The first time I went to eat at my boss’s house, I almost fainted at the sight of his son. The child had exactly the same face as my own son.

I felt the ground move again under my feet.

“But—what does that have to do with—”

He interrupted me.

“That night you weren’t the only one who arrived at the hospital.

The wind moved the leaves of the garden. The sound seemed too loud in the midst of that silence.

“Sofia was there, too,” Alejandro continued. She was eight months pregnant.

I felt a lump in my throat.

“There was a medical emergency,” he said. The hospital was full. There was chaos due to an accident on the highway. Several surgeries at the same time.

My mind began to connect pieces that I had never considered.

“The two babies were born that same night,” he added.

My eyes slowly opened.

“What…?”

Alejandro spoke in a deep voice.

Mateo and Emiliano were born minutes apart.

A shiver ran down my spine.

“But that doesn’t explain…”

He took a deep breath.

“For several hours there was confusion in the neonatal area.

The words took a long time to reach my mind.

“Confusion…?”

“A human error.

The courtyard seemed to rotate slowly.

“For almost a whole day… The babies were in the wrong cribs.

My heart stopped beating for a second.

“No…

“Yes.

I felt the air disappear from my lungs.

“When the hospital discovered the error, they corrected everything immediately,” Alejandro continued. Each baby returned to their parents.

My voice came out trembling.

“So… why…?”

Alejandro looked me straight in the eye.

“Because during those first hours… Our children shared more than just a room.

I didn’t understand.

Sofia spoke for the first time, in a soft voice.

“They shared blood.

I looked at her confused.

She continued:

Mateo was born with a serious respiratory complication. He needed an immediate transfusion.