve the mystery.  I was frustrated and when I was on the verge of giving up trying, an idea struck me.
I decided to seek help from my mom. I packed my bags, booked a train ticket and headed to her retirement house located at the Oxford residential area. I had a feeling that she knew something about the pictures.
When I reached mom’s house, I knocked on the door and she opened it with a face full of joy. It had been months since I last visited her. She brought me to the living room and we had a small chat. Without any hesitation, I showed her the pictures.
After a few minutes of silence, she started to cry. I knew it. I knew that she had been hiding something from me. I confronted her and asked her who the babies were and her answer was “you and your twin brother.”
It had been a mystery for nineteen years. I broke down in tears and all I could ask her was “What took you so long to tell me?” and she replied, “I didn’t want you to get hurt.” Didn’t she know that my childhood life had been a painful one without the love of a father? The puzzle in my mind was slowly unravelling itself. As I cried, I remembered everything. The man who had given me the envelope was my dad. And soon, I would be able to find out the heart-rending truth. Everything would be answered and I would be waiting for the day to come.  

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