They had been talking for more than a month. As far as he was concerned, everything was great. They shared pictures and even hoped on calls that lasted hours.
But when he opened his Instagram account, he found out he’d been blocked. He tried to call. He’d blocked him there too. He realized a terrible truth.
Jace always felt like there was more to the world than he knew. He grew up as a curious boy, loving the richness of the world around him.
Inclined to creating things with his hands, Jace could paint before ten. He loved what colors could do when mixed and brushed on a canvas. But although he loved his life, he knew something was missing.
Growing up in California meant Jace loved the outdoors and all it brought. He enjoyed talking to people and drawing. By eighteen, he was set on being a tattoo artist.
Jace began his career, which immediately took off. He didn’t know that his career choice would one day completely warp his outlook on life.
One sunny evening, Jace’s phone rang. It was a friend, informing him that he’d found something mind-blowing on Instagram.
Jace was tired from a long day at work and needed some distraction to help him relax. He heard his friend out, opening the Instagram account as instructed. What he found made his jaw drop.
Before Jace was a gallery filled with photos of him. Jace cocked his head back, unsure of what he was seeing. He opened the pictures one by one, seeing that the man was someone else, although a near copy of him.
He grinned, fascinated. I have to talk to him, he thought and quickly sent the man a message. He wasn’t expecting the answer he got.
“No way!” the man wrote, just as spooked when Jace asked him to go through his profile. The two men were identical in everything except tattoos, of which they both had plenty.
The man introduced himself as Rich, from New York. Jace thought it was awesome that they looked like each other, but something else made him love their interaction even more.
Rich was a painter and art gallery owner. He loved, more than anything, creating and celebrating art. One of the things he told Jace was that he’d fallen in love with his work as a tattoo artist.
Jace commented on his paintings, which were out of this world. What were the odds that two identical souls existed and hadn’t known about each other for this long?
Jace and Rich became close friends. Their conversations graduated past Instagram into calls and texts. They would prank each other’s friends, pretending to be in two places at once.
These two were so identical even Jace’s mother didn’t know she received Rich’s pictures for Thanksgiving and Christmas. But then a problem cropped up.
Even though Jace and Rich had grown close as brothers, they’d never met in person. Since they lived on opposite coasts, commuting to see each other was a problem.
But one day, Jace got a call from a client in New York. A rush of joy and excitement flooded his body. He would finally see Rich.
Excited about finally meeting his friend, Jace called Rich. The New Yorker was thrilled to know Jace was coming to his city.
The premise of traveling across the country got the two joking about being long-lost brothers finally uniting. “That’s entirely possible,” Rich said. “My dad was a traveling biker who’d been all over the country.” A chill clambered up Jace’s spine.
Jace’s dad was also a biker who’d worked as a tattoo artist all over the country. “Hey,” Jace said. “Ask your mom if his name was McCurry, Hector McCurry. Wouldn’t it be crazy if we were brothers?”
Rich laughed and agreed. He’d reach out to Jace in the morning before Jace’s plane landed in the city.
Jace boarded his plane that night. After settling in, he took out his laptop to check his schedule for the next day. He hoped to send Rich an update on Instagram, but he couldn’t find Rich’s account. He tried Facebook and Twitter, nothing.
When he landed, Jace tried calling Rich. He couldn’t get through. His heart pounded as he realized what was happening. Jace and Rich must’ve shared the same father.
The idea was far-fetched, but it was the only way he could explain everything. Pain fired through him as he thought about losing Rich.
The past few weeks had meant a lot to him. Jace finally felt whole because he’d found that thing missing from his life. He decided he’d meet Rich and try to talk it out.
Jace’s morning blurred past him as he debated whether to go to Rich’s art gallery or plan a trip back to California.
By evening, he chose to go home. He felt it best to respect Rich’s right not to have any contact with him. But as he was checking into the airport, his eyes caught something that made him tear up.
Standing in the reception, with clothes identical to his, was Rich. He smiled, his eyes teary as well. “Hey,” he said, and Jace ran to embrace him.
“I think we might be brothers,” Rich said. “I figured as much,” Jace responded, laughing amid tears. “It is a dream come true. Wait, how are you taller than me?”