To see my sister again

Canada 🇨🇦 “I bought the plane ticket to Israel. It was to depart on the 6th of April. I was so excited to finally see my sister. I haven’t seen her in 15 years. Finally, I thought, we would reunite. We would be able to be sisters for real. I could stand next to her and hug her. We have the same father but not the same mother. She was born and raised in Israel while I was born and raised in Canada. I spent my summers in Israel as a child in the town of Ashdod. I have memories of walking on the beach with her and going to the mall. I remember us spending time at our grandmother's apartment. I also remember her paintings and how beautiful they were. Her artistic talent marked me. The last time I saw her, I was only 11 years old. She was 21. Never would I have thought that it would take us 15 years to meet again. We wrote each other letters when we were young. She would send me drawings and news about her life. I still remember how happy I was when I received her letter. She was raised alone by her mother, like me. We both didn’t know much about our father and didn’t spend much time with him. Unfortunately, her mother passed away when she was only 23 years old. It still breaks my heart that I was unable to be there for her as I was so far away. Today, she is successful and married. She has a beautiful young boy, Idan. I cannot wait to meet him and to get to know him. I want to be part of her family and for Idan to know his aunt. On the 6th of April, I was supposed to be reunited with them. But the pandemic had other plans for us. A few weeks later, I found out that she is pregnant again. I hope to see them all one day.”

This story is by Sandra Hercegová, a freelance journalist who has worked on several stories for Stories Of Survival.