I once met a girl at a party, and we woke up together. She ran away in the morning because she was late, while I had a leisurely breakfast and took a bath. Then I saw her earrings on the table. They were vintage and heavy. She had mentioned that they were her great-grandmother’s.

I put them in my pocket and went to her home to return them. A pretty lady in a robe who looked like her mother opened the door. “Please give these to Julia,” I said. She flinched, hesitantly took the earrings, and looked at me funny,

— She forgot them at my place yesterday.
— Yesterday?
— Yes.
Pause. But Julia died 6 years ago!
I stood frozen,

not knowing what to say. But at that moment, Julia ran out of somewhere, shouting indignantly, “Mum! Stop making fun of him!” The mum laughed and invited me to coffee. That’s how I met my future mother-in-law.

I still remember the day I met Julia at that party like it was yesterday. We hit it off instantly, talking for hours and laughing at each other’s jokes. When the party started to wind down, we decided to leave together and ended up back at my place. The next morning, I woke up to an empty bed and the sound of the front door closing. Julia had left in a rush because she was running late for work.

As I leisurely made my way to the kitchen to make breakfast, I noticed a pair of vintage earrings on the table. Julia had mentioned that they were her great-grandmother’s and they were too precious to forget. I decided to do the right thing and return them to her, so I quickly got ready and headed to her house.

When I arrived at Julia’s home, a woman who looked like her mother answered the door. I handed her the earrings and explained that Julia had left them at my place the night before. The woman’s face twisted in confusion as she accepted the earrings and examined them closely. She then dropped a bombshell on me – Julia had passed away six years ago.

I was stunned and didn’t know how to respond. Just then, Julia appeared from another room, scolding her mother for teasing me. It turned out that Julia’s mother had mistaken me for her deceased daughter’s boyfriend. After the initial shock wore off, we all had a good laugh about the mix-up.

Julia’s mother invited me in for coffee and we talked for hours, bonding over memories of Julia and sharing stories of our lives. It was a strange turn of events, but meeting Julia’s family that day was a blessing in disguise. Little did I know that this chance encounter would lead to a lifelong relationship with Julia’s family and eventually, I would become a part of their lives in a way I never expected.