Photo by Jordan Whitt on Unsplash
When I was nine years old, I thought I had only three siblings: two boys and a girl. All of them were older than me and almost with their lives already made. Suddenly, and subtly, I became aware of something strange; something that was going to happen very soon and that my whole family knew about; except me.
One day, just like any other day, I was getting ready for school. I remember that I had not slept well and I was very tired, like every day when I was forced to get up early. When I was about to go out with my older sister, we received an unexpected visit from a girl, very tall and thin; with physical features very similar to ours.
"Could it be a cousin I don't know?" That was what I thought. The girl entered the house and smiled at me, stroked my hair tenderly, and then went on her way. I looked at her with a bit of indifference; I didn't even ask my sister who she was, I think it was because at that moment I didn't care much about her. That day I went about my routine normally and forgot about it.
When I came back from school, I noticed that the girl was still in the house. She was talking to my parents in a very pleasant way and, when they saw me, they all smiled at the same time.
"Son, sit down for a moment..." my father said to me; there was a tone of mystery in his voice, but I paid heed and sat down on the sofa with them.
"I want to introduce you to your sister, Karelis," he continued subsequently, at which point my mind was filled with unknowns:
Sister? What do you mean sister? I only have one sister and two brothers.
Until I was nine years old I always had this conception that, from a very early age, you already know who your family is, but my parents showed me the opposite. At that time I was thinking, "If she was my sister, why do I know her until now?"
It was at that instant that my parents began to explain to me what happened between them before I was born. My siblings were just kids, but they remember very well what happened back then. My parents were separated, as my father had fallen in love with another woman, and lived with her for a while until he couldn't bear the guilt of abandoning my siblings, and came back to ask my mom for forgiveness.
My mother was reluctant to forgive him, but in the end, she did, warning my father that it was his last chance, and it was a good thing my parents reconciled, otherwise, I would not have been born.
My father did not mention to my mother that he had impregnated that woman until much later. I was already born and my parents already had a new life, but that revealed secret made my mother very angry and that's when the displeasure and verbal fights between them began.
I never understood why, but after knowing that secret I knew it. My brothers on my mother's side did not know my half-sister in person either; although they already knew of her existence, they were all as surprised as I was when they saw her.
Karelis was not a shy and unreliable young woman, she was very kind and cordial; it did not take us long to get attached to her; after all, she was our sister and it was not her fault what had happened with our parents. I remember that she for a while started taking me to school, then she would look for me and take me to her house with her mother and they would both bring me candy and cake until my other sister would come to pick me up.
In my childhood days, after meeting her, I remember her very fondly. I never wondered why my father hid her for so long from us, he probably thought my mother would dislike her, but it was just the opposite; we all had a good relationship with Karelis.
This is something we only know among ourselves; neither my uncles nor my cousins know about it. We decided to keep it a secret and continue our lives as if nothing happened until now. Currently, my sister Karelis is far away from us; I don't even have her contact number. She went to live in another city and we haven't heard from her again, I just hope she is well.
Now that I live far away from my family, I don't know exactly if my sister's existence is still a secret; knowing my mother, I think it will remain so. If someday my sister comes back and wants to share with us again, I would be very happy, even if I can't share in person with them.
THE END
Meeting a sister you did not know about must have been shocking but children don't stress much about issues like adults do. Your mom is cool to accept Karelis into your home and family. I hope you meet your half-sister sometime soon. Touching! Thanks for sharing your story. !LUV 🙂
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How good of your mother to forgive your father! Very few women would forgive something like that. In my family something similar also happened: My cousins met their younger siblings on the very day of the death of my uncle, their father. The two women met there, but my uncle had already died. I loved your story. I congratulate you and greetings
It must have been uncomfortable for them, as it was for me at that moment, although it was all with a good vibe because we understood each other very well. I'm glad you liked my story. Thanks for reading me and your comment.
Me parece que tus padres debieron permitir que ustedes compartieran más tiempo con tu hermana, no fue correcto mantenerla alejada de la familia.
En realidad fue ella quién se alejo, mis hermanos y yo; incluso mi madre la queríamos mucho, pero cuando se mudó a otra ciudad, la comunicación terminó.
Que malo, ojalá algún día puedan estar juntos.
Muchas gracias, también lo espero ☺️
Just when you started knowing her, she left again without leaving any contact. That could be very painful. I hope she will one day surprise you with a visit . You engaged me with your narration.
I also hope the same, although I see it impossible, if it were to happen you would be very cute. I'm glad you liked my writing, thanks for your comment.
It would be a nice moment. It could, no one can tell.
Absolutely 😊
The secrets that our parents hide, there are some like the one you shared with us that cannot be kept hidden for long, sooner or later it is known. it's sad that you no longer share with your sister.
Thanks for sharing.
Good day.
Yes it is sad that she has moved away from us, but it has been so many years that it doesn't affect me anymore. It would have been a different story if she had stayed. Thank you so much for reading me and for your comment.
Good night to you.
That must’ve been very hard on your mother. It’s totally amazing how wonderful she was to forgive your father and put her mind to not just accepting your sister, but loving her as her own. You must adore your mom☺️☺️❤️💕
Yes, it was quite a tough situation for all of us. My mother must have thought long and hard before she forgave my father, but what a good thing she made the decision in the end. She is a very tough person, but she is loving and understanding, and she knew that my sister was not to blame for anything. Thank you for your comment.
The revelation must’ve been pretty shocking for a nine-year-old to assimilate. The process was probably eased by your mother’s acceptance, which cast the mood for family reconciliation. Nevertheless, the facts must’ve difficult to negotiate with smiles on your faces’. Your mother needs a medal. Thanks for sharing your story with us on The Ink Well.
Yes, as you rightly say, I think it was the naturalness in which the events took place that allowed me to assimilate the situation. At that time, everything seemed strange to me, even though my parents told me that everything was fine. The good thing is that my sister was a good person and I was very fond of her back then. Thank you for your wise comment and support.
That's really a deep secret to the extent that your family members are still keeping it a way from the extended family. I know it'll be noised out one day, probably when she's going to get married
If it's that my sister Karelis is inviting us to her wedding 😂 I think she is leading a busy life, it's hard when you move to another city and your routine changes. I just hope she is ok.
Secrets like this can be really crazy, something similar happened to a friend of mine's family.
A Lady showed up with a son that was supposedly my friends father's child and before we knew it his father went on to marry the lady and they built a house very close to my friends house, its really crazy but I am happy yours did not amount to that and your sister's existence did not cause a friction in your family.
Now that's crazy! I think my mother would have gone crazy if she found out that the woman my father left with lived near our house. Thank goodness my family took things more relaxed, or at least that's what I perceived. Anyway, everything went very well.