Evelyn bent down, her expensive lace dress rustling softly against the floor as she picked up the small Polaroid. Her eyes widened in absolute shock as she wiped a drop of water off the picture's surface. The photograph showed two little young sisters sitting together on a simple wooden porch, smiling brightly at the camera under the warm sun. One girl wore a plain white Sunday dress, while the other wore a cute handmade blue outfit.
The physical resemblance between the two young girls in the old photo and the young woman standing in front of her was undeniable. Evelyn stared at the face of the smaller child in the picture, her hands beginning to tremble uncontrollably. A strange, haunting memory flared in the back of her mind, reminding her of a cozy countryside home she had not thought about in nearly fifteen years.
Evelyn: Who gave you this? Where did you get this picture?
Clara looked up tearfully from the wet floor, her breath hitching in her throat as she saw the genuine panic in the bride's eyes. She slowly stood up, smoothing down her soaked black maid apron with shaky fingers.
Clara: That is my personal photo. My mother gave it to me before she passed away years ago.
Evelyn: Why do you have a picture of me when I was seven years old? Who are you?
Clara: My little sister... that's you, Evelyn. Before those rich people came and took you away from our family!
The busy hallway went completely dead silent as several guests and workers turned around to look at the emotional scene. Evelyn stepped back, shaking her head in disbelief as tears began to stream down her own cheeks, ruining her carefully applied wedding makeup. She remembered being told by her wealthy adoptive parents that she was an orphan with no living relatives anywhere in the country.
She looked closer at Clara's face, recognizing the exact same subtle freckles and warm brown eyes that she saw in the mirror every morning. The truth hit her like a sudden bolt of thunder. The maid standing in front of her, dripping with soapy water and holding a scrubbing brush, was her real biological sister whom she thought she had lost forever.
Evelyn: Clara? Is it really you? They told me my real family died in a car crash!
Clara: No! Mother searched for you until her last breath, but your adoptive family paid off the court lawyers to hide your location!