What would she have looked like?
I have to look at the features of my brother, myself, and my parents to make up my mind, and also consider the various traits of my cousins too to get any idea of how Josie would appear.
Mum and Dad have almost opposite looks to each other. Dad is taller than average, Mum is shorter than average; Dad's hair is (was) swarthy, Mum is blonde (was); Dad's eyes are grey, Mum's are blue; Dad has a long, straight face, while Mum's is rounded with high cheekbones. Their noses are big though.
So, this is a difficult case study; but I know that because she doesn't exist that I can choose the ideal sister to look at.
Skin tone would probably be pale like mine, of the sunburn-ready kind.
Hair colour would be dark or fair, equal chances of either. My brother is blonde, so my Dad carries the blonde gene, even though his hair is black. Maybe a small chance of red hair (auburn most likely) because I have a redhead cousin. Her hair would be straight, or wavy at the most.
Her eyes are where things get tricky, because my eye colour is a bit weird. My eyes are hazel, even though neither parent has this eye colour, so it might have come through Dad from his mother who had dark eyes. My brother's eyes are blue, so Dad carries the blue eyes genes. So Josie's eye colour could be anything, but I reckon a lighter colour like blue, grey or even green, is more likely. The shape of the eye would be either almond like Dad's and mine, or hooded like Mum's and my brother's, and likely to have epicanthic folds like Mum, Kelsey and me. They would either be deep-set or not, but not jutting out. They would be far apart, rather than close together.
The face is even trickier. Would she have high cheekbones or not? She might have a cleft chin, or not, but it would neither recede nor jut out. Would the cheeks have dimples like mine? Long head or round head? Full eyebrows* or thin, and a bit closer together. The jaw would be either square or not so square. See what I mean? Mum and Dad are almost opposite! Her lips would probably be nice and full though, and her nose would probably be slightly bigger than average. Her earlobes would be free, and the ears would be of an average or slightly larger size.
Her neck might be long-ish.
* in a feminine sort of way.
Her health issues.
She would be over-all quite a healthy individual with good immunity and no known allergies, a good degree of fitness, but her diet may be somewhat questionable.
She could have a bit of acne for the rest of her days, thanks to Mum, and maybe a few moles. She would probably have eczema in her early years, but grow out of it by childhood.
She might get vision problems later in life, occasional migraines, and heart disease. Possibly osteoporosis, and anxiety/depression at some point. A small chance also that she might get mild autism like me.
By middle age she might develop Viking's disease in her hands.
Let's think about the body now. Every beautiful bit of it!
There's a chance that her body would be a kind of athletic shape, and her pelvis would be more than sufficient, i.e. for giving birth without cesarian section. Which brings me to her busts, which would probably be cup size B, reckons Mum — I know very little about boob garments.
How tall would she be? Well since Dad is a bit taller than average (for a New Zealander) and Mum is a bit shorter (for an Australian), I would say that she'd be average height for a woman, or slightly taller. This is based on my height, which is average for a New Zealander in his 20s, and my brother is slightly taller. So Josie would be between 164 and 167 cm (or 5 ft 4.5 to 5 ft 6).
Now we must delve into who Josie would be. What be her personality?
It is most likely that she would be my younger sister (because I already exist) by about 2 years, so she would have been born in 1993, or 1992 if Mum was up for it right away. Otherwise she would be my brother's older sister by about 2 years, so she would have been born about 1987. But, as younger child, Josie might be uncomplicated and sociable, but more defiant and manipulative, compared to my brother and me. She would probably have left the family home soon after she finished (or quit) highschool.
She would have a quick temper, and procrastinates, but also have a fairly bright mind, and accepting of different human beings.
Her interests would be in nature and technology, and would not be superstitious. She prefers to read sci-fi and non-fiction books. She would have musical potential, and her tastes would probably lie in pop music, which is different to my tastes, which in turn is different to my brother's. She would prefer the modern arts.
Because of her uncomplicated nature, she wouldn't be too fussy over whom she chooses as a lover, just as long as they were honest and caring.
Her manners of speech would be kiwi, but with noticeable Australian traits.
Her sense of humour would be dry, sometimes dark, but cracks up at slapstick and toilet humour with me, while my brother buries his face in his hands.
What would Josie do for a living?
I reckon she'd be a receptionist at a company like DOC, or some technology firm. Or possibly work at a zoo, it's hard to say.
She would have her driver licence, and her first car would be a Toyota Cynos, or something similar with a little bit of attitude.
What would she do for fun?
I think she would like to have regular gatherings with her friends, and be part of a hiking club. She would probably sing if she took up music.
After consultation with my family and myself, I did a sketch, scanned it, coloured it, and we have decided that this is what she could look like as a young adult—sorry that it’s a bit wonky:
This is her basic personal information:
▲ Size comparison with other family members, with Josie in pink. From left: Peter (father), Kelsey (oldest brother), Aaron (older brother), Josie, Annie (mother).