The Familiar Stranger

"Excuse me, miss, do you need something?" the man asked, his voice polite yet distant.

Tessa's eyes filled with tears in an instant.

His deep, steady voice—it sent shivers down Tessa's spine, so much like her brother's that she could hardly believe it.

'Is it really him? Is he truly my brother?' she thought, heart hammering in her chest.

This wasn't some dream or a figment of her imagination—he wa