Told this story twice before and the facts came out funny. And amusing. But, I’ll re tell it.

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Its a sunny afternoon on a sunday and its slowly unfolding as those ‘good days’. Not too hot just bright enough to dress light, whip your shades on and fuel the car for you expect you might meet up with people later ( not so ) randomly. I am walking into a gathering and to my surprise i see in the distance, a familiar face. Further in my muse im happy to see her and i hurry toward her before she disolves in the crowd to sit. Dona! I shout to catch her attention while i stretch my hands out for a hug ( normal gesture in Uganda ) like you would,  having seen your long lost friend. She, radiant with a smile looks toward me and raises her hand to take that stance girls take before they put on you that side hug. But this is all too new to me because the Dona i know and had last met months before, takes hugs but chooses to hug back or not . Bambi, her hand shakes are for free and freely she gives those. While exchanging pleasantries,  we stroll to sit among the number of the gathered and keep talking. She tells me how she is and how work is and.. you know how story goes all too well. This is all normal, save for the fact that the Dona i know doesn’t do normal, well. She is not strict but one can’t say she is chatty and into small talk. I’m amused by this sudden change in her demeanour. Surprising to say but the least, we are having the most fluid conversation ever in the first two minutes of our impromptu meeting. At this point we slow the talk while the voice of the speaker rises above us enough to let us know we should listen and listen we did. All through the speech we talked about little random subjects and of course it was mostly my doing. Moments later we had to leave and we found ourselves at the exit and came that tired question “Where are you headed?” asked yours truly. Ahemm. Still radiant and smiley she says she has to go do an errand at shell. I’m thinking, okay that’s in my general direction of destination, the sun is still up, clouds still bright and my spirits still high ” I could push you if you like ” i suggested. (In Uganda that easily means may i accompany you to this and that? )
Still beaming with postive vibes, we jump into the car and slowly we went to her errands. Trying to savour the moment and not rush anything i drive like the car ran on ceramic wheels. Our conversation has grown from pleasantries to like mature things of gender roles, sijui how men are, sijui career goals, you know, that adulting talk. Fifteen minutes into our drive she tells me she has to go home to pick a gas can for her errands. Turns out she needed a gas refill from the Petro station. So the trip time multiplied, while i feigned surprise and disappointment. She seems to suggest i don’t have to go out of my way but she doesn’t know i have no plans in any way that day. I interrupt her request and say its totally fine by me. So to her place we go, pick the can and start on that trip to the gas station ( Petro Station ). It’s on this route that she twists our plot on a whole tangent. She says ” I know you think i’m Dona” while she smiled not really looking at me, her eyes dancing, glistening and fixed on the road. My heart sinks a little and slowly i catch my bearings, looking at her from the corner of my eye while i avoid the taxi that was too close then. I’m like ” No way..”

I didn’t mention earlier Dona has a sister.  A twin sister that is a perfect replica, and no amount of lessons would teach you the difference between them.

All this while; the gathering, the talks, the change of jobs, the oddly more vibrant persona and not once did is suspect i was not with Dona but in fact, talking to Debby.
Still driving, i laugh so hard, out of shame but also the twist in all this utterly funny situation i never would have guessed i’d find myself. She laughs too and lightly goes on to explain how its common place for twins to be misread by mutual friends and people. Debby and i had only met many months before on a trip that was was fun much and eventful. We were acquainted and one can say we were friends, but not the in touch kind.
We laugh and talk about this new broken ice while we reach the gas station and i’m being the gentleman carrying the can to and from the car. Now that she had her gas, she had to go buy the food and since we were already there, we were on the road again for the local market. Potatoes, rice and spices are in the bags and off we set off for her home. Needless to say i had foreseen the food plan an hour before in our chat, and few minutes from the lunch hour my stomach was not lying about it either. On our way to her home we talk about her sister Dona; where she is, how she is and i then understood why Debby bought much food. They were actually house mates and she was to return for lunch because she was going away on a trip for work. So i figured i just might as well stay for lunch and wait to meet her, being as i had not seen her in a while.
We get to her their place and casually set up the kitchen like it was due. While the flames go up and the fumes start to permeate every wall in the cozy little space they had made a home of sisters i start to feel a home. Like really feel it. Stoves keep running while Debby and i resign to the living room and start to just catch up properly.  Her as her and me as the me, knowing who i’m talking to bulungi (well ) and not wearing any faces. Hour later Dona makes it home and, happiness!
I’m completely amazed at how similar they’ve become in likeness at least in my books. She’s still the same happy and strict girl i’d met months before and seeing her next to her sister in the comfort of their fortress i learned one, two things about twins. And that is the fact that they build each other.