Caroline was a creative and imaginative girl. She loved playing make-believe games with her stuffed animals and often told elaborate stories about her imaginary friends.
One day, Caroline told her parents she had a twin sister at school. Her parents were a bit surprised, but they figured it was just another one of Caroline’s imaginative stories. They thought her stories about her twin sister would eventually stop, but they didn’t.
John, Caroline’s father, figured it was best to go to the source—his daughter’s school. He went to Caroline’s teacher, but she had unexpected news for him. She told him something about his daughter he had never known before. When he left the school to inform his wife, he saw something that shocked him to his core.
John couldn’t believe his eyes. There, on school grounds, he saw something that raised even more questions than he already had. Suddenly, he realized he had to file for divorce.
But was Caroline really imagining her twin sister? What did John see on school grounds, and why does he file for divorce?
Caroline was a creative and imaginative nine-year-old girl with a flair for storytelling. She was an only child, and her parents, John and Emily, doted on her, encouraging her storytelling.
One day, Caroline came home from school with a sparkle in her eye and an excited tone in her voice. She told John and Emily that she had a twin sister named Clara who also attended the same school as her.
Caroline’s mother chuckled and looked at John. He listened attentively to his daughter’s stories. They asked her questions about the girl and told Caroline they wanted to meet her.
One day, John decided to tell his wife about his worries, but Emily laughed in his face. How could he ever think something like this was real? But John explained, what if there really is a girl in her class that looks a lot like Caroline, and she is feeding her these strange stories?
He Googled imaginary friends and young children. Maybe there was something else going on, and Clara was just a coping mechanism. But Caroline had excellent social skills and could greatly regulate her emotions, so the search led him to a dead end.
In school, the teacher’s answer was loud and clear. There is no girl with the name Clara in my class, and to be truly honest, I’ve wanted to talk to you or Mrs. That doesn’t sound good, John thought.
When his wife got home that evening, he told her about what he had done. He thought she would be understanding, but she wasn’t at all. She actually got mad at John for doing this behind her back and told him to back off.
The next day, he went to Caroline’s school on his own. He wasn’t going to back off that easily. Caroline’s teacher was a lovely young lady who had just graduated from college. She happily smiled and welcomed John into her classroom.
“I’m glad you could make it, Mr. Tucker. Please call me John,” he said.
“Alright, John. I wanted to talk to you about Caroline’s social interactions—or the lack thereof,” the teacher got straight to the point, which John kind of appreciated. However, he never expected to hear his daughter having no social interaction in the classroom. He had seen her happily playing outside with an older girl just yesterday. So, what could be wrong?
John’s heart sank for his little girl. He knew she could be a little shy or in her own world, but he never thought it would be this bad. He promised the teacher he would talk to his daughter about it as soon as he got home.
But on his way out of the school, he suddenly saw something that shocked him. There, on the playground, played a girl that looked just like his daughter. She was a bit taller than her, maybe, but other than that, it was a scary resemblance.
He watched the girl from a distance and saw her getting into a car with presumably her father. John, consumed by curiosity, ran to his car and followed the pair. Suddenly, John wondered if they had seen him. But if they did, why stay inside?
John got lost in his own thoughts again as he stared at the pair on the windowsill. He imagined what they were talking about and couldn’t seem to stop focusing on the scary resemblance the girl had with his own little girl.
After a while, he saw the girl and her father leave the house again. But this time, they sat on the curb in front of the house. He started his car ready to drive home when suddenly, the girl dropped her scooter and jumped up and down in the air.
John saw two headlights coming their way and figured it was probably the mom arriving home. At first, he didn’t want to give it too much attention, but then he noticed something. He had seen that car before. In fact, that was the same car his wife had. And then he looked at the number plate.
John couldn’t believe his eyes. Was he seeing this correctly? Not only was it the same car, but it also had the same number plate. What was his wife doing here? This was too much to wrap his head around.
He watched in shock as his wife stepped out of the car and hugged the little girl tightly. She walked over to the man and kissed him on the cheek. John’s heart sank as he realized his wife had been lying to him all this time. He couldn’t believe his wife would do something like this, and how was it even possible?
He knew for a fact that Caroline wasn’t a twin. He saw the birth himself, even before the father. Emily and the girl had gotten inside the house. John angrily stepped out of his car and slammed the door behind him.
The family heard the loud bang of the car door and looked in John’s direction. He could see the expression on his wife’s face change instantly. John walked toward the trio, and the father quickly told the girl to get inside.
“No,” he could see how guilty she was as she realized it was over. She had been caught in the act. “John,” she confusedly asked, “what are you doing?”
“I could ask you the same question, Emily,” he angrily replied.
The other man, who could sense the tension between them, stepped in front of Emily. “Who are you?” he calmly asked, not wanting to start a fight.
“I’m her husband. Who are you?” The man frowned and looked at Emily. He clearly had no idea what was going on.
“Oh, you didn’t know,” John said. “Let me explain. Emily has been my wife for about 15 years. We even have a little girl just like you who’s nine. She had been talking about a little girl named Clara.”
John continued, “I’m guessing your daughter’s name is Clara?” John asked the man. The man slowly nodded, still letting everything sink in.
“Has your daughter ever talked about a girl named Caroline from her school?” John asked again. He could see the man piecing everything together, and then he turned to Emily. “Please explain.”
Emily, who had tears streaming down her face, didn’t know what to say. He could read the guilt off her face and knew John was telling the truth.
Apparently, the man named Tom and Emily had been together for 20 years. They had a daughter who was indeed older than Caroline. Tom had arranged for Clara to transfer to the same
