At His Father’s Funeral, Son Sees His Late Dad’s Carbon Copy Watching from Afar — Story of the Day

After everybody left his father George's funeral, Michael was alone weeping. After a while, he noticed a man looking at him from a distance, and he looked exactly like his father.

Michael stood beside his mother, Elizabeth, during his father's funeral, accepting condolences from those who stopped by. His father, George, died of cancer, and before his death, he devoted all of his free time to his beloved son.

"What will I do without you, dad?" Michael sobbed as he sat alone after all their friends and relatives left. He sat by his father's grave and wept while his mother went to settle payments at the cemetery's admin office.

At 20 years old, Michael couldn't imagine living the rest of his life without his dad. They were inseparable and would spend a lot of time together playing sports or going on food trips.

As tears continued streaming down his face, Michael looked up from the ground and noticed a man observing him from a couple of meters away. His first instinct was to look for a place to hide until he slowly realized that the man looked like his late father.

"Dad?" he suddenly said, wiping his tears. Instead of running to hide, Michael decided to run up to him. When he came face to face with the man, it struck him how much he looked like his father.

"Who are you?" he asked the man.

"Hi, Michael. I'm your uncle. My name is Steve, and I am your father's twin brother," the man replied.

Likewise, Steve was surprised at how Michael looked so much like George. He knew that his twin brother was barren, so seeing George's son up close puzzled him. He assumed that Michael was George's adopted son when he saw the obituaries.

"Could it be that he's my son?" he thought to himself as he observed Michael.

"Brother? My dad never told me he had a brother. Where were you all this time?" Michael asked him.

"Well, when I was 24, my girlfriend kicked me out and eloped with my best friend. George didn't want to help me that time because he was courting your mother. So I eventually became homeless. A kind passerby helped me and offered me a job. I ended up in another state because of that job," Steve explained.

Michael wanted to get to know this man some more, so he texted his mother that he would meet her at home in time for dinner. He walked towards a nearby cafe with Steve, and there, he asked his many questions.

"How did you learn about dad's death?" Michael asked.

"Well, I read the newspaper a lot, and I saw the obituaries your mom had put out. I wanted to pay my last respects even from afar," Steve explained.

"I'm sure dad had reasons for not letting you stay with him in the past, but why didn't you ever try to reconnect again? I'm sure my mom wouldn't have minded," Michael said as he took a sip from his coffee.

"Oh, I'm sure she would've minded..." Steve suddenly said, which puzzled Michael. When Steve noticed Michael's expression change, he retracted his message.

"I mean, I never met your mom, so I'm not sure if she would've minded. I kept my distance to keep the peace," he admitted.

Michael observed that Steve was acting strange, and he couldn't help but think something about his story didn't add up. He asked if it'd be okay for them to get a DNA test, and Steve obliged.

Steve pulled out a couple of strands of his hair and handed them to Michael. He wrapped it in a piece of tissue paper and took it with him when he got home.

He decided not to tell his mother where he came from and instead kept the piece of information to himself until he confirmed that Steve was indeed his uncle. That night, he took his father's old brush from the drawer and took a couple of hair strands as well.

Weeks passed, and the results finally came in the mail. He wasn't expecting anything unusual, as he couldn't deny how much Steve and his dad George looked alike.

The results confirmed that Steve was telling the truth. Steve and George were indeed brothers.

Michael met up with Steve at the same cafe they first spoke in. He admitted that he wanted to do the DNA test because it seemed Steve's first story didn't add up.

"I have to admit; I haven't been completely honest with you," Steve responded.

"What haven't you told me?" Michael asked.

"You see, I dated your mom, Elizabeth, when we were in college. I was even planning to propose to her. I had the ring ready and all. However, one day, I saw her in bed with George. My own twin brother. It hurt me, but I loved them both too much to let it bother me," Steve started.

"I was willing to forgive them both, but before I could even try to fix things, they kicked me out. I didn't even know she was pregnant," Steve said as tears streamed down his face.

"You see, when your dad and I were teenagers, we had several check-ups and tests that confirmed George was barren. When I saw in the obituaries that he had a son, I had assumed you were adopted. But when I saw you up close, I was surprised at how much you looked like us," Steve added.

"Are you trying to imply that you're my dad?" Michael asked, suddenly confused.

"I'm not trying to imply anything, but I'm saying it may be a possibility. We'll never know through a DNA test because George and my DNA are identical," Steve told Michael, who was suddenly shaking after what he had just found out.

"Even if I hate to admit it, your story adds up now. I won't lie and say I didn't have a good childhood because I did. My father treated me well, and he loved me dearly. We had many good memories together, which I will forever cherish. However, I'd also be lying if I said I didn't want to know the truth," Michael said.

That night, Michael and Steve decided to confront Elizabeth about the truth. At first, instead of admitting her faults, she lied straight to Michael's face and called Steve's accusations "nonsense."

"Ignore that lunatic, Michael. He's just jealous and is coming back into your life because he wants money," she told him.

"Mom, I was asking nicely. Dad was barren. Do you want me to go to the hospital and get those test results? If you continue to lie to me like you have all these years, I'm never going to forgive you, and you can forget you ever had a son," Michael threatened.

Michael was hoping his mother wouldn't call his bluff, but it was the only way he could get the truth out of her. In the end, it worked out.

"You know what, you're old enough to find out. Yes, Michael, I dated Steve before I dated George. Steve was my first love, but he wasn't as ambitious as his brother. I wanted more out of life, so I chose George. When I found out I was pregnant, I hoped he'd be happy, but he told me he was barren. We both realized that Steve was the father, not him," his mom, Elizabeth, explained.

"Instead of leaving me, George embraced you as his son. He never saw you as his brother's son but as his own. He's always wanted a family, and he saw it as the perfect opportunity to start one. Haven't we had a beautiful life together, son?" she asked.

"We did, mom, but you've completely lied about who I am! You even cut off an innocent man whose life you changed forever. You deprived him of getting to know his own son," Michael replied.

Elizabeth apologized only because she was afraid of losing her son. In the end, Michael chose not to cut ties with his mom, but it caused him to create a distance between them.

Meanwhile, Michael and Steve made up for lost time by spending a lot more time together. Steve got an apartment where he and Michael both lived while working in the same city.

What can we learn from this story?

• The truth will set itself free one way or another. Steve had to live with the consequences of Elizabeth and George's actions, which changed the course of his life forever. However, the truth was revealed when Michael searched for answers years later.
• It's never too late to start over. Steve never knew he had a son, but when he found out that he did, he did not waste time getting to know him and making up for their lost time. Together, they started anew and lived a peaceful life in another state.

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