Chapter 7

       Craig's colleagues, Bobby and Martin, had just finished workout for the day and decided to make a quick trip to the supermarket to buy groceries and some other essentials, as they walked down the aisles, they suddenly saw someone who looked exactly like their colleague Craig.

"Bobby, look! It's Craig!" Martin exclaimed, nudging his friend's arm.

"Yeah, when did he leave the camp, and he didn't tell us that he's coming to the grocery's store," Bobby said, also noticing the way he does his things,

Excited to see their friend and colleague, Bobby and Martin made their way towards the man they believed to be Craig. However, as they approached, the man simply walked past them without a word, leaving the two colleagues feeling confused and slightly dumbfounded,

Bobby and Martin watched in surprise as the stranger continued to peruse the shelves of the supermarket, grabbing various items and placing them in his cart. They couldn't help but feel confused and a little hurt that he hadn't acknowledged them, even if it wasn't Craig after all.

After a few minutes of awkwardly standing in the same aisle, unsure of what to do, the two colleagues decided to leave the man to his shopping and continue with their own.

As they made their way towards the checkout, they couldn't help but feel uneasy about the whole encounter. Had they just imagined the man's resemblance to Craig, or had he purposely ignored them?

When they arrived back at the camp, they were surprised to find Craig already there, laid down on his bed and scrolling through his phone.

"Hey, Craig!" Bobby called out, trying to hide his confusion and surprise.

Craig sat up, a smile forming on his face. "Hey guys, how was the supermarket run?" He asked, 

Bobby and Martin exchanged a glance, unsure of how to respond. Finally, Martin spoke up.

"Um, it was fine. We thought we saw you there, but then the person just walked past us without saying anything."

Craig looked confused. "What do you mean? I wasn't at the supermarket today." Craig said, 

Bobby and Martin looked at each other in disbelief. "But the guy looked exactly like you!" Bobby exclaimed.

Craig's confusion quickly turned to amusement as he realized what had happened. "Oh, I know who you're talking about. That was probably my twin brother, Collins." Craig said, “Is he still at the supermarket?“ he asked, 

"Wait, you have a twin brother?" Martin asked, surprised.

Craig nodded. "Yeah, we're identical. He's in town visiting for a few days. Sorry you guys didn't get a chance to meet him properly." Craig explained, he lied because he doesn't want his colleagues to know the type of person his twin brother are, 

Bobby and Martin laughed in disbelief, feeling silly for mistaking Collins for Craig. Over the course of the evening, Craig told them more about his twin, sharing childhood stories and the photo that left them all amazed at how similar the two looked.

Bobby and Martin couldn't help but shake their heads in disbelief at the strange encounters of the day. While they may have been confused at first, they were glad to have learned more about Craig and his family, and couldn't wait to meet his twin in person, 

As Craig  got the hint from his colleague, telling him that Collins had been sighted at the local supermarket, he couldn't believe his ears, 

Without a second thought, Craig hastily dressed up and went to the supermarket. As he entered the store, he peered eagerly down the aisles, his heart pounding with anticipation. He made his way to the fruit and vegetable section in the hopes that he would find his brother there.

"Excuse me, have you seen a man around here, he is about my height and has a mole on his left cheek?" Craig asked a lady who was picking the fruit from the shelf.

The lady thought for a moment and then responded, "yes, there was a man who fits that description. He came around here some time ago." she said, 

Craig's heart leaped with joy, "Where did he go? Can you point me in the direction he took?" he asked, his eyes shining with hope.

"I am sorry sir, I can't, I was busy attending to some customers, but you can check with the cashier lady, she might have seen where he went," the lady offered.

Craig made his way to the cashier's counter, where he found a middle-aged woman smiling at him.

"Good afternoon sir, how may I assist you?" the lady asked, her eyes twinkling with kindness.

"Hi, my name is Craig, and I am looking for someone, his name is Collins. I heard he was sighted here a few minutes ago. Did you happen to see him by any chance?" Craig explained eagerly,

The lady took some time to think and then replied, "Yes, I did. He was here a while ago, but I think he left through the back door." she said,

Craig's heart skipped a beat. He had finally found a lead to his brother's whereabouts. "Could you give me the directions to that door?" he asked, his voice shaking with excitement.

The lady gave him the directions, and Craig hurried towards the back door. When he reached there, he saw that the door was open. He took a deep breath, pulled himself together, and walked out.

He walked around the back of the supermarket but saw no sign of his brother. His heart was heavy with disappointment, and he felt like giving up, but something inside him urged him on.

He walked further down the street, and that's when he saw his twin brother, Collins, standing at the end of the street, talking to an old man, 

Craig was excited  He ran towards them, shouting, "Collins! Collins!" His brother but before he could reach there, Collins had entered his car, and he drove away, 

"Craig was still In disbelief, and he asked himself, “am I dreaming or Is It really Collins or someone that resembles him?" his voice trembling with emotion,

Craig couldn't believe it. that he could ever set his eyes on Collins, Craig smiles and he said to himself, this Is the beginning, I know one day, I will touch my twin brother, .

The old man, who had been watching Craig from afar, walked up to him, his wise eyes gleaming with wisdom, the old man placed his hand on Craig's shoulder, and he said, “don't worry, I know him very well, he might still come back hours later” the old man said, 

“Thank you sir, I think I will wait for him here” Craig said, 

Craig waited for his twin brother for hours but he didn't come back that day, and he decided to leave, the old man looked up at him, and he said, "Life is precious, and family is everything, treasure the moments you have together, for they are fleeting and precious. You never know when life will take away someone you love." He explained, 

Craig nodded, he was relieved with the old man's word of wisdom and he appreciated him,

Craig left the area and he was trying to compose himself, but he was lost so much In his thoughts, but he promised that he will make sure he search for his twin brother,

And he promised that If he set his eyes on his twin brother, he would cherish each moment they will have together and make the most of the time they had left, 

Craig believes that  life had just begun, and he was ready to embrace it with open arms,

As Craig walked back to the camp, he pretends as If he sees his twin brother, and he talked about everything that happened out there before he entered Into his room,

“Hey bro, did you see your twin brother?“ Martins asked, 

“Not really, but I might see him next time” Craig retorted, 

“Why can't you just take a day or two days off and go see your twin brother I suggest? Bobby Inquired, 

“Maybe after I have get ticket for the competition, I might find time to see him” Craig said, 

“You can just go and see him and spend few hours together” Martins said, 

“Bro, I don't want to be distracted, right now, this Is my business and career, I need to focus and concentrate” Craig said, 

“You are right, all of us need to be focus” Bobby said, 

Craig took his phone and he said, “excuse me, I need to call my babe” and he dialed Angela's phone number, “hello babe” Angela said, “how are you?“ she asked, 

“I'm good, thank you” Craig retorted, “how are you, and how Is the everyone In the village?“ Craig asked, 

“Everyone are doing fine, and the village Is bubbling cool” Angela retorted, 

“How Is Sam, I called him two days ago, he was not responding” Craig explained, “hope he's doing fine?“ he Inquired, 

“Sam Is fine, I saw him this morning, but It seems that he had lost his job recently” Angela explained, 

“Oh, I don't know, well If there Is any available job, I will Inform him” Craig said, 

“That will be better” Angela said, 

“I missed you my darling” Craig said, 

I missed you too” Angela said, 

When are you visiting me?“ he asked, 

“Maybe next week” Angela said, 

“Alright, I will be expecting you” Craig said, 

“I love you, Craig” Angela said, 

“I love you too” Craig said, and he ended up with phone conversations, 

“Craig, you are lucky to have someone serious In your life” Martins said, 

“She's my saviour, I so much cherished her, we love each other” Craig explained, “How about your girlfriend?“ Craig said, 

“hmm, It's a long story, but to cut my story short, we broke up last year and since then I haven't been lucky to get a serious relationship” Martins explained, 

“Sorry about that” Craig said, 

One day, Craig decided to strolls around,  but to his surprise he saw traces of cartel, but he doesn't know exactly where the cartel was situated In the area, and he doesn't want to fall a Vitim, but he was seen many familiar faces, and he went further maybe he can be lucky to see his twin brother, Collins, 

As he was walking around the area, he came across Josh, a man who had promised to help him find Collins a few years ago.

"Craig! Oh my god, it's great to see you," Josh said as he gave Craig a hug.

"Hey Josh, it's good to see you too," Craig replied, returning the hug. "Do you have any news about Collins?" he said,

Josh's face fell. "I'm sorry, Craig. I haven't been able to find anything new. The last time I saw him was over two years ago."

"What do you mean, Josh? Where did you see him?" Craig asked, his heart skipping,

"I saw him at a bar in downtown. He looked like he was doing well, but he didn't want to talk to me. It's like he was avoiding me," Josh explained.

Craig's frustration and disappointment boiled over. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier? I've been searching for him for so long!" Craig shouted, the emotions getting the better of him.

"I'm sorry, Craig. I didn't want to give you false hope. I didn't know if it was really him and if he wanted to be found," Josh said, his voice calm and apologetic.

The two fell silent for a few seconds. Craig was lost, not knowing what to do or where to go next. He had built his hopes up so high, only to have them come crashing down once again.

"I appreciate everything you've done for me, Josh. I really do," Craig said, his tone somber. "I guess I'll just have to keep looking."

"I'm here for you, Craig. You know that. If you need anything or any help, I'm here," Josh said, patting Craig on the back.

Craig left the area frustrated and he was disappointed, feeling dejected and hopeless. He didn't know what to do or where to turn. He thought he had finally found a lead, only to have it lead to a dead end, a few hours later, he returned to the camp, 

months later. Craig continued his search, but it seemed like he was getting nowhere. He would post on social media every day, hoping someone would recognize Collins from his pictures and give him a lead.

One day, Craig received a message on his F******k page. It was from a woman named Clara who claimed to have seen a man that looked like Craig's brother at a gym house just a few blocks from her house,

Craig quickly replied to Clara's message and asked for more details. It was all he could do to contain his excitement.

Clara replied, saying that the man had a beard and was wearing a red baseball cap and a black hoodie. She added that he looked nervous and kept looking around as if someone was following him before he entered Into his car, 

Craig jumped up and he took a bus to the area where Clara had seen the man. When he arrived, he saw a man that looked exactly like his brother, with the same beard and the same red baseball cap. But before Craig could approach him, he saw the man get picked up by a black SUV and before he could get the license number or even the make of the car, it vanished from the scene,

Craig stood there in shock, unable to believe what had just happened. He had once again come so close to finding his brother, only to have him slip through his fingers,

A while later he returned to the camp, but he was keeping all his family affairs secretive,