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~o0o~
Epilogue
Life Becomes Normal
LE FastCounter

With the help of Monsignor Argabuendista, and in consultation with the islanders from both Doma and Dtoma, Senhor Ernesto Ortiz decided to simplify things by reducing himself down to one wife. He chose the Milly whom he had been living with when the padre visited, as that wedding had occurred first. The other Milly, with profuse apologies from Ernesto, became the party who had to accept the will of God in the matter, and learn to rest in Him — as the padre had said would have to be the case.
It was also agreed that Ernesto would refrain from visiting the other island, so that the heart of that Milly would not unduly suffer. In this, she had the support and comfort of the others, especially her cousin, Todd.
Now, the next order of business was the grand reunion. Not only did the grownups all meet their long lost twins, but the children, for the first time, met their doubles. Just to list all that happened at this unusual reunion, would, all by itself, fill a book. Suffice to say, the children had every bit as much fun with their doubles as Johnny had with his — even with a bit of sweet revenge thrown in. Joey, with the help of his double, cornered first one Johnny, then the other, sent him running up the path to the upper pool while he pretended to run in the direction of the east side! For a long time after this, there was a lot of trading places. A couple of them even went home in place of their double without the parents knowing, for which, of course, they got a spanking. Over all, they were happy, but no one more so than the two Johnnies.
After Ernesto took them out together a few times, the two Johnnies gained tremendously in their navigation ability. Together, with the help of a stronger adult such as Todd, they were able to navigate the boat between the two islands themselves. Thus, the two islands were joined into one happy family.
Todd, who was from Doma, besides helping to sail the ship, was also a source of strength to Milly, his cousin. The other Todd, on Dtoma, had been for quite some time attracted to Miss Greschen, the teacher.
Thus it was, that on one of Father Argabuendista’s later visits to the islands, a double wedding was held on Dtoma island — that of Todd and Milly, and of Todd and Greschen.
As the service began, he announced, ‘I think it would be well, and in the will of the Almighty, to revoke the "twin" spell that has been over these two islands.’
Everyone agreed.
The padre then prayed, and read some verses from his Latin Bible, and bound the ‘twin gods’ from the entire area. As he said, ‘amen,’ there was an earthquake.
Everyone was in a broad clearing, so no one was hurt. But they were shocked to see a large section of the hill behind them over the waterfall fall into the upper pool. The waterfall behind them began going out in a different direction.
‘The secret ledge!’ the Johnnies cried out.
People began running in panic to their houses, but father Argabuendista shouted, ‘Stop! Stop! We haven’t had the wedding yet!’
Everyone came back, and they finally got the two couples wed.
While the earthquake had racked Dtoma island, high waves that resulted from the tremor beat on the East side of Doma island, permanently changing the landscape of that island.
The names of the islands were changed. Dtoma, since it sounded like ‘Toma’ or Thomas, was changed to Thomas island, after the senior resident. Doma, of course was called Timothy island. Together, they are called the Rankle islands, though many of the locals still call them the ‘twin islands’.
Not only the landscapes had changed, but now that four of the residents, two from each island, had chosen to go contrary to the trend of marrying one anthers twins; the societies began to resemble one another less and less. People affected one another in ways that were different from that of the other island, so people developed different personalities. Also, the school teacher on one island was now a married woman (and shortly after, a mother), and that of the other was a spinster for the rest of her life, there being no more available men near enough to her age. As everyone knows, one who marries will develop a different outlook towards children than a spinster. Thus, you can imagine how this would affect the students of each teacher.
The spell being broken, more outsiders began visiting from time to time. Some even came to settle down.
The Johnnies, one known as John Thomas-Ortiz and the other John Timothy-Ortiz, grew to be young men. When they became old enough to be interested in the fairer sex, both took a liking to the Sallies — yes, the very little girls once known as tattle-tales — so again, there was a double wedding. Each had a set of twins, among other children, but only a couple from the one family (not the twins) looked like two from the other family.
From their papa’s boat they started a shipping company, slowly adding more and bigger boats to form a fleet. They spent their whole lives — when not at sea — on the Rankle Islands, but their grandchildren eventually opened a head office for the shipping firm in Tiguna, and moved there themselves. Now, there are offices in Melacca, Macao, Goa, and another is planned for London.
As for Senhor Ernesto, from that time on, he never went to sea again, except to teach his sons all he knew about navigation and maintaining the boat. He had more children through Milly of Thomas Island, a couple of whom became junior partners of the Johnnies in the shipping firm.
As for Senhor Calabrerra, all the aforementioned events were enough to revive his belief in God. He took holy orders, and worked with Monsignor Argabuendista for many years, finally becoming the bishop of Tiguna upon the death of the old padre.
As for twins, probably the frequency of their birth was more than what would be considered average, and sometimes there were triplets; but most children were born by themselves. All and all, the ‘Twin Islands’ continued to be a pleasant home to all her inhabitants for many generations to come.


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