The Doppelganger’s Deception: NYSSA
“Wh-what are you sayin’?”
Standin’ up from the bed, I moped at ‘im. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ ’bout. Is this not some kind of joke?” Walkin’ closer, he moved farther so that I couldn’t touch ‘im. “Kazmir?”
“I-I saw you at the reception,” he mouthed. “Wearin’ an outfit I’ve ne’er seen before, with a scarf covering your head. How did you get back home so fast?” He was by the door side, wantin’ to walk away. I had ne’er seen ‘im so scared all my life.
What was he talkin’ ’bout?
I rushed to the mirror to take a look at my face, turnin’ back so that I could talk to ‘im and he was gone from the space. Where did he go?
On the bed was a nylon bag.
He had gone to get food for us. And had seen a woman who looked like me, but wasn’t me. I hadn’t left the house since the beginnin’ of the day and not even Ariadne visited so there was no need for me to reach the gate. What was goin’ on?
My gaze darted to the phone on the bed.
“Kazmir!”
Shoutin’ at the top of my voice, I reached the door and walked out of the room.
“Kazmir!”
My voice screamed again, wishin’ he would answer me but there was nothin’ like that.
He was still scared of me, obviously. Was I some kind of ghost? What was happenin’? I caught up with the livin’ room space and there he was.
“Do you want to talk ’bout it?”
He looked up from where he was seated. “I am not a madman, Nyssa, in case that’s a question you are askin’ yourself. I am certain that the others who were around me must have seen you – whoever that was and it had to be you. You’re not a twin, are you?”
“I should be askin’ you, Kazmir,” I sat on a couch far from his. “I recall askin’ after my family members when you brought me to this house from the hospital. What did you say? You said I didn’t have one and that was what I said to you. What do you have to say ’bout that, ’cause from the look of things – this is on you.” I looked away and looked back at ‘im. “What?!”
“I didn’t know you’ve got members,” he said. “Not a twin talkless of a Mother. That wasn’t a twin. Are you a twin? She looked exactly like you.”
“It can’t be me or a twin you saw. It’s all in your head, you know.” I said and heaved a sigh, clearly worried.
“Tell me what happened. What did you say you saw?” I asked and he looked at me, heavin’ a sigh and adjustin’ on the couch also.
“I was on my way back from work when I thought we should have somethin’ else for dinner ’cause I didn’t want to disturb you. You know,” he said to me, who took my seat again. “I found a restaurant – the one I usually get food from whene’er I make the decision or you request food that isn’t homemade. I parked my car and walked into it, placin’ an order and sittin’ to wait.”
The story was becomin’ too long.
What was he doin’?
Can’t he tell me what happened next or rather, go straight to the point and tell me where he found my so-called doppelganger? I sat up and moped at ‘im while he talked on and on, relaxin’ again when it felt like he was ready to tell me what I was ready to hear.
“I was eatin’ from a plate, different from the ones that had been packaged when I caught sight of someone sittin’ on the table. I didn’t pay any attention. What could be my business with this person?”
What I thought also.
“I was ready to leave when I caught her gaze.”
Now my eyes opened.
“And she looked like you, but in another outfit. Why else would she run when she saw me if it wasn’t you or someone who was tryin’ to set me up?”
What was that?
Standin’ on my feet, I paced the space. I had said I’d make somethin’ easy for us to have for dinner, but he had solved the issue and now that he had, I didn’t have any more appetite to eat it.
Who knows? He could have ordered my favorite.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Same thing I thought.” He got on his feet. “I had a plate of food at the restaurant and I want more. You can’t blame me ’cause I ran too much.” He explained and I who took a seat and started to think ’bout it.
What was that?
How did it come to happen?
For the rest of the night, I was findin’ it hard to sleep. Many thoughts ran around in my head and one thing I felt greatly was fear. What would happen to my reputation? Was this person after my reputation? What if she was tryin’ to imitate me? I thought and dozed off the next moment, openin’ my eyes to the ray of sunlight on my face hours later.
Kazmir.
Where was he?
Lookin’ to the other side of the bed, he wasn’t there. I didn’t blame ‘im. Maybe he didn’t even spend the night here. I sat up and wiped my face with one of my hands. The other hand reached for my phone and I jumped off the bed after checkin’ the time.
It was past an hour when I walked downstairs, sightin’ Kazmir at the table with a tray of food before ‘im.
“Good mornin’, did you have a good night’s rest?” I asked, turnin’ on my phone as I gazed at the screen. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make you breakfast. I don’t know but I slept very late and it was early this mornin’.”
“It’s alright. You needed some time to think.”
He was right, after all.
Why did I have so many people taggin’ me? “Give me a moment.” I sat on one of the chairs and clicked on one of the many tags I had gotten overnight. “Somethin’ is happenin’ on Twitter. It’s unusual to get so many tags.”
Suddenly, there was a face on my screen.
A face that looked like mine.
She was the same thing as me, but that wasn’t me. I hadn’t gone live the night before, in days in fact.
“Kazmir?”
He was by my side and I didn’t know. “Wh-what is this?” I looked up at ‘im and back on my screen. Was I not in trouble?