Nerissa and Jessica were twins. Their mother had died when they were almost three years old. They were separated and had lost touch. Both treasured a photograph of their mother. In fact, for both of them, the image of their mother in the photo had supplanted any vague memory they might have had of her. Their sole physical memory of their mother was “stolen” from the photo. Both remembered having a twin but had no image in the head to go with it.
In her mid-twenties Nerissa decided to track down Jessica. It was an easy thing to do because both had kept their names. They discovered that they lived on opposite sides of the country. Eventually a meeting was arranged!
They met in the middle. The wait was nerve-wracking. And there they both were! It was as if they had never been apart. They were as identical as twins could be, despite been reared in different environments. They had the same sense of humour and the same dress sense and the same hair style. And even though they both spoke in different accents, they both had the same interests and talked about the same things. You couldn’t have shut them up if you tried!
Jessica had brought the photograph of her mother. So had Nerissa! Is it the same photo?
It wasn’t. Both photographs were of a different woman altogether.