Christina was sitting at a bus stop after getting kicked out of her boyfriend’s house. Suddenly, a car stopped, and a woman offered her help. With no other choices, Christina accepted and got in the vehicle. But she never imagined what happened when they reached the woman’s house.
It was a cold night in Toledo, Ohio, and Christina was crying silently at a bus stop. She had only one bag and a couple of hundred dollar bills to her name. Her boyfriend, Richard, had just kicked her out of the house after returning from the hospital.
They had been dating for a couple of years and were living together. But Richard was not into marriage and didn’t want kids at all. Regardless, Christina discovered she was pregnant and was already three months along. After telling him, Richard started treating her differently. She could only hope that he would come around to the idea of being a father.
A couple of months later, she started bleeding unexpectedly and went to the hospital to ensure that her baby was safe. When she returned home, Richard was sitting on the couch, and there was a bag of her clothes by the doorway.
“What’s going on?” she asked, concerned.
Richard stood up and crossed his arms in an intimidating pose. “You’re leaving. I’m not going to discuss this. I’m not raising that baby. Goodbye.” He walked away after uttering those few words. Christina’s mouth dropped open. She had nowhere to go, but she would not beg him.
Richard didn’t love her as much as she imagined, so she grabbed her bag and walked away. She checked her wallet and then her phone banking app. She didn’t have much money, so Uber was out of the question. It was time to head to the bus stop, although she had no idea where she would go.
Unfortunately, it started snowing lightly, and the temperature was brutal. Luckily, she had on a huge sweater. But for some reason, no buses came, and that’s when she started crying in despair. She was back at square one.
Christina had no family. She grew up in an orphanage, and no one ever adopted her. At 18, they kicked her out, and she was alone for a long time. She worked as a waitress at several spots and lived with many roommates in a bad part of town until Richard came into the picture. He came from old money, and they hit it off right away.
When he discovered her living situation, he invited her to move in with him, and that’s how it had been for years. Now, she was alone and hopeless once again. Christina thought about calling one of her former roommates, but her phone ran out of battery.
“Ugh!” she exclaimed to herself desperately and almost threw the phone away. Suddenly, a car stopped in front of her. The woman on the driver’s seat rolled down a window and Christina quickly observed her kind eyes and familiar face. She couldn’t be older than 35, but Christina couldn’t tell if she had ever seen her before.
“Hey, do you need a ride?” the woman asked.
“No, hmm… I’m waiting for the bus,” Christina stuttered.
“I don’t think buses are coming in this weather. I read that a blizzard might come later in the night. Are you sure I can’t take you anywhere?”
“Well. I don’t really have anywhere to go. I’m trying to figure that out, but my phone ran out of battery,” she answered and laughed humorlessly.
The woman frowned and looked at her intensely. “Ok, I don’t normally do this. But how about you come home with me?”
“Oh, no. I couldn’t.”
“Come on. I couldn’t possibly leave a fellow woman out here on her own. I swear I’m a good person,” the woman insisted and smiled.
Christina didn’t have a choice. This woman was her only option, and she decided to accept her offer. “Thank you so much. No one else would’ve invited a stranger home just like that,” Christina commented once she got into her car.
“No worries. I’m Camila, by the way. Nice to meet you,” the woman introduced herself as she drove to her house.
“Oh, I’m Christina,” she replied and laughed awkwardly. Camila looked at her oddly for a second and turned her attention back to the road.
They chit-chatted until they reached a lovely home not too far away from the bus stop, and Camila ushered her inside. Her house was warm, inviting, and it smelled like cinnamon.
Camila showed her where she could sleep, and Christina settled in. She plugged her phone into the wall and went out to the kitchen where Camila was there making hot chocolate while fussing with her phone. After spotting Christina, she offered her a cup filled with marshmallows.
“Thank you again. This is so kind,” Christina repeated her gratitude and sipped from the cup. Camila smiled and told her to sit down. They started talking, although Camila was busy trying to call someone. The other person was not picking up.
“I’m sorry. I’m a little distracted. I’ve been trying to call this number, and it just doesn’t go through,” Camila apologized when Christina asked what she was up to.
“Oh, well. You can keep trying. That reminds me, I should turn on my phone and check some things,” Christina said, standing up and going to the guest room. She switched her phone on, although it still needed to charge for an hour or so. She saw several missed calls from an unknown number and thought nothing of it.
But unexpectedly, her phone started ringing. It was the same strange number. So she glided her fingers to accept it. “Hello?”
“Hello?” someone replied, but there was a weird sort of echo. “Hello! Are you there?”
Christina furrowed her brows, pulling the phone away from her ears but not pressing the speaker. Then she heard Camila all the way from the kitchen. She placed the phone back in her ear and uttered, “Camila?”
There was a moment of silence. “How do you know my name?”
Christina unplugged her phone and went out to the living room, where Camila was holding her own phone to her ear. “Hello? Hello?”
“Camila, it’s me,” Christina said, pointing at her phone. Camila looked up at her from the living room couch, and her mouth dropped open. Christina was confused, but before she could ask questions, Camila started crying and rushed to give her the biggest hug in the world.
“It’s you. Oh my god! I can’t believe this!” she exclaimed while rocking her back and forth.
Christina hugged her back, although it did nothing to explain her confusion. “I don’t understand what’s going on? Did you find me at that bus stop on purpose? How do you know me?”
Camila disengaged, and her face was full of happy tears. But she smiled kindly at Christina and started speaking. “Oh, no. Tonight was a complete coincidence. You and I have never met. But we should’ve long ago. I only know your number because my private investigator just discovered it. But he only gave me a name and your number.”
“I don’t understand. A private investigator?”
“Christina, you are my sister,” Camila revealed, much to Christina’s shock. “Our parents gave you up because they couldn’t afford another kid, but I never knew about you until a few months ago. Our grandmother told me. I decided to hire someone to find you.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Actually, what’s impossible is that you and I would meet so coincidentally. I’m marveling at it right now. I thought it was strange that you had the same name the P.I. had given me, but I didn’t think it would be you! This is fate!” Camila exclaimed, wiping her tears and smiling brightly.
“I can’t believe this. I never had a family,” Christina mumbled, covering her mouth in wonder.
“I’m sorry about that. I think our parents thought you would be adopted by a great family. At least, that’s what I like to think. They died two years ago. I think my grandmother saw how lonely I felt and decided to tell me about you,” Camila explained, leading Christina back to the couch so they could chat.
They talked for hours that night, and finally, Christina started to believe in her sister. Camila told her she could stay with her as long as she wanted. But it was time to come out with the truth and reveal why she was alone. Therefore, she told her big sister everything about Richard and her pregnancy.
“Oh my god! How did I not notice you were pregnant?!” Camila yelled.
“Well, this is a big sweater. But still, I’m pretty skinny. I thought I might be bigger by now,” Christina replied offhandedly.
“No, don’t worry. You’re just five months along. It’s ok. You’ll probably be huge soon enough.”
“Anyway, I can’t move in here and disrupt your life with a newborn baby. I just have to get my bearings and device a plan,” Christina continued, thinking deeply.
“No! You’re staying with me. That’s my nephew, or niece! I’m not missing this! I already missed having a sister for most of my life. I’m here for you!” Camila insisted.
So Christina moved in permanently with her sister, and four months later, she went into labor. They both waited a long time at the hospital. Camila left for a few hours promising to return soon and she was back just in time for the birth, and they both looked at the newborn baby, Tania, in wonder.
“I have to tell you something,” Camila said sheepishly when the nurses took the baby away for a while. Christina asked what was wrong, and her big sister revealed, “I went to find Richard. He’s outside. I convinced him to come, and if you agree, we’re getting a DNA test.”
“Well, I went to yell at him and drag him here to see the birth of his baby. Then he blurted that it couldn’t possibly be his baby because he got a vasectomy way before he met you. Did you know that?” Camila wondered, wringing her hands.
“I didn’t know that. Oh my… he thinks I cheated. But I swear. I haven’t been with another man in years.”
“I told him that vasectomies could fail sometimes, and after a few insults from me, he decided to come. Would you agree to a DNA test?” Camila asked. “You would have to get one to demand child support anyway.”
“Yes. I mean… wow. Yeah. Let’s do it.”
They arranged everything, and a few days later, the tests confirmed that Tania was Richard’s child. He was extremely apologetic and wanted to get back together with Christina. But he had been so cruel to her during her most vulnerable time that she didn’t want anything from him except a co-parenting relationship.
Christina stayed with Camila, and she was the best aunt ever.
What can we learn from this story?
No surgery is foolproof including vasectomies. Learn more about this procedure and consult a doctor before undergoing one to be aware of its pros and cons and possible risks.
Some coincidences happen for a reason. Camila picked up Christina, not knowing she was her sister. It was such a big coincidence that they eventually believed it to be destiny.
