Before disembarking from the plane that had just landed, Captain Edward Blair noticed a lone man in it who refused to leave. Taking a closer look, he realised that the man was a replica of him.
‘Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is Captain Edward Blair speaking. We have just landed at Chicago Midway International Airport. We hope you enjoyed our flight and we wish to see you on one of your future flights,’ the captain spoke from the cockpit after the plane had successfully landed.
After parking the aircraft, the captain and his first officer, following protocol, waited until all passengers had exited the aircraft before leaving the cockpit. When it was their turn to exit, he opened the cockpit door and saw a flight attendant talking to a man who was refusing to leave the plane.
‘Is everything okay?’ asked Edward, approaching them.
The flight attendant nodded. ‘I’ll give you guys some time,’ she smiled and headed towards the back of the plane.
Edward was puzzled as to why she wanted to leave him alone with a passenger until he realised what she meant. There stood a man who looked a lot like him. Before he could say anything, the man spoke.
‘Do you want to see your mum?’ – He asked.
‘I can’t believe my eyes. Is that you, Adam? Mum’s back? Is she alive and well?’ Edward replied, a multitude of thoughts suddenly rushing through his head.
Adam was Edward’s twin brother, whom he hadn’t seen in decades. Edward had left the orphanage when he was eight years old, and now they were each 32 years old.
‘I asked you a question first. Do you want to see your mum?’ Adam asked again in an impatient tone.
Edward nodded and Adam stepped off the plane. Edward followed him and the two of them got into a taxi, heading into town.
On the way, Adam remained silent the entire time. Edward, on the other hand, tearfully tried to explain himself.
‘When she left us at the orphanage, I really didn’t think she would ever come back. I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I realised she couldn’t feed us because Daddy was gone, but I thought she left us because some part of her wanted to leave us too. I didn’t think she’d ever come back, Adam,’ he explained.
‘That’s why you agreed to be adopted by a rich family. You chose them over me! I begged you for days not to leave me in this place, but you preferred the comfortable life of your own blood. She came back a year after you left and couldn’t forgive herself for losing you,’ Adam replied.
‘To this day, she blames herself for not having the strength to hold on to you. Don’t get me wrong – I hate you. In fact, I hate you as much as I hate our father. I stopped looking for you years ago, but when I heard your name on that plane, I remembered my mum and her desire to see you,’ he added, gritting his teeth.
A few minutes later the taxi stopped. Adam got out of it and entered the old house, which surprised Edward. He realised that his brother and mother lived in poverty.
Although Adam had a long-term girlfriend, he couldn’t propose to her because he spent most of his time working and caring for his sick mother. He had always wanted to settle down and start a family, but he felt indebted to his mother and wanted to make sure she lived the rest of her life without poverty.
When they entered the house, Edward immediately saw his mother, Annie, sitting in a wheelchair in the living room. When she saw both of her sons in the same room, she sobbed and could not calm down.
‘Oh my God, it’s you, Edward. Adam, you and your brother are both here. You’re back,’ she sobbed as she pulled her wheelchair closer to her sons.
‘He’s not back, Mum. He just came to see you, but he’ll be back at his mansion when the night is over,’ Adam said passively, pouring a glass of water to calm his mother down.
Edward didn’t hesitate to walk over to Mum, put his arm around her and apologised. ‘I’m so sorry, Mum. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you when you said you’d come back for us. I want you to forgive me,’ he cried.
‘I don’t blame you, son. I don’t blame you at all. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you and Adam a good life from the beginning. I wish I could have, but I had such a hard time finding a job. I’m sorry, honey. I’m so glad you’re here,’ his mother replied, stroking his hair as they hugged.
‘Do you want to stay the night? We have a lot of catching up to do. I’d love it if you spent more time with us,’ she asked him.
‘I’m sorry Mum, but I have to go home tonight. I got a job in France, so my foster parents and I are moving. The flight home to Chicago was my last one here. I guess it was meant to be that Adam was on that flight because I got to see you,’ he explained.
Upon learning that his son was moving to Europe, Annie was heartbroken. ‘You’re leaving?’ – she said weakly. ‘I’m sorry we couldn’t find each other sooner… I’m sad that our time together was so short.’