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But there was A little girl called Jessica Allup miles aith no idea I existed either

And today, at last, I’ht makes me feel exhilarated and jumpy all at once Hoe be the same? Hoe be different? What will her voice be like? What will her clothes be like?

"Do I look OK?" I ask Luke, while anxiously surveying my appearance in the mirror We’re inthe finishing touches to -lost-sister outfit It’s taken ht I’ve decided onSeven jeans, soeous pale pink Marc Jacobs jacket, and a T-shirt reat," Luke says patiently

"It’s like… balancing formal with informal," I explain "So the jacket says ‘This is a special occasion,’ whereas the jeans say, ‘We’re sisters, we can be relaxed with each other!’ And the T-shirt says…"

I pause Actually, I’m not sure what the T-shirt says, apart from "I’m friends with Danny Kovitz" And I’m not even sure how true that is anyes

"Becky," says Luke, "I don’t honestly think it matters what you wear"

"What?" I wheel round in disbelief "Of course it matters! This is one of the most importantthe day I met my sister for the first ti when you met me for the first time, don’t you?"

Luke looks blank

He doesn’t remember? How can he not re a gray suit and a white shirt and a dark green Her my short black skirt and my suede boots and that ahite top which made my arms look fat"

"If you say so" Luke raises his eyebrows

I sht Like a sister"

"What do sisters look like?" Luke asks, looking amused

"They look… fun!" I think for a moment "And friendly And supportive And like they’ll tell you if your bra strap is showing"

"Then you do look exactly like a sister" Luke kissesto be fine!"

I know I’ a sister after being an only child for so long

Not that I’veMuether But so about their brothers and sisters and wondered what it was like I never thought I would actually get to find out!

What’s really spooky is that all this week, I’ve suddenly been noticing sisters They’re everywhere! For example, the filht after was a program about the Beverley Sisters! And every tiether in the street, instead of just noticing what they earing, I’ve thought, "Are they sisters?"

It’s like there’s a whole world of sisters out there and finally I’ in my eyes and blink hard It’s ridiculous, but ever since I heard about Jessica, ht I was reading this brilliant book called Long-Lost Sisters: The Love They Never Knew They Had and tears were strea One was about these three Russian sisters ere in the sa the war but didn’t know it Then there was this woman as told her sister had been killed but she would never believe it, and then she got cancer and there was no one to look after her three children, but they found the sister alive, just in ti to cry just thinking about it

I take a deep breath and wander over to the table where I’ve put ins bath stuff, plus some chocolates, plus a little photo albuot her a silver bean necklace froht be a bit overwhel Which I didn’t really understand I ave me a Tiffany necklace! But he was really insistent, so I said I’d keep it for later