Amid echoes of her late husband’s memories, Maria finds herself in a labyrinth of emotions, grappling with grief and a desire for closure. Her friend Jane’s suggestion to explore new possibilities through Tinder opened a Pandora’s box of disturbing discoveries, leading Maria down an unexpected path full of confusing encounters and terrifying coincidences.
As each event unfolded, Maria’s world seemed to descend more and more into chaos and confusion. The haunting image of a familiar face on a dating app plunged her into a whirlwind of doubt and mistrust. With each revelation, from Jane’s sudden departure to the puzzling appearance of her late husband’s doppelgänger, Maria’s search for the truth intensifies.
Her journey took unexpected turns and led her into a labyrinth of uncertainty and unanswered questions. Amidst the chaos, however, Maria’s determination never wavered. Driven by a relentless pursuit of the truth, she navigated each confusing twist with unwavering determination.
On her friend’s advice, Maria downloads Tinder to block her thoughts of her late husband. But when they start messaging each other and her profile matches his, things take a terrible turn.
Mariina sat in her living room, disturbing images of her husband’s accident racing through her mind: Dan stuck in his car, screaming for help that never came.
Even though it had been months since Dan died, Maria thought it had only happened yesterday. She missed everything—his laugh, his affection. Nothing made sense without him.
When her friend called out to her, “You can’t stay locked in this darkness forever, Maria,” Maria snapped out of her reverie.
Maria wiped away her tears and turned to Jane who was sitting by her side comforting her.
“We have to move forward with life,” Jane said. “Think about the debts. We need to determine how to take care of them.”
You don’t have to do everything yourself.”
“I know…” With fresh tears streaming down her cheeks, Maria nodded. “But…I can’t just forget about Dan and move on like nothing happened, Jane.
“Look, you’ve completely upset him; hate me for saying that.
Someone new would be fine,” suggested Jane. Simply put, meet people. Visit beautiful places. How about trying Tinder, for example?”
Maria thought it was a foolish idea.
But later that night, she found out that she had to create a profile in the app. She took pictures of strangers.
Then Maria started scrolling through the profiles and her breath caught in her throat when she came across Dan’s. At first, Maria assumed it couldn’t be him.
Someone was using Dan’s photos. They matched when she crossed to the right.
Maria wasn’t sure what might come next. She suddenly decided to make lasagna, so she headed to the kitchen.
Suddenly her phone rang and she saw a message from Dan’s profile, “Hi, how are you?”
Maria replied, “Hi,” she held her breath.
preparing lasagna. You?”
The man replied, “I knew someone who made delicious lasagna.” “I was looking for plane tickets.
“Are you serious? You’re organizing the trip?” Maria asked. She pretended to be fine, but her heart was still pounding with fear.
“Yeah, I decided to stop. I couldn’t decide which nation to travel to.”
Maria said: “I always wanted to travel to Italy.” She longed to go there with Dan, but he always felt that Italians were too sentimental and the weather too hot for him to handle.
“I don’t like Italy. The people are too emotional and the weather is too hot. But they are skilled cooks.” What the man answered startled Maria. How on earth could he think the same as Dan?
She replied back, “I think Italy is wonderful.”
“I want to choose a country with a milder climate and mountains,” he wrote immediately.
She said, “Do you like hiking?”
“Yes, since childhood.
“My husband helped me develop a love for the mountains,” she wrote, smiling again.
“Wife? Really?”
“We’re apart,” Maria lied. “I guess I want to start over?”
“That mindset is appropriate. So, would you like to get together?”
A man texted a phone number. Maria decided to go, even though it was in the next town.
She needed to know the identity of this man.
Every time the bell rang in the cafeteria, Maria’s heart raced. After waiting an hour for his arrival, ‘Dan’ was nowhere to be seen. Then Maria saw something that was obviously Dan, or at least a man who looked a lot like her late husband, looking out the cafe window.
He hurried away, across the street. Maria panicked. She quickly left the cafe and began to chase after him. She had trouble keeping up with his fast pace as she moved through the crowd.
Before she could yell at him, he hailed a cab on the corner and got in. Rushing forward, trying to hail a cab, she realized too late. His taxi left.
Between gasps, Maria pulled out her phone. “Hey, when are you coming?” She sent him a Tinder message. She waited for an answer on the sidewalk but never got one.
Maria went straight to Jane’s residence. What the hell did she just see? She had to tell someone.
But when Maria noticed the “For Sale” sign in Jane’s front yard, she was taken aback.
Confused and nervous, she pulled out her phone and called Jane. Her companion did not respond even after several rings. This is Jane. Then a voice came from the phone, “Please leave a message.”
“This is Maria, Jane. He noticed the for sale sign. Please call me when you hear the news.”
Maria tried to look nonchalant, but fear was eating away at her heart. Jane was selling her house, but why?
Maria turned to look around and almost jumped when she saw Mrs. Gilbert, Jane’s neighbor, staring at her.
An elderly woman called out from her porch, “Jane left for the airport two hours ago, dear!”
She seemed to be in a hurry to catch her flight! Are you holding on to her?”
“Flight?” Maria walked over to the older woman, her voice cracking. “Jane didn’t mention she was going anywhere.
“Move to another country if you believe!” said Mrs. Gilbert. “There was a man with her.
His face was blurry, but from what I could see, he resembled your husband. It is possible that they were brothers.
A chill ran down Marie’s spine. However, Dan couldn’t just resurrect himself and run off with Jane. Could?
Maria thanked Mrs. Gilbert despite her negative feelings and returned to her car. Once inside, she called Nurse Jane.
Maria said, “Be honest if you’ve been hiding something this whole time,” and summarized the events that had transpired.
“Something is wrong and I can feel it.
“Look, Maria, sometimes sadness plays tricks on you…”
“I’m aware of the sound. Just answer my questions.”
“Nothing’s wrong, Maria, I swear,” snapped Jane’s sister. “Okay, I’ll call the family and ask. Be careful.”
The call ended.
Maria was aware that she had to find a solution immediately. After starting the vehicle, she went to the airport.
Arriving at the airport, Maria quickly parked her car and went inside, searching the crowds for any signs of Jane and ‘Dana!’
PUSH! Maria spotted them from a distance.
Jane carried her flamboyant red bag with her back to Maria as the man headed for security.
“I do not!” Maria pushed her way through the crowd and called out.
However, they seemed to disappear into the stream of passengers as they approached the security checkpoint.
Jane and the man were placing their luggage on the belt when Maria reached the security barrier. As she tried to chase after them, one of the guards raised his hand.
“Ticket and ID, please, ma’am,” he said firmly.
“Look, I have to stop. It’s critical!”
Maria elaborated.
However, the policeman remained at the scene. “I can’t let you pass without a ticket.
Maria stood by helplessly as the man and Jane walked past the security checkpoint.
“If there is a problem, ma’am, maybe I can help you?”
Maria took a step back and shook her head. It was already late. The “dead” wife and her closest friend approached the boarding gate, presented their tickets to the gate agent, and disappeared from her sight.
Maria watched the plane approach the runway and take off and stood there as it shot up into the sky and finally turned into a mere patch of clouds.
Maria was devastated again. This time, however, the broken heart did not weaken her.
She was determined to uncover the truth about everything that was going on.
Maria drove to the police station after leaving the airport.
“I need to know where my husband is and why he did this,” she told the detective after going through everything. Now I believe he may have planned everything, even though I believed he was dead before.”
Detective Martinez commented, “We have reviewed your husband’s accounts, ma’am.”
“And because of the outstanding debts, they are currently frozen. The accounts will be opened if they are resolved.”
“And if I sell my house, I can pay off the debts.”
“Ma’am, I would advise you to be careful,” Detective Martinez leaned over. “This could go wrong. Everything could be lost for you!”
However, Maria was ready for whatever came. She sold the house, freeing up funds for Dan’s accounts. Maria just needed to wait as the police were already monitoring the account for any action.
She told herself that it would all be worth it, even if her house was destroyed and the apartment she slept in was appalling.
One afternoon, as she was returning home from the supermarket, her phone rang. It was Detective Martinez.
After arriving at the police station, Maria was told by the detective that they were monitoring the activity on the unlocked accounts. In Austria, all the money was collected.
“Austria?” Maria was confused.
Indeed. “It’s a promising lead,” Detective Martinez noted. But all the money is gone. Cash was used to make the withdrawal.”
“What does it mean to find my husband?” she asked.
“That suggests we have a place to work,” Officer Martinez retorted. “But we have to go fast. Are you sure you want to go ahead with this, I have to ask. It could mean—”
“I understand his meaning,” Maria interrupted. “All can be lost. But I’ve already lost a lot. I must be right.”
Sergeant Martinez nodded grimly. “I acknowledge. We will make every effort.”
The days that followed were uneventful. To entertain herself, Maria took a part-time job at a nearby bookstore. Then one day her phone rang as she was putting her books away. Detective Martinez had good news this time.
“Mrs. Johnson, your husband is communicating with someone in Austria. An email has been discovered. We have been able to decrypt the encrypted data. We believe it is related to the redeployment. We are cooperating with the Austrian authorities, so don’t worry.” They will know if they try to flee the nation.’
Maria had a brief taste of hope. She was hopeful, despite her nagging fear, that Jane and Dan would run away once more.
And luck was on Maria’s side this time.
Detective Martinez called her one day to tell her that Jane and Dan had been taken into custody.
“Your husband has been caught trying to enter Switzerland through the border. You are requested to visit the station.”
Maria thought it was a nightmare until she went to the police and sat across from her best friend and “dead” husband. Everything was organized by Jane and Dan. They admitted they did it.
“I cheated on you with Jane,” Dan began.
“I was desperate after my business failed.
I was unable to face my mistakes, debts, and failures. Knowing that I would not be able to repay the debts, I took them out. And Jane and I were about to stage my death when it all got too much.
To get the homeless man’s body, we bought a pathologist. I set the car on fire with my body inside, it looked like I was dead.
Jane said, “We never meant to hurt you, Maria.” “I’m sorry. We were at a loss.”
When Maria looked at them closely, she found that they were both damaged and helpless because of their own fear and greed. “But you will have to face the consequences of your actions,” she added. “I hope one day you understand the full extent of the pain you have caused.
With that, Maria got up and left the station with her head held high.
Now she had a resolution that would allow her to move on with her life. It hurt, yes, but at least she was free. She decided to start over.
The story of Mary’s tumultuous journey through grief, betrayal, and deception is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Despite unimaginable challenges, Maria has shown incredible strength and determination in her search for truth and closure.
Her story is a reminder that life can throw unexpected curves, test our resolve, and push us beyond our limits. Yet it is also a testament to the power of determination and resilience in the face of adversity. Maria’s steadfast search for the truth, her courage to face painful revelations, and her decision to start over after such a tumultuous experience show the remarkable capacity of the human heart to heal and move forward.
Ultimately, Maria found closure not in the answers she received, but in her ability to rise above the chaos and begin a new chapter in her life. It is a moving story of overcoming the darkest moments and emerging stronger, wiser, and ready to face the future with hope and newfound strength.