It Took Me 67 Years to Find My Sister after We Were Adopted by Different Families – My Story

Judy was separated from her sister May as a child and had no idea how to find her. But she never gave up and looked for her everywhere she could. One day, after a 67-year wait, there was a hopeful sign that she could finally reunite with May.

May and I were holding hands. She was grinning as she ran into the sunflower fields, and I was following her. And then she was gone... vanished into thin air. I couldn't find her anywhere.

"May, where are you?" I asked, wandering through the fields. "May, Mommy and Daddy… they'll get mad at us! Please stop hiding. MAY!"

I gasped as I opened my eyes, sweat beads all over my forehead. I looked at the bedside clock and sighed. It was 3 a.m., and I had had the same dream again—about May's disappearance.

To be honest, I was tired. Tired of seeing May in my dreams but not in real life. I was looking for her, yes, I was, but nothing seemed to work...

Hello, my name is Judy, and I last saw my sister May 67 years ago. I was so young at the time that I couldn't even remember my sister's face. But I had an album with me. It had pictures of us, Mom, and Dad. A happy family. We were one until Mom and Dad were killed in a car accident.

Our relatives didn't want to be involved in our care, so we were placed in a shelter, which was awful in every sense of the word. The nasty kids there would pull my pigtails and make me cry, and I would hide in a corner and sob. That was until May found out about it.

Would you give up? Or would you keep looking for that one tiny ray of hope?

"They hurt you, Judy, don't they?" she asked me one day, and I couldn't hold my tears back.

"They are bad, May," I said, sobbing. "They hate me and call me names, and they call Mommy and Daddy bad too!"

That day, May fought for me with those kids and protected me like she always would. She was the only one I had, and I felt safe and loved in her hugs.

"I love you, May," I told her every night before bed. "You are the best sister! The best!"

But fate had to intervene. That evil fate took away Mom, Dad, and my incredible sister. Yes, it did.

Six months after we were sent to the shelter, a couple came to meet May, and she was gone with them. I got no goodbye letter from her, no goodbye kisses, nothing.

"She left?" I asked our shelter caretaker in tears when I didn't find her anywhere. "Really?"

"Yes, she did!" the rude woman replied sharply. "She had to think about herself first! She didn't want a little caterpillar tagging along!"

A year passed, and I got used to life at the shelter. May wasn't there to protect me anymore, so I had to protect myself. Then one day, a woman with a sweet smile and a man with kind eyes came to meet me and said they wanted me to be their daughter.

"Would you like us to be your parents, honey?" the woman asked. "We'd love to have you home."

I said yes, and I've never regretted it since. The Adams were a lovely couple, and they gave me a beautiful home. But all of this was… 67 years ago. Before I tell you how I got the sign that I could reunite with May, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about my past.

So, after waking up at 3 a.m. that day, I went to the kitchen to get some water, and guess what? Peter, my grandson, was stealing food from the pantry!

"Peter, hun!" I sighed. "Again?"

"Gran!" He smiled. "Please don't tell Mom and Dad. They'll kill me!"

I joined him at the kitchen counter, where he was devouring a whole tub of ice cream.

"It's not good for you, boy!" I said, and he laughed childishly.

"If you don't mind, can I talk to you for a while, Peter? I can't sleep," I said, and he nodded, licking the ice cream from the spoon.

"I saw Gran May in my dream again," I said. "I did, yes."

"So it was those fields again?" Peter asked me.

"Yes," I said sadly. "I tried everything I could, Peter. I tried those DNA tests that help you find your family. I even went to the house where she had moved after being adopted, but I couldn't find her."

"Did you try Facebook?" he asked casually, licking the spoon again. "You can find people there."

"Can I?" I asked. "Really? But I have no idea how that thing works!"

"It's easy, Gran! Can you tell me how Gran May looks?"

"Ah well, I have a childhood picture of her, and I'm sure I'll recognize her even though it's been a long time."

"Perfect!" said Peter with a smile. "Let's make a deal, ok? You don't tell Mom and Dad I finished the tub of ice cream, and I will help you find Gran May, deal?"

I had moved in with my only son and daughter-in-law a year ago after they wanted me to be around Peter. And this young kid… Oh, I love him! He's like my partner in crime. And I couldn't say no to the wonderful deal.

"Deal!" I said with a hopeful smile.

"Ok then, let's go."

So, around 4 a.m., Peter and I were in his room, scrolling through Facebook for May. I knew she had not changed her name.

That morning, we searched for May for five hours, but it was all in vain. I was upset that Peter had to go to school with dark bags under his eyes because of me, and I was devastated that all of our efforts had resulted in nothing.

Tears rose in my eyes as I spread peanut butter on toast that morning. I told myself, "You know what? Let's stop this, Judy. Let's really stop this. Maybe May and you were not destined to be together. Maybe you weren't supposed to be the 'best sisters.'

Right then, my phone pinged with a message.

"Call me back

— Dr. Smith."

When I heard what he had to say, I almost dropped the phone.

"Judy, we found her. Your sister came looking for you about a week ago. I couldn't contact you because I was away. The hospital recorded her information. I've forwarded them to your email address."

Dr. Smith works at the maternity hospital where Judy and I were born. I had visited him months ago when I wanted to know if my sister had contacted the hospital. I thought she would look for me there if she was trying to find me. After all, that hospital is where we became a part of each other's worlds!

I'm in tears as I share this… That afternoon, I arrived at the address and saw my sister watering the plants in her garden. Sunflowers… she had a lot of them.

"May?" I asked as I approached her, and she turned around at my voice.

"Jesus! Are you… Oh my god!" she gasped.

I wrapped my arms around her. "Yes… It's me, May! I found you! Oh, I did!"

"Good Lord, Judy! How have you been?" she asked, hugging me back. "You look so old!" she laughed, and I smiled. Yes, I smiled through tears to see my sister after a 67-year-long wait.

It turned out that May left without saying anything because she didn't want to hurt me. She also knew I was taken in by a family, and because she wanted me to be happy, she never interfered with my life.

But one day, she decided to find me. "I was a little late, sorry," she said. "I didn't know where to look for you because the shelter wouldn't tell me anything, and as a last resort, I visited the maternity hospital!"

May has a big family. She married a wonderful man and has three children and several grandchildren. Her children are scattered across the country, so I couldn't meet them that day, but I met her husband. He's a wonderful man, and he loves May.

My late husband would've been elated to meet May. Nevertheless, I am happy. I found my sister after a 67-year-long wait! And wonderfully, it happened when I was just thinking of giving up.

God forbid, but what would you do if you were in my shoes? Would you give up? Or would you wait and keep looking for that tiny ray of hope that you might run into your loved one again somewhere in this small world? You would wait, maybe? Right?

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This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.