Three years ago, my twin daughter Ava died after a sudden, severe fever the doctors believed was meningitis. I was in shock, hospitalized, and barely remember the funeral. I just kept breathing for her sister, Lily.<\/p>\n
We moved a thousand miles away to start over. On Lily\u2019s first day of first grade, her teacher smiled and said, \u201cBoth your girls are doing great.\u201d<\/p>\n
I froze. \u201cI only have one daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The teacher insisted Lily had a twin in the other group. She led me to another classroom and pointed.<\/p>\n
The girl looked exactly like Ava. I fainted.<\/p>\n
John told me it was grief. I wasn\u2019t sure. I couldn\u2019t remember those final days clearly. I never saw the casket lowered. Something in my memory felt missing.<\/p>\n
We went back. The girl\u2019s name was Bella. Even John went pale when he saw her.<\/p>\n
We asked Bella\u2019s parents for a DNA test. They agreed \u2014 once.<\/p>\n
Six days later, the results came: negative. Bella wasn\u2019t Ava.<\/p>\n
I cried \u2014 not because I lost her again, but because I finally had proof. Ava was gone. Bella was just an uncanny resemblance, nothing more.<\/p>\n
A week later, I watched Lily run toward Bella at school, laughing.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t get my daughter back.<\/p>\n
But I finally got my goodbye.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"