I'm a fraternal twin. People have asked about twin telepathy and plenty of other weird stuff our entire lives.
I have a twin brother and we've come to learn that being a twin fascinates people.
We've been asked a lot of questions, some inappropriate, others more mystical in nature.
Being "the twins" wasn't always easy, but we're looking forward to the future and a new generation.
I am one-half of a twin set, and one minute older than my brother (thank you very much). Family lore has it that I fought for that birthright and reached out to be first. We were both swollen and wrinkly from having been squished together for nine months.
We were born in the mid-1980s, at a time when twins were less common. Generally, people of the non-multiples persuasion regard twins as slightly mysterious and magical. Many wanted to know if we could read each other's minds and if proximity played a part in our telepathic powers: "Do you know what he's thinking right now?" Even as adults, the question persisted: "What if he were next to you — could you read his mind then?" People were often curious about a metaphysical connection. Many wondered if we were in different places and one of us was hurt, would the other feel it? "If I cut you right now, would he bleed?"
These questions continued, and more were added to the repertoire.
People asked really personal questions
In elementary school, the inquiries got more imaginative and even weirder. "Are you a test-tube baby?" "Were you grown in a lab?" And sometimes: "Did your parents do IVF?" It was a term I was unfamiliar with, but perhaps it had been mentioned in that student's home. The kid probably didn't know what this actually meant but understood that it could apply here.
As technology advanced and people saw more videos of twin babies laughing and babbling at each other, the question of whether we had a "secret twin language" was added to the list of inquiries. We did. However, I won't disclose whether we can move things with our minds.
We have always been asked whether we are fraternal or identical twins. While this question isn't weird, people's insistence on genetic impossibilities can be a bit strange. Countless times, after being made aware that I, born a girl, have a twin brother, born a boy, someone will confidently assure me that we still could be identical. Even after I sprinkle in a brief biology lesson explaining that the identical twin classification isn't about us looking alike but comes down to genetic uniformity and dictates that nearly everything be the same, they always seem to have a friend who absolutely has a biologically identical girl and boy.
Another popular question is whether twins run in our family. The truth is, we don't know. There were none on my father's side, and most of my maternal family were murdered in the Holocaust. We don't know about our genetic history beyond my mom, her sister, my grandparents, and their immediate family (and there were no multiples among them). While questions about family history certainly aren't weird, people can get weird when you bring up genocide.
Just when I thought I had heard every twin question, only last week, after learning I was a twin and requesting to see a picture, I was asked, "How old is your brother?" I smiled politely.
As we each enter the next stage of our lives and consider having our own little hatchlings, I'm sure more questions will present themselves. I have a strange feeling that I may continue the twin legacy with a set of my own — and I can't promise I won't name them after us.
Whenever I see a set of twins, I still tend to share with them (or their parents) that I am also part of this secret group — and that is the most I can say about that.
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