Pathfinder: Identity Crisis

Chapter 1: Reflections

Chapter 1: Reflections

‘’Hmm….that wasn’t too bad I guess…’’

In a miraculous twist of fate, Virgil had successfully completed a 15 page report in 3 hours, all that with the help of a day-old cup of coffee and 4 cigarettes. Contented, he stretched his hairy arms and let out a boisterous yawn.

Now, he needed a bath. Virgil got up, grabbing the essentials from a bedside drawer and a pair of sweatpants strewn across his messy unmade bed. Snuggling effortlessly into them, he exited his room and entered the corridor, making his way to the block’s bathroom at the end. There was only one shared throughout the entire block, and it was absolutely absurd for the college to have that built on the top floor. Virgil was fortunate to have a room on the top floor though. It was a total bummer for the rest of the guys living below. Virgil chuckled at the thought as he reached the entrance of the bathroom.

A strange phenomenon occurred the moment his foot padded onto the green-tiled floor. As he stepped in, Virgil did not see showerheads, sinks or cubicles, but a wide empty green space. It was as if someone had the entire bathroom renovated, but strangely enough there were no signs of concrete being chipped off or white plaster on the walls. This sent Virgil reeling from the shock as his eyeballs began shifting in all directions, leaning with his back pressed against the wall while trying to comprehend what was happening. Holy crap, Virgil thought, thinking it might actually be a renovation. Did the management actually heed the feedback from the guys living in the lower levels of the block? Sheesh. That escalated quickly.

‘’Well shit…guess that day has finally come eh?’’ Virgil said as he rolled his eyes. Pushing himself upright again, he made for the corridor again when something else caught his attention. Just when it couldn’t get anymore weirder, he saw a figure of a boy standing in a corner of the renovated bathroom. An instant jaw dropper, it made the 22 year old stare and tilt his head, suddenly drawn by it’s simple yet mysterious aura. Then again, a kid appearing out of nowhere in a bathroom is worth investigating anytime.

A frown appeared on Virgil’s face as he backed away from the entrance and slowly paced towards this young kid, who looked awfully familiar. He had hazelnut brown hair like his, and as he gently closed into a three quarter view, Virgil saw that he had the same blue irises like him! Those green overalls he wore! And that yellow shirt with black horizontal stripes! White sneakers with all that dried mud splattered all over from playing in the backyard back home as a kid! Virgil came to a shocking conclusion: The child he stood in front of WAS him. 4 year old Virgil Remus!

Beads of cold sweat formed and rolled down the side of his face as he stood there, stunned by what he was seeing. Could this be another dream or vision? Why is he suddenly seeing a younger version of himself?

‘’Oh God! Is…is that actually me?!’’ Virgil whispered, still in disbelief at what he perceived. The child just stood there, even after the countless times Virgil rubbed his eyes. Many questions began flooding Virgil’s mind as he continued staring at the younger version of himself. Both of them said nothing the entire time since Virgil’s discovery of the boy in the corner. As much as he wanted to, it was impossible for Virgil at the point to speak to him, as what was happening at the current moment was just too overwhelming for his senses.

Prying his mind out of disbelief, Virgil gently lowered himself to one knee, locking eyes with the child at his height. Contrary to common experience, most people would have identified this as a hallucination, but that was not the case for Virgil, for he had what he considered, a healthy lifestyle and a reasonably sufficient amount of sleep last night. Without uttering a single word, Virgil shakily reached out his hand and gently felt the boy’s arm. He had expected his entire hand to seep through a ghostly veil, but a sheer reign of terror gripped his senses as his hand intercepted real cotton, and felt the warmth that was produced by the human flesh beneath his clothes!