While Margret packed her things for the trip to Ceba, she wept silently. David could hear her sobbing from his private sitting room and wished she had gotten over the separation from her twin sister that happened about thirty years ago.
Margret and Mary lived in an orphanage home in the small city of Ceba but were separated one midnight. The kids were fast asleep when the orphan keepers woke them up and told them to get into buses sent by the government to take them to different orphanage homes across the state. There was an alert of a possible earthquake in the city and all the residents were evacuated since they didn't know the exact place it would occur.
The twins got into different buses with the hope of going to the same orphanage home but they were taken very far apart. Every attempt to bring them together by one of the orphan keepers didn't work out and they never heard from each other after that night. The earthquake eventually happened and the orphanage home took the biggest hit.
Immediately Margret became an adult, she tried looking for Mary but the family that adopted her left the country some years ago and it was the end of her search.
Every year, the Ceba festival is held in the heart of Ceba and Margret always attended with the hope of finding Mary if she ever attended too.
"I thought we talked about this already, your twin could be anywhere and if God wants, you will reunite someday," David tried comforting her as usual but words wouldn't do this time.
It only worsened the situation and she broke into tears. Margret wept uncontrollably as she thought about the little memories she had with Mary.
David abandoned the football match and joined her in the bedroom. He hugged her and promised that they would find Mary even though he had no clue how to go about it.
"We will leave tomorrow morning, I already booked our flights and hotel at Ceba," David showed Margret some documents two days before the festival.
"Wow! The kids are coming along, Margret was excited.
"Yes, let's make it a family vacation. Let's spend a few days at Ceba or wouldn't that be nice?" David replied. Margret couldn't find the right words to appreciate David and she just hugged him.
They set out the next day and Margret was happy to arrive at Ceba with the whole family. They went around the buzzing city and stopped at the ruins of the orphanage home after the earthquake. A lot had changed and there were lots of decorations on the streets but the site of the earthquake was the same.
"They didn't rebuild this place after so many years," Amelia, Margret's eldest daughter asked as she stared at the collapsed building.
"Yes, the government didn't and only God knows why. This place used to be a home for over a hundred kids until tragedy struck, it's a great thing we all left before it happened," Margret replied.
They hang around the place for hours before returning to their hotel to relax for the big day.
The family revisited the ruins while the festival was on and Amelia went around taking pictures with her siblings. It was a great day for them but not for Margret as she didn't see her twin sister.
"What if you can't recognise her?" David asked.
"That's not possible, we are so identical and people barely spot the difference." She replied to him.
Margret mood worsened as the sunset and she couldn't think about anything else. All the activities that happened at Ceba meant nothing to her and she silently prayed as she looked around hoping to find Mary.
"What if she's dead? What if she is alive and doesn't even remember me?" Margret muttered while heading back to the hotel.
"Don't say that, let's be hopeful" David replied. The search continued throughout their stay in Ceba but Mary didn't show up.
"I hope she's happy wherever she is, this would be the last time I am coming to this festival," Margret said angrily while having dinner a day before leaving Ceba.
"You sound pissed, she might be looking everywhere for you as well," David replied.
The couple went silent and just continued with their meal when Amelia came with her camera.
"Mom, you need to see this," She rushed to Margret's side to show her something on the phone.
"That woman in the blue gown looks exactly like you, she just appeared in the picture while alighting from a cab" Amelia added.
Margret reached for her glasses and screamed afterwards. "That's Mary, she is here. Mary is here," she stuttered.
"Honey, how can I find her? What if she left?" Margret continued asking questions and no one had answers to them.
David took the phone to check when and where the image was captured. "You took the picture just this afternoon, she might still be in the city,"
David suggested they call the phone number on the cab and luckily for them, it went through. He told the cab man he wanted to hire him for the night and he drove to their hotel immediately.
"Madam, you left your hotel already. I didn't know it was you who called me," The cab man said to Margret immediately after he saw her.
"I am her twin sister and she's the reason why I am here. Please take me to her," Margret pleaded but the cab man didn't buy all the history she said.
David intervened and gave the cab man some money. He explained the situation better and the man agreed to take them to the hotel where Mary lodged.
On their arrival at the hotel, the receptionist thought Mary returned but she got to know that they were twins.
"She just checked out some minutes ago." The receptionist told Margret.
"Please is there any way you can help us contact her," Margret asked.
"She booked the hotel from Maimi and she must be heading to the airport," the receptionist replied.
They rushed out and drove to the airport immediately but didn't find Mary. David checked for the departure time of the flight going to Maimi and there was about an hour left so he suggested they stayed at the airport.
About 25 minutes later, Mary walked into the airport building with her travelling bag and Margret didn't believe her eyes.
"Mary!" Margret called and she turned to see who it was.
Time seemed to stand still as the two sisters saw each other for the first time in decades. Margaret ran toward Mary, and they hugged tightly with tears streaming down their faces.
Amelia and the rest of the family stood by, witnessing this emotional reunion. They, too, were overwhelmed with joy, seeing the sisters finally reunited.
"I have checked everywhere in the world for you," Mary whispered. They wept uncontrollably as Margret's family just stared at them. It was a long night for the sisters and Mary had to reschedule her flight.
Margret introduced her family and they spent the night discussing all the effort they made in finding each other and their journey through life. They didn't have to visit Ceba anymore for the festival, their reunion turned out to be the best thing that happened in their lives.
