For five years, Elis and Eloá were practically always together. The Brazilian twins even shared the same diagnosis: Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome, a very rare genetic condition known as progeria that causes accelerated aging.
But on September 30, Elis died at just 5 years old in Boa Vista, Brazil.
Days later, a scene that unfolded during her farewell moved once again those who had been following the sisters’ story.
Eloá came over to say a final goodbye to her twin and decided to give her a little doll. The reason, explained with the innocence of a five-year-old girl, was even more heartbreaking: she wanted Elis to be able to take it with her to “play with Heavenly Father”.
The family also shared images of Eloá, visibly distressed during the ceremony. Her brother dedicated some especially moving words to her: “May you never lack arms to hold you, affection to care for you, and love to be by your side”.
Elis and Eloá had become known online after their family began sharing their lives with progeria. More than a million people followed their games, first steps, dances, and moments together.
This time, there were no games between the two of them.
Only a little doll that Eloá wanted to leave with her sister so that, somehow, she could keep playing wherever she was.