Seeing that he was typing again under the smiley icon, I replied with irritation, "Yeah, thanks. Really intrusive."
I fell back onto my bed, and the next time I opened my eyes, it was already light out.
There was still no word on my phone.
As I packed, my cousin Katie sent me a photo from an overseas site—a secretive party scene with a man in the center wearing only underwear.
His face was the spitting image of my brother.
"Jess, doesn't the guy in the middle look just like John?"
I zoomed in as much as possible. From every angle, he was the image of my brother.
But he was supposed to be dead!
Then I noticed the post date—it was today!
"Impossible!" I shot down my cousin Katie's theory, blown away by the freakiness of genetics.
Could there really be two doppelgängers out there?
Compared to my brother's frail condition before he left, I really hoped he was now in better health.
It wasn't until later that afternoon that I finally received a call from my mom overseas.
Her voice was hoarse, "Jess, sweetie... it's been tough, I feel like I've let you down."
"About your brother, he..."