A camera turns on, revealing a young woman around 25 years old, dressed in a long floral dress. Beside her stands a man of the same age, dressed elegantly, each holding a glass. Their happiness shines through their radiant smiles, illuminating the lively party around them.
The woman, smiling broadly at the camera, reaches out and pulls the man towards her.
“Hey kids, come say hello to the children!” she exclaims, filled with tender affection.
The man, playing along with a knowing smile, joins in as if he already has his future children in front of him.
“This is Mommy and Daddy!” she announces with a hint of contained emotion. “In twenty years, we'll have three little monsters, two girls and a boy, or maybe two boys and a girl?”
“Doesn't matter,” the man jokes.
“Yes, it doesn't matter!” the woman adds. “You must know that Mommy loves you.”
“And Daddy loves you even more!”
“Kisses!” they conclude in unison.
The camera stops, capturing forever the radiant gaze and beaming smiles of the woman and the man.
This unique video is our only tangible memory of them. A week after our birth, my twin sister and I, they disappeared. They so wanted to become parents for the third time, but time cruelly eluded them.
They were so young then, full of life and promise. Their sudden disappearance, in the darkness of the night, left behind an impenetrable mystery. We, their newborns, never had the chance to know our parents other than through this video, frozen in time. Since then, our lives have been marked by the void left by their absence.
We were raised under this enigma, searching for answers that eluded us. Unanswered questions haunt our thoughts throughout our childhood, adolescence, and now adult life. Who were they really? Why did they leave? Were they in danger? We may never know…
Yet, despite this mystery, one thing was certain: the love they expressed in that video, however brief, remains etched in our hearts. Their kind words and warm smiles have become the cornerstone of our identity, reminding us every day of the unconditional love of parents we never knew.
We have learned to live with this duality, between the desire to know and the resigned acceptance of uncertainty. Perhaps one day, the truth will come to light, but until then, we continue to move forward, carrying with us the memory of those fleeting moments of happiness, captured forever on camera.
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