When a plumber arrived at a rural home to repair a dripping faucet, he saw a black-framed picture of himself on the wall.
That day, Alex, a highly skilled plumber, responded to an urgent call. An old guy had called to report that the country house’s bathroom faucet was leaking. He provided the address, which is a home located thirty kilometers from the city in a posh area. A routine task, nothing out of the ordinary.
When Alex arrived, he was taken aback by the house’s obvious signs of long-term neglect, including peeling plaster, weeds, and an ancient mailbox with a rusty door. However, an old woman answered the bell when he rang it. She appeared perplexed, even tense.
The faucet is located on the second floor, upwards. Come in, please.
Alex entered a large hallway with portraits on the walls after climbing the rickety steps. Then he stopped—and he felt cold.
He recognized his face amid the many old photos on the wall. Or rather, a visage that was strikingly like him. A black-and-white photograph in a black frame of mourning.
Alex gazed at the picture, noting the identical facial expression, nose shape, eyes, and even jawline. His hands trembled as he went to the bathroom almost mechanically. He dared to ask after the repair.
“Pardon me, this is a dumb question. Who is the individual on the staircase in the picture? He resembles me quite a little.
At what she witnessed, the woman froze for a moment before going pale.
My brother was that person. Valentin. Fifteen years ago, he was killed in an automobile accident. She paused to reflect. You actually do look alike, which is strange. The voice is rather similar as well.
Something stabbed Alex in the chest as he nodded.
“Are you certain he was your biological brother?”
The woman scowled.
Indeed. However, our father always said that the brother was mistakenly removed from the hospital because the documents were a little unclear. Later on, everything was resolved, but occasionally he made light of it and other times he took it seriously. Whether that was true or not was never known to us.
