Meeting Your Doppelganger

Hi there. I'm from a little rural hamlet just outside of [HIDDEN], and my name is [HIDDEN]. I'm posting this essay today to offer guidance to anyone who has encountered their doppelgänger in the past or who may do so in the future.

On the surface, seeing your doppelganger could seem like a pretty scary experience. We've all seen the joke on the internet that says something like "If you see someone who looks exactly like you, run away and hide," but it's not actually required.

Everybody's experience with a doppelganger is unique; it's like having a roommate you pick in college. Either you and the person enjoy a wonderful time together, or they threaten to kill you and you end up scared for your life at night.

There's a very high likelihood that you may cross paths with your doppelganger, and the likelihood increases dramatically beyond the age of 25. Since I've already met my doppelganger four times, I feel well-qualified to offer guidance to others who haven't met theirs through my work at [HIDDEN].

Even though your doppelganger will appear exactly like you, you have to pretend you don't recognize them when you meet them. You will normally hear something like "nice to meet you" or "it's a pleasure to meet you" when they approach you and introduce themselves.

You should leave right away if they say something unpleasant or if you make eye contact with them but they never say hello. You can't be too confident they won't follow you, so it might be prudent to drive to your nearest police station.

It's also crucial to remember that even if you've met your doppelgänger before, you still need to act as though it's your first time together because they'll almost certainly bring it up.

I experienced the most bizarre incident the other day. While at an open-air market, I happened to buy some old wooden spoons from my very own twin, whom I had given the loving nickname [REDACTED] in honor of my own name. He gave me a quick tap on the shoulder with his brand-new spoon and grinned, just like he had a few times already.

He held out his hand and said, "It's great to see you." His skin seemed extremely chilly, unlike the last time I saw him, so I went to shake it while saying the same thing. After taking a quick glance around, he said, "How many times have we met?"

There was a problem. His eyes kept darting about as if he was searching for someone, giving off a worried vibe. I followed my instinct and told my doppelgänger the truth, even if my head was telling me to respond to him by saying that I wasn't sure if we had met before.

I returned his whisper, "This would be our fourth time meeting each other."

A sigh of relief left him. "I thought that," he answered. He took another glance around before moving soundlessly in the direction of the parking lot. He continued to walk for a short while before realizing that I wasn't following him because I was still shocked by our recent exchange.

He motioned for me to follow him. "Come on." While I was thinking about what I would be missing at the market, I partly ran to meet him,. Honey with an organic fruit flavor. A woman selling hand-knitted quilts appeared to be no older than ninety-nine. Chocolate chip cookies freshly cooked from the vegan stand. Now that I think about it, I wish I had stayed and gotten my spoon.

Please let me know what's going on before we go anyplace. I enquired. With his eyes fixed forward, he quickly headed towards the parking area.

"Yes, I will. Which car do you own?" he asked. I wasn't sure if I felt secure enough to enter a small area with my twin. We had never interacted for this long, and I didn't feel like we were going to sit down and have a casual conversation given the circumstances.

"Would you kindly tell me what we are doing?" I stopped walking and grabbed him wrist to make him halt as well. But instead of stopping, he continued as if in a trance. He started to walk again, but I quickly pulled him back, using my wrist as an anchor.

He turned around, and I saw that his cheeks were a little blotchy and his eyes were a little red and swollen. He had been crying from the moment we spoke, which I had not recognized until now. His eyes went wild as he turned to face me, and he yanked his wrist free from my hold.

Although I had grasped his wrist, I didn't think I had damaged him in any way—I mean, I wasn't Hulk Hogan or anything. I opened my mouth to say, "I'm sorry," but a spine-tingling scream from behind me interrupted. I slowly turned to face the source of the scream after realizing that my twin was staring beyond me rather than at me.

First, all I noticed was a young boy trying to walk two Great Danes without stumbling, and families moving around the market. There was a thumping sound, and I saw the boy trying to train the dogs. As I searched for it, the sound became louder and faster as I swept the horizon.

I let out a gasp when I finally saw it. It didn't feel right that someone had taken the wind out of me. If it weren't for the people I was with, this image would not have been unusual for me—maybe a little startling at first, but nothing I couldn't explain.

A young man in his mid-years came running towards me from the woods, his long ragged hair whipping behind him. He was wearing a bloodstained hospital gown, and as he approached, I saw that she had a little scar across [HIDDEN].

I was the man. I knew it wasn't my twin, even if it looked like it. When I turned back, [REDACTED] and I both had the same horrified expression on our faces. We must leave," he forced out in between sobs, and I didn't wait for an explanation this time.

Without pausing to see if we were still being pursued, the two of us made a run for my car. He stopped me as I reached for the driver's side door, saying, "I'll drive; I know where we need to go." You could keep an eye out.

Even though I normally didn't feel comfortable having someone else drive my car—even though I would still be the one doing the driving—I didn't complain.

Glancing toward the passenger side, I flung open the door and watched with dismay as it crashed into the nearby parked automobile. I would have left a note in a different situation, but I had to get things done quickly. My double was remarkably fast to leave the parking lot, especially for someone I suspected didn't drive much.

I started to scratch my head, trying to make sense of what I had just witnessed, while he drove. A third identical twin? This was something I had never heard of, either in my personal or professional life. And how was this information known to my initial doppelgänger? Does he have a hand in it?

I must admit this: I'm not writing this piece to offer advice; rather, I'm begging for it. It was the only way I could make him not grow suspicious, so I had to introduce it and write it pretending to be guidance.

I've been driving in circles with my doppelganger around the entrance to the woods where I spotted the third doppelganger. He is staring into the woods as we drive by and humming to himself, not saying anything to me. He is using his left hand to drive while holding the wooden spoon he purchased in his right, and he is tapping the armrest with it. Normally the tapping is modest, but it quickly picks up speed every time we pass the location where we first noticed the doppelganger.

I'm not sure whether I can trust him, and I'm not sure what to do. Should I exit the vehicle? Should I disclose the third doppelgänger in my work? I need your advice if you have any experience with something similar.