Feature Story 2: Separated Brothers Name: Neha Jafferali

As he warmed up before the competition, senior Daniel Karast made his way toward the starting blocks.
Kneeling down, the track crumbled under his feet. He was prepared to win, and nothing was going to stop
him from losing his momentum. As he took a glance at his competitors, Karast was shaken up by the
sight. An almost mirror image of himself stood beside him.
Same curly brown hair.
Same build.
Same crooked front tooth.
It was surreal. Karast didn’t know what to think about what he’d just seen. As thoughts flooded his mind,
there was only one thing that could clear away his confusion. With his heart beating profusely, Karast
heard the shot of the starting pistol. The race had begun.

After his parents passed away from a car accident, Karast was adopted as a baby. He had always believed
he was an only child until he met his brother, Donald Stephens, at a track meet. Stephens informed Karast
that his mother had given birth to him just before her passing. As they are becoming close friends, the
brothers will compete against each other one more time this school year at the regional playoff baseball
games starting May 27.

"My parents had no idea that I had a brother," Karast said. "Apparently, there was a mix-up at the
hospital, and the doctors failed to tell child services that I had a brother."

By the time child services realized what had happened, Karast was already adopted. After seeing his
look-alike on the track, Karast was the first to introduce himself after the race was over, and Stephens, a
junior at Southside High, immediately embraced him. Though Karast had no idea he had a brother,
Stephens had some suspicions.

“I always knew one day I would find my brother, but I had no idea he was only 30 miles away this whole
time,” Stephens said. “When I saw him at the track meet, I knew instantly it was him. I just knew.”

After the track meet, doctors confirmed that Karast and Stephens were brothers. Apparently, after the car
accident, a C-section was performed to save Stephens, but their mother passed away a few hours
afterward. Now, both teens have been taking the time to get to know each other over the past month.

“Getting to know Donald has been awesome,” Karast said. “I never liked being an only child. I always
wanted a sibling, but my parents couldn’t have children of their own. Seriously, it’s almost like I have a
twin.”

While spending more time with each other, Karast and Stephens have learned that they have more in
common than just their looks. Both hope to become engineers and attend Texas A&M University. They
also excel in track, math, art and baseball, where they are the starting pitchers for their varsity baseball
teams.

“We’ve practiced baseball together a few times, so we know each other’s pitches,” Karast said. “He has a
better curveball, but my fastball is faster and a bit more accurate. I am excited about the games.”
Feature Story 2: Separated Brothers Name: Neha Jafferali

Since the revelation, the boys’ families have been supportive and have been spending a lot of time
together. According to Karast, their parents get along well, and they’ve basically become one big family.
Karast’s mother, Jana Karast, knows how proud their son is to have a brother, and said they will support
each kid through and through.

“We are so happy for Daniel,” Jana Karast said. “We will all sit together at the playoff games. We are
going to cheer for both teams, both boys.”

Karast and Stephens will be competing against each other tomorrow at Texas State University in San
Marcos, where the Leaguetown and Southside baseball teams will play the best two out of three games to
determine the regional winner.

“I’m not going to lie,” Stephens said. “I want to win the games this weekend, but I am not going to be
devastated if we don’t win. Win or lose, I still win.”

Though there can only be one winner, Karast, Stephens, and their families will be supportive no matter
the outcome and watch the winning team play at the state competition.

“It’s going to be an even match up this weekend,” Karast said. “The great thing is, both of us will go to
the UIL State Baseball Tournament. One will be a player, and the other a fan."