An 80-year-old woman unexpectedly found her late mother’s treasured pendant in an antique store. She decided to buy it but was interrupted by a stranger offering to pay double its price. She burst into tears after recognizing who it was.
80-year-old Samantha was a regular shopper at the thrift store. She loved buying antique showpieces and furniture to adorn the little home she lived in alone.
One day, she went shopping, assuming it would be just an ordinary day at the flea market.
“I hope I find a nice shelf to go under Paul’s photo. The old one is broken,” she mumbled.
Paul was her late husband, who had died just a year after their wedding in 1963. Since then, Samantha refused to move on and chose to live with his memories, and his photo was one among her treasured items…
“Hello there, how can I help you, Mrs. Drake?” the vendor in the furniture store asked.
“Well, I want a nice shelf. Not a grand one, but something small with elegant cuts and durable wood.”
“Alright! Why don’t you sit down while I bring a few pieces?”
“Why would you want to buy my mom’s pendant?” Samantha asked the stranger who offered to pay double the price for it.
Samantha sat in the store, looking around. Moments later, the antique shop across the road opposite the furniture store drew her attention.
“I’ll be back in a bit. I’ll just go check out the store across for a candle stand,” she said.
“Alright, Mrs. Drake. I’ll be ready with the shelves by then.”
Shortly after Samantha entered the antique shop, she was startled by what she saw there.
“Oh my God! This can’t be it. Where did you get this?” she asked, her eyes gleaming with tears as she pointed to a classic red pendant on the mannequin.
“Hey, Mrs. Drake! Did you mean this one?” The seller brought down the beautiful chain with the pendant from the display.
“Yes, please…can I see it?”
“Sure, here you go… That’s $40, but I’ll give it to you for $5 less…” The vendor smiled.
Samantha flipped the pendant several times and could no longer hold back her tears.
“I found it…This belonged to my mother!” she exclaimed, tears endlessly streaming down her face. “From where did you get it?”
“I don’t know, but my dad told me that someone sold it to him several years ago… It had not gone on display because my dad kept it at home. After he died last year, I cleared the attic and found it there. So I put it up here for sale.”
Samantha could not believe her eyes. “I’m getting it!” she said, and just as she dug her bag for the money, she heard someone enter, followed by a loud voice:
“I’ll pay double its price…Please give it to me…I want it at any cost!”
Samantha was startled. She turned around, only to gasp in astonishment after seeing a woman who looked like her.
“Oh my God! I can’t believe this! Am I looking at myself in the mirror?” panted the other woman.
“Oh, dear! What’s happening? And how come you look exactly like me?” shrieked Samantha.
The two women stared at each other for quite some time, unable to fathom their uncanny resemblance.
“Wha—What’s your name? I’m Samantha…And you?”
“I’m Doris!”
“And why would you want to buy my mom’s pendant?”
“Your mom’s pendant?”
“Yes, this is my mom Dorothy’s pendant… We became very poor after my dad left my mom, so she sold everything we had to make ends meet, and this pendant was among the heirlooms she sold. She sold it to a man, but I don’t know how it reached here.”
“So that makes you my sister?!” Doris shrieked, hugging a confused Samantha, who could not understand what was happening.
“Sister??? What do you mean?” she exclaimed, pushing Doris back for an explanation.
“Let me show you,” replied Doris, who took out an old, torn photo of Dorothy wearing the pendant with a little girl on her lap.
“Jesus Christ! This is unbelievable! This is my mother, and this is me with her,” exclaimed Samantha.
“No, that’s not you…THAT’S ME! We’re twins!” replied Doris, stunning Samantha.
“What? How could that be? Oh my God…I never knew I had a sister!” cried Samantha.
As it turned out, Doris was indeed Samantha’s twin. Their parents, Dorothy and Michael, went through a rough patch in their marriage and divorced when Samantha and Doris were just a year old. They parted ways, each taking one child to raise independently.
Samantha was raised by Dorothy, while Doris was taken by her dad. They were separated right from childhood and never got a chance to see each other again.
“….And when my granny died 40 years ago, she revealed the secret when I asked her about the other half of this torn photo,” cried Doris.
“Dad had passed a year before her, so I could not confront him. He never left anything else of you that could help me track you. I lost my husband several years ago and have no children. I kept looking for you but in vain… I think it was God’s will for us to meet like this today, thanks to mom’s pendant!”
“I came here to buy a candle stand, and right now, I am baffled!” Samantha cried like a kid in Doris’s arms. “You can have the pendant! I had seen mom wear it, but you never got a chance to even be with her. It should belong to you now!”
Doris was touched and moved to tears. Samantha bought the pendant and placed it around Doris’s neck.
“You remind me of our mother! I’m glad to meet you. Let’s go home!” she said as an excited antique store owner saw the silhouette of Samantha and Doris exit his store, holding each other!
What can we learn from this story?
You may never know about the history an old piece of artifact might have. When Samantha saw the pendant in the antique store, she immediately recognized it as her late mother’s. She would soon learn that the pendant would reunite her with the twin sister she never knew.
Sometimes, children suffer fateful consequences from the decisions their parents make. After their divorce, Michael and Dorothy separated their twin daughters, each taking one. The sisters never knew about each other for several decades until they accidentally met at the antique store and recognized each other.
Inside a ‘Dystopian’ Apartment Block Where That Houses Over 20,000 Residence
Deemed a “Dystopian Apartment,” a building in China has recently gone viral on TikTok. Incredibly, it has the ability to host up to 30,000 residents.
The video was posted by @fatheristheone using a drone and caught people’s attention for more than just the impressive interior and unique design.
People were also astonished after seeing footage that truly captivates the enormity of the building.
Many people have read at least one novel focusing on a Dystopian society. Or at least understand that it describes a society that lives in fear or has been dehumanized.
Most works have been fiction, although some might argue they’re a possible warning about the future.
Either way, China currently has an apartment building that can house up to 30,000 residents at one time. Furthermore, containing everything residents could possibly need.
Features of the Dystopian Apartment
The “dystopian” apartment, called the Regent International, is located in Qianjiang Century City, more specifically, in Hangzhou’s central business district.
The building was actually designed by Alicia Loo, chief designer of a 7-star hotel called the Singapore Sands Hotel, and was inaugurated in 2013.
Impressively, the building is 675 feet tall and is currently home to around 20,000 residents. It is an S-shape and has 36, or 39, floors depending upon which side of the building you are.
Unsurprisingly, it’s one of the most densely populated areas in the world, thanks to the numerous residents coexisting under one giant roof.
Within the more than 30 floors of the Regent International, there are a number of amenities. Some include restaurants, swimming pools, and nail salons.
The building also contains its own grocery stores and internet cafes. Essentially, anything one might find “in town” can be found indoors the “dystopian apartment”.
As a result, many residents may never step foot outside again. Posing the question, will they also never get any fresh air or feel the sunlight on their skin? First, the residents aren’t forced to stay indoors, nor are they forced to live in the “dystopian apartment.”
In contrast, most residents are young professionals and influencers or college students. Both of them greatly benefit from the cost-effectiveness and convenience of living in a place such as an S-shaped building.
Advantageous Living
Living there seems to be incredibly convenient for residents as they have everything they could possibly need under one roof.
Convenience isn’t the only advantage. Its affordability is another great benefit to living at Regent International.
Units vary in size and cost but range from 1,500 RMB, which is equivalent to around $200.00 per month, to 4,000 RMB, which is just under $600.00 per month.
While some are apprehensive, calling it a “dystopian apartment,” others have praised the innovation behind the building. It’s even been called “the most sustainable living building on earth.”
Another interesting advantage comes to light in the midst of a housing crisis that is seemingly sweeping the U.S. The “dystopian apartment” could serve as a model for how the U.S. can possibly create more living spaces for people without taking up copious amounts of land.
Interestingly, one state has already developed something like the hotel turned apartment city. Whittier, a city in Alaska, has a 14-floor building in which all 272 residents live. It, like the building in China, has everything one would find “in town.” This includes a church, school, post office, and police station.
Possible Downsides
Like everything in life, this, too, has pros and cons. After all, the building has been referred to as “dystopian apartment” for a reason.
As previously mentioned, many people are wondering how so many people can live in one place. U.S. residents tend to prefer privacy. Space from their neighbors. Even a yard to hang out in or for their dogs to play.
A major drawback to a housing solution like this is that people will have very little space of their own, with little opportunity to be outdoors or get fresh air. Luckily, the problem of getting fresh air can be remedied by taking a stroll or renting one of the larger units in the Regent International, as some come with balconies, providing some relief from living in there.
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