Weird things never happened to me before but all of that was soon to change when I conjured myself a doppelgänger. I really wish I never bought that wretched book. I always thought of myself as a collector of old books and manuscripts. I am an avid bibliophile and maybe I should have known that buying a blank book was of no use to me. But the bald shopkeeper at the place I had bought the book from had persuaded and played with my innocence to convince me that the book was magical.
My naïve self bought this idea and now that I think of it I sure learnt a lesson from that. Never enter a shop with a bald shopkeeper because their brain’s sharper because of the lack of dandruff, dirt and hair distracting their thought process, making them formidable persuaders.
But few days after I had spent my month’s pocket money on the book, I found a quill right next to the book. I was mystified and gosh! I was indeed petrified when I opened the book to find not a blank page but a page with quill written on it with bold letters. Why that was what I wrote on the book to ensure I would remember to complete my project on the history of quills.
Quills immediately reminded me of Harry Potter and why, now that I think of it, this book is just like Tom Riddle’s diary from the series. I hope it is not evil though but seeing this quill on my book I was inquisitive.
So I flipped the page and used that quill to write my name on it. The quill was pretty smooth and the archaic paper was of good texture too. The ink was blue and shimmered brightly. I was in awe of this perfect quill and its ink but my fun was cut short. Because out of nowhere….. I popped out of the book.
Well it was not me but another boy who was just like me. The face marks, the eyebrow, my brown eyes and even my brown hair. Everything was so similar that I might as well just put myself in a photocopier! That caught me off guard and this boy he looked so much like me.
“Hey there! Why do you look so much like me?”, he asked. I froze. Gosh he speaks in the same squeaky manner as me. I always wondered how it would feel to look at myself through another’s eye but this was not what I bargained for. I had a look alike, a mirror of myself standing a metre away from me. I HAD CONJURED MYSELF A DOPPELGÄNGER!!!
But this is where things get interesting. So if you might want to use the washroom now so that you stick with me as we get through the spicy part of this tale…. Yes go ahead.
So now hoping that you took my advice. Let’s continue…..
My twin then went ahead and decided that the atmosphere was way too quiet and then scurried onto the bed and started jumping while also muttering unintelligible stuff I do not want to even know. But this hullabaloo would surely attract attention from my parents and even the neighbours. But my parents have gone to stock up groceries but that still leaves my irritable neighbours in the picture and I think it would be an understatement to say that they hated me.
I mean they get angry for things that are well not my fault. I mean when I saw one of my neighbour’s dog seeming bored in his kennel, I let him out like a gentlemen. But that set both the dog and the neighbour on my heel. And as I sprinted to my house, I kept low. And the next day I found out there quite a few squirrel and cat casualties that day. I mean how was I supposed to know that the dog was locked in for a good reason.
But now I had worse matters on my hand. My twin was now doing high jumps on my bed that I was sure the spring had surely taken the brunt of the force.
“Stop it, you animal”,I screeched but my frustrated screech was welcomed with silence.
“Do you hear me? I said stop it and well scoot away back to the book”, I yelled and I could feel my larynx just wanting to break free. And now finally the boy replied in a cheeky tone,”Well you did not reply to me so why should I do so to you too”
Why that brat… But wait. My nerves had cooled down when I realized that I could make him disappear with the book, you know like a reversible change. So I grabbed the book and attempted to destroy it. But unlike Harry Potter, I did not have the sword of Godric Gryffindor or anything magical like that.
But then I realized I could use my paper tearing skills. I unleashed my rage on the book and tore the page. This unholiness must have been enough to shoo the boy away and yes. Like a genie he started to get sucked into the book. What a sight! I put up a struggle but my practice of ripping A4 papers well paid off because he vanished.
Literally into thin air… That gave me a relief. My anger faded away. My adrenaline was flowing and when I turned around, I faced horror….. My beautiful homey styled room was in a mess. A ruckus had brought my shelf down, my childhood photos were now mere shreds of paper, my bed a broken piece of junk and the whole room was run-down.
I wanted to sob and that’s when I heard my mom.
“Wake up or you will miss the bus. Do not force me to use my bamboo stick. I told you to sleep early last night!!”, I exclaimed. I shuddered. Her bamboo stick was one thing I feared. Though it was never used to hit me or anything, the sight of it gave me the heeby-jeebies. I sat upright and then I realized today was a Monday and all that was just a horrible dream.
Even the book. What a night! And I guess for the first ever time I was glad to get out of bed. I got up and hugged my mother who must have been sure I had gone crazy. Phew!! I will never ever, ever get a book from the store across the road.
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Credits for the Doppelgänger post
Cover Image Credits: https://vocal.media/fiction/dusty-tomes-and-hidden-secrets-an-old-book-s-mysterious-note
Inside Image Credits: https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/opened-old-mysterious-book.html
https://www.theclickcommunity.com/blog/10-simple-tips-for-photographing-your-child-jumping-on-the-bed/
Do follow https://ethansliteraryhaven.com/ for more such pieces.
