Janet had turned her luggage over several times even though she was exhausted from the stress of relocating to a new apartment. Her eyes were filled with tears already and just a blink would let them pour. She moved from one end of the new room to the other stamping her feet on the tiles.
She finally got exhausted and sat on her clothes scattered on the tiles. Janet couldn't hold the tears anymore as she thought about losing the only possession she had on her when she was a kid.
Her father passed away a few months after she was born and her mother died in an accident when she was 5 years of age. Janet was on the bus but some passerby took her to the police and they dropped her at a missionary orphanage when nobody came for her.
She grew up in a missionary home and was well taken care of.
Janet got a good job after graduation and decided to get an apartment very close to her place of work. She eventually got one in a conducive environment and it was after she got to her new place that she realised that the locket was missing.
She thought about going back to her former apartment after ransacking the house but it was too late.
The next morning, she rushed back to the apartment and the first thing she noticed was the wastebasket that had been emptied.
"Did the waste packers come around," Janet asked one of the children around.
"Yes, they came this morning." The young boy replied and Janet rushed out to check the nearby streets if their truck was still around but they had left.
Janet gave up on the search after some hours and hoped she would find it if she checked her luggage again so she returned home. All efforts to find the locket failed and she gave up on it. Losing it made her sick but there was nothing she could do about it.
Life moved on for her but whenever she remembered, it made her sad. About three years later, Janet was waiting at the bus station when a guy kept staring at her.
She felt very uncomfortable and left the spot but the guy didn't stop following her.
"Excuse me, sister." Jackson greeted but she didn't give him attention. He stopped following her and just went his way.
"Why do we look so much alike?" He thought while the Uber he ordered was taking him to his destination.
He brought out his laptop and checked his proposal again, Jackson sighed heavily as he prayed for his success.
Jackson arrived at the company and waited at the reception while waiting for the CEO. While waiting, Janet walked in and he was surprised to see her.
She noticed him as well and just overlooked him.
A few minutes later, she came to the reception and called the name "Jackson Williams."
"I am Jackson Williams," Jackson replied and Janet noticed the resemblance but it meant nothing to her.
"The MD wants to see you now," she replied and they both went upstairs.
Jackson came to the company several times after and always walked past Janet's desk but never spoke to her.
One afternoon Janet and the MD went to supervise the project Jackson was handling when she saw the same locket she was looking for on Jackson's neck, he used it as a pendant to his neckchain.
"Can I talk to the engineer for a minute sir?" Janet took permission from the MD on their way out of the site.
"Why not? I hope all is well?" He asked and she replied, "Yes sir."
"Good afternoon," she greeted Jackson.
"Good afternoon Ma'am, did the MD send you back?" Jackson replied.
"No, I saw something that bothered me and just want to clarify it." She replied.
"What's that?" He asked.
"That locket, where did you get it from?" She asked.
"You mean this?" Jackson asked as he touched his neck.
"Yes, I lost one and it's exactly like this. Can I see the picture inside" Janet replied.
"They might just look alike but this is a treasure to me. I got it from my mother before she passed away," Jackson replied before opening the locket to show Janet the picture in it.
"That's mine, I am the young girl in the picture," Janet said and Jackson replied, That can't be true because they are my family and they died many years ago. I am the only one alive in the picture."
Janet was confused and had to leave when the MD came to check on her since she was taking too long.
She exchanged contacts and spoke after work.
"There must be a mix-up somewhere," Janet replied to Jackson while discussing later that night.
They agreed on visiting Jackson's aunt who raised him over the weekend.
"Kemi, may your soul rest in peace. Everyone thought you died" she said immediately she sighted Janet.
She gently walked up to Janet and hugged her.
Janet knelt and the old woman helped her up immediately. Jackson narrated how they met and the woman took them in immediately.
"Who is Kemi?" Janet asked.
"Your mother was my half-sister, she was travelling to another state when she had an accident. She left Jackson with me and took you along, a week had passed before we knew about the accident and the unclaimed bodies were buried by the government already."
"Jackson was just a few year older than you then but he can't remember the story as well, I am happy the two of you reunited again".
Janet couldn't remember anything really but the locket was proof that she had a connection with Jackson.
She was introduced to other members of the family and they were happy to know that she survived the accident.
Janet reunited with her family after two decade and was happy to meet people she could call family.