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Now, how to say it? One out of two, or two in one, or what? The Gamal sisters were identical To say, as people do, ‘They were like two peas in a pod’, the same age, the same height, and wearing, by choice, the same hairdo Moreover, they both must have weighed around one hundred and thirty pounds—let’s move into the present—: that is, from a certain distance: which one of them is which? One is the other, and the other sometimes denies it, though always secretly, of course, because this business of having a double can be vexatious, almost almost leech-like, but it’s their own fault, because with each passing year they try ever harder to emulate each other Their tics, gestures, and facial expressions, all the same, as if mirror images Do they ever grow weary of one another? Possibly, though if they did, their souls would be void The thing is: their sole importance has only ever been this similitude—a double meaning that just might be single   On the other hand: there are differences in the details Constitución Gamal has a sizable beauty mark just above her right shoulder blade, whereas the other doesn’t: her name is Gloria and she is the more subdued of the two, the observer, so This physical trait is easy to conceal: they wear clothes that cover that particular zone For their daily attire: in the morning, whoever gets to it first decides for both, chooses the colour and style, and the other simply consents There’s no discussion, no sudden whims   As for their personalities: one is discreet and the other a chatterbox, but this, too, can be managed: neither indulges excessively, as a rule And their names? They swap them—why shouldn’t they! Their daily activities: they are seamstresses, and such perfectionists Paltry, dullards What began as an innocuous pastime became the profession that took hold   Many years ago they set up shop here: in Ocampo: where they live without so much as a twinge of longing, confident that their daily and