They say, 'fate works in mysterious ways'. We like to believe that our life is in our control, yet the events that are beyond our control make our stories beautiful and worth sharing. It could be a missed flight, quitting a job, taking a wrong turn, reading a book you accidentally picked up, it is all fate making decisions for you. Nothing in your life is a complete coincidence.
Michele Mordkoff, a resident of NYC, doesn't believe in coincidences either. She believes everything happens for a reason and the universe has a way of making things fall in place when it is the right time. So when Michele watched a documentary with a strong message, she believed it is not just a coincidence she stumbled upon something like that. Looking into the situation further leads to the unwinding of a series of events that expose an astonishing mystery in Michele's life.
The morning was as old as the coffee on her desk, amidst the chaos of her day Michele forgot to take a sip from it. The constant ringing of the telephones outside her cabin disappears into a quieter lull as the day progresses. For the past couple of weeks, she has kept herself that busy. Only to deprive her brain of any moment of quiet, afraid it might ponder on thoughts she couldn't afford to dwell upon.
It has been a few months since the incident that shook Michele's life. Losing her parents was the hardest thing she had to go through in the past 54 years of her life. The pain was unbearable at first, she spent days in her bed. But gradually, she zoned it out. She made herself busy with work and didn't look back. So, Michele avoided any moment of quiet that might trigger those thoughts in her head.
Every office employee in the history of this world loves the weekend and looks forward to it. But Michele was an exception here. On most weekends, she kept herself busy with work regardless. But this weekend, she had things to do. Things she has been putting off for weeks now. She is supposed to go to her parent's house and clean it out so that it can be put up for sale.
Michele did not want to go back to that house and see it empty and gloomy. So she has been ignoring the calls from the broker and keeping her mind occupied with other things. But after trying this strategy for weeks now, she knew she couldn't put it off anymore. Every cell in her body wanted to just skip this weekend but it could not be avoided any longer.
Michele couldn't tell if it was her mood or the sky was actually gloomy this morning, but she knew she didn't want to get out of bed. She heard her alarm go off on the nightstand and sighed. She pushed herself out of bed and went into her restroom. She looked in the mirror and saw a woman she couldn't recognize.
Her hair was a mess, eyes puffy and swollen from lack of sleep, lips dry from forgetting to hydrate herself. Michele came to a sudden realization that this cannot go on any longer. She needs to pick herself up and get her life together. She decided to make herself some breakfast and then headed out to her childhood home.
The house looked the same, none of the bricks in those walls gave away the tragedy that took place here. But Michele knew once she opens the door, the memories will come rushing back. She took a deep breath and walked inside the house. It felt like an exaggeration but every nook and corner was speaking to her about some memory.
Michele got started packing one room at a time, slowly making her way up to her parent's bedroom. She placed an empty carton on the floor and began putting things inside it. Her mother's clothes were neatly packed away in her wardrobe. Her favorite sweater still smelled like her. Michele put it aside in the pile she is going to take home.
Michele was almost done with the wardrobe when she spotted a box kept tucked away in the topmost corner. She picked it up and opened it to find a bunch of old photographs. Despite the urge to go through them, Michele knew its better if she didn't. She was about to put the lid back on when her eyes noticed an envelope inside the box.
Michele took the envelope out of the box and examined it. It didn't contain any stamps or address. Michele hesitated for a brief moment before opening it. It was addressed to her, a letter from her parents. Michele's heart dropped in her stomach. Out of everything she could have guessed about the contents of this envelope, this is the last guess she could have made.
Michele's heart was pounding in her chest. She didn't know what to expect from it. But not reading it was not an option. Michele began to read the most painful letter she has ever received, "Darling Michele...". For some reason she expected it to be a goodbye letter, which it was. But what Michele didn't know was that they are about to tell her the biggest reality of her life.
Michele came to know that she was adopted. The letter mentioned that her parents never wanted her to know that they are not her birth parents because to them she was their daughter and no piece of paper could change that. But if she still wishes to find out where she came from, she can contact the agency from where they adopted her all those years ago.
Michele's legs gave in and she fell on the floor. This was too much information and all of it was given to her by a letter? While a part of her understood where her parents were coming from, she was also angry that they didn't talk to her in person and give her time to process it. Michele didn't even know if she should look into this further.
Michele continued reading the letter and came to know that she was adopted from an agency called "Louise Wise Adoption Services" in New York. Michele's head was spinning out of control. She finished reading the letter and began to wrap up her work. She needs some air and time to process this.
On her way to work the next morning, Michele's head was still buzzing with the events from yesterday. Louis Wise Adoption Services, she kept wondering why it sounded familiar to her. She assumed she might have overheard someone talking, or maybe it was something else. Either way, she didn't want anything to do with it.
She had no intention of contacting them because she knew she didn't need new parents, especially not the ones who gave her away. Michele knew her thoughts sound bitter but she didn't mean them to. She knew their might have been a genuine reason behind her parent's decision of putting her up for adoption. And she honestly held no grudges against them.
That evening, Michele got home early which had not happened in weeks. So she decided to relax and make herself a nice cup of tea. God knows she needs to relax. She took the steaming cup outside and sat down in her yard. She picked up the paper and began browsing through the headlines. She spotted an article about a new movie that was released last week, called "Three Identical Strangers".
Michele thought she might watch the movie with her son, Andrew. So she began to read the article. It said that the movie is based on real-life events. It is about three strangers who meet at college and turn out to be identical triplets. They come to know that they had been separated at birth by their adoption agency and as a result, they were adopted by different families.
The families who adopted the triplets had no idea that their kid had a sibling. So three separate families adopted the three of them and went on to live their lives in different parts of the world. However, when fate brought them to the same college, the three identical strangers met each other and came to know the truth.
The triplets were separated because they were a part of an experiment conducted by the late psychologist Dr. Peter Neubauer. He wanted to study how different lifestyles, locations, and other important life factors affect the same DNA. Michele's heart began to race as she read the name of the adoption agency where the triplets were adopted from.
The adoption agency was called, "Louise Wise Services" located in New York. It was the same agency she had been adopted from. Moreover, her birth year and the triplets' birth year were very close to each other. Michele did not believe in coincidences. She knew there has to be some connection, she read the letter and this article in the same week.
Michele knew it is highly unlikely the psychologist conducted his experiment on just one set of siblings. There has to be more, and since her birth year was so close to the triplets, she began to wonder if she had been separated at birth as well? Michele knew she can't ponder on this thought anymore, she needs answers.
Michele's decision to not look into her adoption changed swiftly when she read the article. She has to know if she was also a part of the experiment. What if she had a sibling too? But they never had the chance to even meet or be aware of each other's existence. Michele knew there is only one way to find out the truth. She decided to contact the journalist who wrote this story and take her help.
The journalist told her the best way to find out the truth will be through a DNA test. If they find an exact match then that means she has a twin out there in the world. For the process to work, Michele had to send a sample of her saliva to the company. And within a few weeks, they will send her the results which can show her everything she needs to know.
Almost three weeks had passed since Michele sent her sample to the company. Every day since then has been nerve-wracking. She didn't know what to expect. It might be that she is just being paranoid and there is no match for her DNA. But if there is one, she didn't know what she will do then. She doesn't know how to feel about it yet.
The results of the DNA test had detected someone with a full DNA match! This means they are her immediate family, which just confirmed that she had a twin. The account of her twin was managed by a young man in California named Kyle Kanter. Michele thought if she wants to maintain any contact with her twin then this is the only way to do so.
Michele knew having come so far, she can't back down now. Not when she knows she has a twin sister. She has to talk to her, let her know she exists. So Michele sent a message to Kyle Kanter, telling him everything in brief paragraphs. She asked him to write back to her so that they could talk.
Michele got a response from Kyle and he told her she matched with his mother! Her name is Allison Kanter. And she is her twin. He matched their birth certificate numbers and it proved that they were born to the same mother at the same time all those years ago. But they were adopted by different families, who were completely unaware of the existence of the other child.
Michele and Allison were born on 12th May 1964. Michele was adopted on October 14th when she was only 5 months old. And Allison was adopted just two days after that by a family from California. While Michele stayed in New York with her family, Allison flew all the way across the country and started a life in California. They lived more than 50 years completely unaware of each other's existence.
Michele went on Facebook and searched for Allison Kanter. When she saw her photograph, Michele could see herself in her face. She couldn't believe this person existed, her twin. They shared the same womb and now decades later they finally come to know the truth. She couldn't help but feel sad about the time they lost.
Michele didn't want to waste any more time, she had to meet Allison. So together, the twins decided to meet each other. Allison said she will be happy to fly to New York. Michele couldn't wait to finally meet her twin! It felt so strange to say those words out loud. A twin! How is this happening to her life? This had to be the craziest month of her life for sure.
Michele and Andrew were standing outside the airport terminal. Michele was more nervous than she would like to admit. Her heart was racing inside her chest, her mouth dry, forehead damp. She didn't know if this was a good idea. What if Allison is not as happy as she feels? What if she didn't want anything to do with her? Andrew lay a comforting hand on her shoulder, asking her to relax.
Their eyes scanned the crowd coming out of the gate. And then Michele spotted her, Allison walking towards them with her son, Kyle. She could see herself in her face. Allison's eyes lit up as she spotted Michele, recognizing her immediately. As the distance between them got smaller, they reached out and embraced each other.
Michele didn't even know how long they stood like that, just holding each other without saying a word. And then finally they broke their embrace and looked at each other. It was amazing how they didn't say anything to each other yet so much was said by just looking at each other. Michele hoped Allison has been brought up the same way as she was so that getting to know each other would be easier.
The sisters and their kids drove back to a hotel where the kids left their mothers to talk it out. The sisters sat together and began noticing the similarities between them. The way they carried themselves, their dress sense, haircut, features, all of it resembled each other. Nobody could doubt for a second that they were sisters.
Not only by looks, but the sisters clicked instantly when they started talking to each other. They were both astonished by the actions of the agency. They felt deprived of the years they could have spent together, which is their whole lives. They were robbed of their childhood. But at the same time, they were lucky they got to know about each other at all.
Allison told Michele that she is glad they are meeting at this age because had they met when they were 18, she might not have been able to handle it. And even though they met each other late, she can't wait to get to know Michele. Other than the birth of their children, this is the best day of their lives.
The news about the twins finding each other got back to the filmmaker of the movie, Three Identical Strangers. He expressed that he is amazed by the story and is in awe of how instinctive, magical and moving genetic reunions can be. He said, "there’s something extraordinary and almost transcendent about observing the interaction between two people who have never met before but share the same DNA."
Apart from Michele and Allison, no other case has come to light so far in 2019. But the adoption agency has been asked to disclose their documents and details about every child that has been adopted from their agency. Further investigations are in order and the sisters hope that if there are similar cases, then they are as lucky as them in finding their sibling.
Allison and Michele have accepted that you take whatever life offers you. Sometimes it is good sometimes it is bad. Being able to find each other after decades was good but what happened in their childhood was bad. But the best part is that they have each other now and that's what matters. They have each other for the present and the future.