One of his restaurants served exquisite cuisine that was popular with the city’s elite. His name was well-known in business circles, and he was used to attention and respect. But behind all this success hid an inner emptiness he rarely stopped to consider.
“Business is life,” he would convince himself. Alejandro, on the other hand, worked as a stocker in a warehouse. His days were filled with hard physical labor.
He hauled boxes, sorted goods, and helped unload trucks. Despite the exhaustion, he still found joy in simple things. His colleagues liked him for his kindness and his knack for breaking the tension with a joke.
In the evenings, he’d read books he found at thrift stores, dreaming that one day he might break out of this cycle. Sometimes he’d remember his childhood in the home and wonder, “Maybe I have a family somewhere?”
And then, one day, their paths crossed. It was just a normal day. Alejandro had gone to the grocery store to pick up some food. He moved humbly between the aisles, choosing only the bare necessities. He had to calculate carefully to stay within his tight budget.
Just then, he noticed a man in an expensive suit awkwardly trying to manage a ripped shopping bag. Apples, a bottle of wine, and some leafy greens had scattered across the floor. Alejandro, without a second thought, walked over to help.
“Let me help you with that,” he said, quickly gathering the fallen groceries. The man looked up. His fine features, slightly furrowed brow, and light-colored eyes reminded Alejandro of something familiar, but he couldn’t place what it was.
“Thanks, that would have been tricky with one hand,” Manuel replied with a slight smile. He glanced at Alejandro and was struck for a moment by the resemblance, as if he were seeing some part of his own reflection.
They exchanged a brief look, and in that instant, a strange feeling washed over both of them. They had the same light eyes, similar facial features, and a similar shape to their heads. Neither of them gave it much thought, though, writing it off as a coincidence.
“Thanks again. This would have been a real mess without you,” Manuel said, nodding gratefully. Alejandro chuckled, “Happy to help.” Then he added jokingly, “It’s wild how much we look alike, isn’t it?” He meant it as a joke, but Manuel felt an odd tension in the words.
“Yeah, funny how that happens,” Manuel replied, trying to shake off the growing sense of déjà vu. After the encounter, Alejandro couldn’t get the man out of his head for a long time.
Images from his childhood flashed in his memory: the children’s home, the staff, the other kids. Why did he seem so familiar? he wondered, sitting in his room that evening. The thoughts wouldn’t leave him alone, but he eventually chalked it up to being tired and the insignificance of the event.
Manuel, back at his office, couldn’t focus either. The comment about their resemblance echoed in his head. He realized how rarely he ever thought about his past; he was always focused on the future and on his success.
But now, something inside him had clicked, like a latch springing open on a door to old, forgotten feelings. The city kept on living its life, but fate, it seemed, wasn’t done with them. They didn’t know it, but this was just the first of many threads that would soon connect their paths. Discoveries that would turn their lives upside down were waiting just around the corner.
Manuel couldn’t shake the meeting with the stranger. His thoughts kept returning to the idea that it wasn’t just a coincidence. That evening at dinner with his family, he decided to share what he was feeling.
“I met a man today. He looked… just like me,” he began cautiously…
