EVEN though it has been months since the brutal murder of Richard Ishmael Secondary school teacher, Kescia Branche, the loss is still fresh on the minds of her sisters and mother, who are still in a state of shock.

Kescia’s mother, Sonita Scott told the Guyana Chronicle that the loss of her daughter has left a gap in her life and had she known Kescia would have met her end so brutally, she would have liked to be in Guyana to spend some time with her.

She said she lost four years of her daughter’s life while she was living in the Bahamas and working as a school teacher herself.

On many occasions she had asked Kescia to join her in the Bahamas but she wanted to stay here in Guyana, to be patriotic and she respected her wish to remain here and teach.

She said the incident has left her shell-shocked and she simply cannot overcome what has happened.

Mrs. Scott added that her daughter’s death has impacted her mentally and emotionally and has left her broken. It is very difficult for her to cope and as such, she is hoping for justice to prevail.

Meanwhile, Kescia’s younger sister, Kereece Branche, told the Guyana Chronicle that with Kescia’s death, she has no one to look up to. She is also saddened by the fact that Kescia is no longer here to celebrate her 23rd birthday with her twin sister, Kessandra.

Kereece,18, added that she may just follow the legacy and also become a school teacher just like her sister, who was fond of teaching and was so energetic and full of life and happiness.

She related that Kescia died a month before her birthday and it was very difficult to comprehend what happened to her. To date it still is.

Meanwhile, Kessandra, who lives overseas and has a six-year-old daughter, has expressed her feelings for her loved one who is no more.

Kessandra will celebrate her 23rd birthday today, February 12, without her twin sister and she said it is the hardest time since they would normally come together to celebrate their birthdays.

She added that they would cheer each other on in laughter and excitement, feeling victorious to have successfully completed another year, and then to look forward to a promising one awaiting them.

Kessandra said: “I can still hear you cheering us on, with passion in our hearts to ring in a new chapter becoming a year older. No, but wait Kes, it’s only the sound of the wind through the window beside me. Now the only person cheering us on is me, and by us I mean me.”

She has asked herself if she will ever feel the true joys of a happy birthday again but she doesn’t know the answer.

Kessandra told the Guyana Chronicle that being an identical twin is a rare and cherishable bond that only a selection of us experience. She said they are part of that special selection; Kescia and her and were always identified or categorised as the twins or ‘Kescia and Kessandra’.

Kessandra added that they were unique and so much alike and tried to distract attention by dressing differently.

In speaking about the day Kescia died, the day their journey as life partners ended, Kessandra said, “coping with the death of my twin has made me feel as though my whole life was falling apart, the pains inflicted upon my mind, body and soul are very close to torture.”

Kessandra added that it still feels “like a dreadfully real nightmare that constantly repeats in my mind over and over again.”

She stated that she stood by her sister’s bedside in the hospital, and watched the person who mirrored her exact, identical image, slowly deteriorate into a corpse and this has been very overwhelming.