April 29, 2025

by Jessa Matthews

I don’t know why, but my sister and I swap places all the time. People think we’re twins, but we’re not. We’re actually two and a half years apart, and yet, we get confused for each other constantly. We have similar features — brown hair, brown eyes, medium build, and enough of a resemblance that most people don’t bat an eye when we pull off these little “switches.”

We’ve had this unspoken rule for years: if she’s running late or just doesn’t want to deal with something, I’ll step in. Sometimes it’s small stuff, like picking up her dry cleaning or attending appointments for her when she forgets to cancel. A few weeks ago, I even went to one of her doctor appointments. She had no time to cancel, and we both knew the cancellation fee was more than it was worth. So I just went for her. I mean, it wasn’t like they were doing anything invasive, just a regular checkup. And the doctor never said anything. It was as if they didn’t even notice.

Then there was the time she needed me to show a house to a family friend. She had already scheduled it and didn’t want to cancel, so I did it for her. No one seemed to care that we weren’t the same person. They just assumed I was her.

It’s funny because sometimes it feels like we’ve developed this weird skill — one that doesn’t raise any questions. And the more we do it, the more seamless it becomes. Maybe it’s because we’re both introverts, and our lives are somehow interchangeable in a way that works for both of us.

I don’t even know if it’s good or bad. It just is. Like a little game that only we know how to play.