For most people, there is some profound moment that changes their life forever. Sometimes it’s when they’ve hit rock bottom or when they need a sign from God. Mine came from a letter. Who knew the U.S. post service could deliver miracles?
Freshmen year is hard year for everyone: you’re awkward, you’re trying to blend in and stand out, you want to be normal, you keep getting reminders that you are no longer in middle school, and you’re hoping you can con an upper classman into being your friend. Freshmen year is a year of discovery and for me the discovery wasn’t just one for myself, it was a discovery for my entire family.
On the dented envelope, scrolled in a nervous hand was my father’s name and address. In the corner was an unfamiliar name and an address in Northern New York. We knew no one in New York or anyone by that name, so my father shrugged the letter off. For two weeks, it sat on our kitchen counter collecting dust and keeping a family secret hidden away. It wasn’t until my grandmother noticed it that it was brought back to our attention. She urged my father to open it, I think she was more than curious. I joked to my dad that it might be some distant relative offering us a fortune if we came to visit her. We all chuckled and made up scenarios with what we would do with large sums of money.
Dad opened the letter and kind of glanced over it, he seemed to be skimming it when something in the letter caught his eye. He had been leisurely holding onto the letter with one hand, but suddenly both his hands were gripping the letter as if for dear life. He had gone pale. My grandmother and I stared at him urging him to speak, begging him to say something. He told my grandmother to turn on the computer. In silent awe, he looked at me and said, “I’m so sorry.” What was he sorry for? He had done nothing wrong to me, but the look on his face said otherwise. He rushed to the computer and hurriedly signed into his email account. He flipped through tons of spam and ad emails until one finally stuck out. The senders name was Kayla Millerd, the same name on the envelope. He clicked on that email like it was his lifeline.
When the email opened, I was confused. These were my baby pictures. These images were of me. Who was Kayla Millerd, and why did she have my baby pictures? “How did she get these?” I asked in horror, was she stalking me? Why did she have these? My dad stunned me into silence, “These aren’t you.”My eyes widened, he continued to scroll down the email and newer pictures emerged. This girl wasn’t me, but she looked damn similar. “Siera, this is your sister, Kayla. She’s 18 and she lives in New York.” It was like a parallel universe, this girl with my face was living another life 1,278 miles away. I had to meet her, I wanted to see if our looks were the only thing we had in common or if there was a deeper level to it.
Our family story is a little complicated. The story took so many twists and there were reasons for us not knowing about her that I’m not sure my family or her’s would be comfortable with me sharing, except that one day she wasn’t in my life and I had no knowledge of her and then the next she was and we were best friends. After a month of calling and texting this girl, I had become very attached. She was the older sister I had always wanted and I finally got her. We talked about everything, I wanted to meet her desperately.
One night, my dad was being dodgy and wouldn’t tell me what was going on. He was distracted by his phone, ignoring every word I said. As I nosily snooped over his shoulder he yelled at me and told me to mind my own business. I was upset and hurt by the hostile backlash I had received and went to go lick my wounds in my room. Ten minutes later, he appeared in the doorway and told me he was going out and that he would be back. This was strange, he never went out randomly in the middle of the night. I waited up for him for an hour, had I really upset him so much that he wanted to get away from me? Suddenly the door popped open and he strolled in, I greeted him and greeted my sister before I could even process that she was standing behind him. Like a cartoon, I did a double take and ran at her.
It was scary how similar we were. We would pick up our drinks, smile, laugh, and cross our legs the exact same time. She was like a twin I never knew I had. We were inseparable, I realized all the time we had missed out on could never be made up for, but we could make use of the time we had. When she went to leave to go back to New York, I was heartbroken. I didn’t want this amazing person to leave me. Life went on after she left. We found out a little while later she was pregnant with my first niece. All in one year: I gained a sister, a niece, my dad became a grandpa, and my family got bigger.
Five years later, she has two daughters now and she’s engaged to an amazing guy. My two nieces are growing up fast and they’re starting school soon. I love to Facetime with them and hear their explanations for things. I love my sister and my nieces. It’s crazy, we may not have had the great relationship we have if my dad would have thrown that letter out.
