Forever Sisters

Jennifer awoke early, and she could not get back to sleep. As she lay in bed pondering a rather restless night, there was a knock at the door. She looked at the clock, and a feeling of fear come over her - it was only 5:30 a.m. There it was again. She got out of bed and put on her robe and tied it carefully, but tight.

'Who can this be', she thought. When she got to the door, she heard what she thought was a girl or possibly a woman's voice. She looked out through the small glass in the door, and then she opened the door. It was a young woman, probably in her late twenties or early thirties.

It had begun to rain, and the woman was getting drenched and she was shaking as if she was severely cold. July had just ended, but Jennifer knew it was probably in the high sixties.

Then the woman spoke, "I am so sorry to bother you at this hour," she said. "My name is Tamara Sparks, and I came here looking for my sister, whose first name is Jennifer, but we always called her Jen at home."

Jennifer looked at Tamara and paled as she looked at her face more closely. "But Tammy, we all thought you were lost in that horrible plane crash ten years ago. I know we had a memorial service for you after it was said they could not identify anyone who died in the crash that could be you."

"Someone found me still alive, and took me somewhere. I had amnesia, and I didn't know who I was, or how I had gotten to where I was. They found me about 20 miles away from the crash site. These were wonderful people, and I guess I owe my life to them. They took care of my injuries, and let me stay with them until I could find a job and get back on my feet."

"Did you tell them you had amnesia, or did you make up a name?"

"I told them the truth, or as much as I knew about myself, although I did not remember the plane crash. They decided to call me Beth, and I was happy with that. They didn't prod about my past, or call any organizations or officials who might make an all-out search for my identity."

"Were your injuries serious, and did the people who found you ask how you received them?"

"My injuries must not have been too serious, since I managed to walk or crawl about 20 miles before I was found. I still cannot remember being on the plane or being in the crash.

"Have you ever married," Tammy asked.

"No, just a single working girl, and guess what - I'm on vacation from work. So, maybe we can do some things together, like shopping or see a show and have dinner out some evening. I can't afford to take a trip or anything like that, so I have just been staying home, sleeping in and doing whatever I feel like."

"I think I'll just take a walk outside and get acquainted with your place."

As Tammy walked out the door, Jen had the strangest feeling that she saw her walk through the screen door. 'That can't be', she thought. 'Am I losing my mind?'

Tammy soon came back inside. "Jen, your lilies are so beautiful, and what are those huge pink and red blooms next to the house?"

"I'm not sure," Jen said, laughing, but let's have some iced tea. We need to talk more about a lot of things that might have happened in the last 10 years."

They sat in the kitchen, as Jen poured each of them a tall glass of iced tea with lemon. "There is so much I want to ask you, Tammy, like - where have you been living?" Jen asked.

"Oh, I live near the lake. That's a ways when you're in Chicago."

"Where have you been working?" Jen asked

"Oh, um, I work as a nanny mostly, or I take care of elderly people who need a caregiver."

After a long day of visiting and getting to know one another again, Jen finally said, "I think we should call it a day. You can sleep in my guest room, and I'll see you in the morning."

The next morning Jen was up early, after turning and tossing most of the night. She went immediately to Tammy's room. The room was empty, only a note: Thanks, dear Jen. Always, your Sis, Tammy.

Later that day, Jen read in the newspaper that the remains of a young woman who died in the plane crash were found and had been identified as Tamara Sparks.