My Identical Twin Sister

It was our freshman year of college. We moved out of our house into our own apartment in a small little town in South Carolina. Such a huge transition for us and definitely not easy, but our dream had come true and we were playing softball at the next level, together. 

We had a few scrimmage games in the Fall, made the President’s and the Dean’s List for our first semester, made awesome new friends and grew closer together if that was even possible. We came home for Christmas Break and enjoyed our time with our family and in no time, back at school ready for our second semester. Opening weekend for our USC Union Softball team was in Clearwater, Florida. Luckily for our parents, our brother opened up with his UMO Baseball season nearby in Tampa, Florida. They had a great weekend dividing their time between the three of us.

Five days after we all returned home, our family changed forever.

On February 7, 2020 (two and a half weeks before our 19th birthday) Mia, two teammates and I were hit head on by a drunk driver. My sister and our friend died tragically, while miraculously, sparing another friend of ours and mine. Never in a million years would I think that I would lose my sister, my identical twin, my best friend and half of my soul. 

That morning was a normal morning for us. We had practice and a team bonding activity and later that night we were going to watch one of our friends play. We were so excited because the last time we had seen her was two years ago. It was so good to get to see her play and give her a big hug.  We went to grab some dinner after that and ran into Academy Sports. It was supposed to be cold for our games the next day and we needed long sleeves to go under our jerseys. The last thing I remember is walking out of Academy Sports and to our car.

Seven minutes later, my sister was gone. I didn’t know this just yet, but I would never ever see her again. She was face to face with Jesus.

I remember sitting on the side of the road, my arm being in a tremendous amount of pain, screaming for my sister knowing she was in the car and I couldn’t see her. A fireman sitting in front of me was holding my arm and was such a source of comfort, and as I was sitting on the road, I could not see or find her and I was so scared. I didn’t know what to do but scream for her hoping maybe she would hear me. That’s pretty much the only thing I remember until I got to the hospital. I would ask about my sister to everyone that came in the room, and I had no idea what was going on. Then the doctor came in and told me that she didn’t make it and all I could do was scream, again. I was so upset and all I wanted was to be with my parents. 

Mia had the whole world waiting for her and she was such a bright light in this dark world. She loved Jesus with all of her heart. She loved our family, our church, and she loved people. Mia lived a quiet life, but she impacted more people than we could have ever imagined.

She was just special. Whether it was checking on others, supporting others, sending words of encouragement, or just simply letting them know that she cared about them, she would always reach out. 

Now what do I do? I’ve never been just “Mallory Stokes.” Mia has always been by my side. I’ve never done anything alone. We complete each other in everything. I’ve lived the absolute best life having Mia as my identical twin and absolute best friend in the entire world. Our first tattoos were, “Two are better than one.” Ecclesiastes 4:9. Nothing could be more true. 

With the help of Jesus, I’m going to honor my sister’s life and carry on her love for Jesus and wanting to tell others about Him. It’s going to take me a little time to get there as I am learning every day what life is without her, but I want the whole world to know who Mia Stokes is!

Thank you God for giving this world Mia for almost 19 years.