I was alone at my house today. Nothing out of the usual from the time that I woke up until after lunch. My everyday routine since graduation has been to log on social media, register for government IDs, and find freelance work online.
As you imagine, I was busy on my laptop.
My room’s door has a narrow glass pane. The top half of it is frosted, effectively obscuring objects inside and outside of my room. The bottom half, however, remains bare.
I have always hated that the pane has not been fully frosted. It leaves me with little privacy. It also allows me to see people walking outside at 3 a.m. when everyone is asleep.
I have learned to not pay attention to whoever—or whatever—shuffles their/its feet from outside my room. I guess I have already been desensitized.
At around 3 in the afternoon, I saw from my periphery someone/something walking outside my room. I ignored it, as I have many times before. I returned to creating proposals for potential clients.
About five minutes passed and I saw feet again. Sometimes, the people/things in this household can be annoying.
I paused and glanced at the bottom half of the glass pane. I stared through it for a good three seconds before I went back to work.
But just as I was about to finish a sentence, I saw walking feet again. I paid no attention. I did not want to. I had work to finish and I was scared.
This was beyond the usual.
I tried my best to not care. My hands were shaking and were barely able to type words into the keyboard. Nonetheless, I tried to retain my composure even as the person/thing outside my room was already pacing back and forth at the time.
And then he/she/it stopped. It stopped right in front of my door.
It was standing there.
I had to look. When I glanced, I saw two legs. It looked like a person’s. My whole body was trembling at this point. I can handle ghosts, but I would not be able to handle a human intruder.
I mustered up courage to use my loud, thundering voice to say, “Sino ‘yan?” (Who’s there?)
Then, the door opened.
He looked exactly like me. It was as if I was looking at a clone. He was tall and had a prominent jaw. He even had dark blue hair. Heck, he was wearing the same blue shirt and gray basketball shorts.
They say when your doppelgänger appears near you, you are in danger. It can mean sickness, an accident, or even death.
What more if I met mine?
“Anong kailangan mo sa akin?” (What do you want from me?) I said with a loud but shaking voice as tears streamed down my face.
It slowly walked towards me until I was face to face with it.
It smiled maniacally and leaned into my ear.
It whispered.
“I’m a freelance writer. Hire me. My e-mail is xavegregorio@gmail.com”
(Published with permission from Xave Gregorio.)
