“She’s not my sister,” said the boy when he saw the newborn in his mother’s arms. His parents thought he was only jealous, so they decided to take a DNA test to convince the boy that the baby was, in fact, his sister. But the test results revealed a terrible truth.
Lana and Curtis were the type of couple that many people were jealous of. Their wedding party was out of a fairy tale, surrounded by friends and family on a beautiful sunny day. Afterward, they went to live in the suburbs of New York. As a perfect couple, they got along very well and were deeply in love. They worked during the week and were able to enjoy life with friends on the weekends, so they soon decided to expand their family.
During her first pregnancy, Lana asked for time off to care for her child fulltime, as Curtis was doing well in his business and could sustain the family on his own. Yet, even with all the new responsibilities and changes in routine, their lives remained almost perfect as before. Lana made sure that the house smelled of lavender and home cooking, and cleaned all the rooms in the house, even during the final weeks of her pregnancy.
Then Fred was born, their first son. He was very affectionate with his parents, only crying much in the early morning hours. From early on, the baby showed signs of being highly intelligent, which surprised Lana and Curtis. When the boy reached school age, the couple considered enrolling him in a private school offering special classes for more advanced students.
“Calm down, he’s just a child, my love. We have time to evaluate this,” said Lana, trying not to stifle her husband’s excitement.
And Fred grew smarter each day. He easily completed the homework from school and wanted more. Before long, Lana became pregnant again. When they told him the news, Fred loved the idea. He often leaned over to hug her belly and listened to the fetus inside. Though only 5 years old, he would say he was trying to protect his mother from harm, and Lana found that very touching. The baby wasn’t even born yet, and Fred already showed how much he loved it. She couldn’t imagine a life better than hers, but things were about to change dramatically.
Lana didn’t want Fred to be alone when she went into labor. After all, Curtis would be with her in the maternity ward. So she asked her mother, Clarice, to stay with the boy. It turns out that Lana’s second delivery was more challenging than her first. She had prepared to have a natural birth, as she had with Fred, and was ready to do what was necessary for as long as it took. Two hours later, Lana was drenched in sweat and exhausted, for the baby did not want to be born in any way.
The doctor and nurses accompanying the process soon realized that something was wrong with Lana. The doctor did some emergency tests and decided it was too risky to continue the normal delivery. But Lana didn’t want to give up. She could do it again if she had done it 5 years ago. But after another half hour, it became clear that the mother didn’t have the disposition or strength to carry on. Beyond this, the obstetrician could see that the baby could not leave his mother’s body through natural means. They had already lost a lot of time, and Lana was at risk. They would have to do an emergency cesarean section.
Curtis felt scared with all of this. He wasn’t prepared to see his wife suffer like this and favored the idea of a cesarean. When Lana also agreed with the idea, she was quickly sedated. Curtis wanted to continue holding his wife’s hand and stayed in the room. Unfortunately, however, he had a phobia of blood and fainted when the scalpel started to open Lana’s womb.
But the birth was a success. Lana was well and stable, as was the child, a beautiful baby girl whom they named Sarah. Curtis recovered consciousness and stayed at his wife’s side, still under the effects of the medications, admiring her little baby.
“The first time Sarah nursed was a beautiful moment that melted the hearts of both parents, another little miracle that we created, my love,” said Curtis, kissing his wife’s forehead while the baby continued nursing on her breast.
“I can’t wait for Fred to meet her. He’s going to be the best big brother in the world,” said Lana, who couldn’t stop looking at the baby adoringly.
When Lana was discharged and could go home, Fred was waiting on the porch, jumping with excitement and impatience next to his grandma for the arrival of his little sister. He ran to see his mother and sister when the car door opened. Clarice went to help her daughter get out of the car with the baby in her arms, but what happened next, no one expected.
“Fred, this is your sister, Sarah. Come say hi to her,” said Curtis, while Lana lowered the baby so he could see the new family member. But instead of smiling and being happy with seeing the girl, Fred frowned and looked coldly at the baby. He shook his head and said something that left everyone shocked and confused.
“She isn’t my sister,” he said, looking at his parents. For a moment, everyone fell silent, wondering if the boy was serious or only joking. It was Clarice, his grandmother, who broke the silence.
“What did you say, Fred?” she asked. But the boy didn’t respond.
“Why do you say that? She really is your sister,” Curtis intervened, asking him to look at the baby again. Fred did what his father asked, with a frown on his face and eyes that seemed to ask a series of silent questions. He wanted to know why the baby had blonde hair and blue eyes when everyone in his family had brown hair and brown eyes. Despite his young age, Fred’s question challenged his parents and grandmother’s sense of logic.
“It’s hard to explain, sweetie, but this happens sometimes, and with time, her hair and eyes could darken. She was just born,” said Lana. Fred shook his head again, making it clear that he didn’t accept that response, and ran into the house.
Lana and Curtis looked at each other with concern, not understanding why their boy was saying such things about their newborn. Could it be jealousy? Fear of losing his parents’ love? Seeing the couple’s concern, Clarice entered the conversation, saying they shouldn’t worry and that it was a normal response. Soon, Fred would see that his position as the son would not be threatened by the baby, and everything would be fine.
“Make him feel loved and wanted. In fact, tell him that you need his help, and you’ll see how he will change,” said Clarice. The words from the more experienced woman calmed the couple, yet everything stayed the same in the following weeks. Fred maintained a certain distance from Sarah and occasionally repeated how she was not his little sister.
Curtis didn’t like this behavior and didn’t hesitate to call the boy’s attention. After all, it was a terrible thing to say. When Lana bathed her daughter, she would ask Fred to help. She hoped that if
the boy felt useful and responsible for her, he would stop this fantasy about her not being part of the family. But it didn’t work. Fred would help his mother give the baby a bath, but would do so without saying anything or showing any particular affection. He was different from that boy who hugged his mother’s belly, happy to have a sister coming soon. Yet, nothing that Lana or Curtis did made any difference.
Months passed, and the perfect family they had built was now, for some dark reason, threatened by the skepticism of their six-year-old boy. If Lana didn’t insist, Fred would never play with Sarah. At this stage, Sarah was already a little older and more aware, and at various times, she seemed to call her older brother’s attention. But he acted like he didn’t see her. It broke his parents’ hearts to see these things.
Finally, Curtis couldn’t take it any longer and persuaded Lana to let him take the boy to a psychologist. Perhaps this was an exaggerated reaction of jealousy, and they needed professional help. At a loss for what to do, Lana agreed. The following week, they took Fred to see Warren Robertson, a child psychologist. But even after four sessions, the older brother remained undeterred. He couldn’t explain why or how, but he was convinced that the girl living in his house and nursing from his mother’s breasts was not his real sister.
Warren saw Fred as a brilliant and logical boy and proposed an experiment. He called Lana and Curtis into his office and said the couple should do a DNA test.
“Fred is only 6 years old, but he knows what a DNA test is, and he’s a very rational kid. So I suggest you take the test, and when he sees the physical proof that Sarah is his sister, Fred will no longer have these concerns,” said the psychologist.
Lana thought the idea to be a little radical. She worried that it would appear that they also had doubts as to the father of the child. But Curtis reassured her, saying the test was only a formality, just to help Fred accept Sarah into the family once and for all. So Lana agreed. It would be good for the entire family. She didn’t know she would have a surprise that would change her life forever.
The DNA test was expensive, but the couple went forward with the idea. They collected blood from both parents and little Sarah, sent it to a laboratory, and waited for the results to arrive. In a few days, while waiting, Curtis, Lana, and Sarah spent wonderful days together. The little girl was growing quickly. She couldn’t walk yet, but could sit up and would try to crawl around the room. When she played, she would let out the most beautiful laughs that only babies are capable of, that melt even the coldest of hearts. She adored her parents and got along well with her grandma, Clarice. Whenever she saw the older woman, she held out her arms, asking to sit on her lap. Her eyes, always brilliant and curious, illuminated her parents’ days from the moment they woke up.
Caring for the baby was challenging, yet it was also a delight for them. But they felt sad they could not play with the whole family because Fred refused to interact with Sarah, and this was not a personality trait of the boy, as he interacted normally with all the other children in the neighborhood.
The tests were ready by Friday morning, and Curtis went online to get the results. On reading the document, he felt his heart stop beating.
“That’s not possible!” he exclaimed. He called Lana, who came running with the baby in her arms. She read it and sat down, stunned. She reread it, wanting to ensure she understood everything. The results showed that Sarah’s DNA did not combine with that of Lana and Curtis. He also sat in stunned shock. Had Lana cheated on him? Is that why the DNA didn’t match? He called the laboratory to make sure they understood the results correctly. The doctor confirmed everything. The results showed beyond a doubt that Sarah was not the daughter of Curtis nor the daughter of Lana.
“But how is that possible if she came out of me?” shouted Lana, crying and asking God how that was possible. Curtis tried to console his wife, saying they should repeat the exam. After all, errors happen. But she didn’t want to hear it and continued crying, until she suddenly stopped and asked, “Did you see everything, from her being born and put in my arms? Do you remember everything?” Because I was anesthetized, Curtis said he also didn’t see anything because he had passed out after seeing the blood from the surgery. When he regained consciousness, the baby was already in her arms.
At that moment, an air of terror fell over the couple. For the first time, they realized someone may have switched their baby with another in the maternity ward. The following days dragged on for Curtis and Lana. Since the maternity ward, they loved that beautiful little girl, but the DNA said she was not their daughter. Should they forget about all that and continue living as if Sarah shared the same blood? Or go after the truth and risk losing the child they loved?
Curtis could barely concentrate at work, and Lana now cared for Sarah, but didn’t feel the same intense love as before. The doubt planted by the DNA test and the situation in which the birth occurred buried all the happiness in that house. Even Clarice was affected by the sense of dread and unhappiness.
Finally, the couple decided to investigate the matter to discover the truth. They took the DNA results to the maternity ward where Lana had given birth and demanded an investigation. Terrified of a possible lawsuit, the hospital administrators promised to do everything they could to discover what happened. A team was designated to analyze all of the births from the same day, near the time that Sarah was born. After 10 days, they found a family who may have ended up with Curtis and Lana’s biological child, but unfortunately, it was a young couple living in much worse conditions than Fred’s parents. They had been living together with their in-laws ever since a storm destroyed their tiny house.
The girl who was with them, suspected of being Lana and Curtis’s legit child, had been born with a clefted lip. She needed corrective surgery and proper treatment to lead a full life in the future, but the young couple caring for the child could not afford the surgery or treatments. When the maternity ward team contacted the young couple and explained the horrible mistake that had been made, the mother’s world came crashing down, wondering how they had let such a catastrophe happen. The father was silent, but equally saddened by the news. They were also attached to and loved the baby that for months they considered to be their daughter. How could they separate from her now?
It was the same dilemma faced by Lana and Curtis. Now that they knew the truth, they felt a terrible mix of emotions when they looked at Sarah. With no way out and determined to correct the error, the two families decided to exchange their babies. That was the most difficult decision in the life of all four parents. To have to turn over the baby they knew and loved to another person. Upon receiving a new child in their arms, they felt a mixture of indifference and excitement. After all, they didn’t know these little girls, but they were indeed the legitimate daughter of each of them. Be that as it may, a new story
began, while another tale ended.
On the way home, Curtis drove while Lana looked suspiciously at the child in her arms. How long would it take for her to recognize Lana as her mother? And how long would it take for Lana to feel for her what she had felt for Sarah? Curtis remembered how Fred, their first child, knew right when he saw the baby that it was not his real sister, and he was right in the end. How he knew, no one will ever know. But Curtis wondered how his son would react when the new Sarah arrived.
“Her hair is darker. It’s like ours, but her eyes are sort of bluish,” noted Lana.
Once again, Fred waited for his parents with Grandma Clarice. He was calmer this time, not anxious at all. His parents arrived calmly, exited their car, and entered the living room carrying the girl. Fred approached Lana and slowly lowered his gaze to the little girl. He looked for a good while at the baby. She stretched her arms toward him, and a big smile slowly spread across Fred’s face.
“This is my sister. Can I hold her?” asked the boy, drawing tears from everyone present.
The girl adapted well to her new family. Curtis and Lana fell quickly in love with her, mainly because of Fred, who loved playing with and caring for the baby, making her laugh and teaching her new tricks. In time, it was possible to do the corrective surgery on her lip, leaving her even more beautiful than she already was. Fred and Sarah grew up as two best friends. To this day, years later, no one can explain how he had known that girl was not his sister. Even Fred himself can’t remember exactly why he thought that. It is a mystery hidden in his childhood. But Clarice always says that it was thanks to him that two families were saved from a terrible mistake.
