My Twin

Synopsis

Girl stands before a mirror, her reflection split in two – one half the overlooked sister, the other the ghost of her twin brother’s fading glory. In Rachel De-lahay’s “Extreme Unions,” we’re thrust into the complicated world of siblings bound by birth but separated by a chasm of expectation and resentment. As Girl recounts their shared history, we see flashes of a childhood where her brother reigned supreme: trophies glinting on the mantelpiece, the scent of grass stains from football games she was barely allowed to join, the constant reminder that he was born three minutes earlier and therefore destined for greatness.

The narrative pulses with the raw energy of sibling rivalry, each memory a sharp shard in the kaleidoscope of their relationship. De-lahay’s prose crackles with bitter humour and unspoken longing as Girl navigates her escape to London, only to be yanked back home by the gravitational pull of family crisis. The sterile hospital room becomes a crucible where years of unspoken resentment collide with the sudden, terrifying reality of her brother’s fragility. In this moment of reckoning, De-lahay deftly explores the complex dynamics of twin relationships, the weight of parental expectations, and the sometimes suffocating bonds of family. Through Girl’s unflinching monologue, we’re forced to confront the painful truth that even the closest of blood ties can be stretched to breaking point, and that love – fierce, complicated, and often unspoken – can exist alongside the deepest frustrations.