She stumbles as she enters the room. Tripped over something that she could not see in the dark, I assume. Almost comical how much she is still the same, after all these years.
She doesn't notice me of course, despite the fact that I'm sitting on her bed. It is pitch black, after all. And she's tired. She's had a long day of being an idiotic little thirteen-year-old and it is near midnight.
She doesn't even turn on her light before she walks towards the bed and grabs onto the first rung of her bunk bed.
I clear my throat.
She screams and jumps.
"Hush!" I scold, keeping my voice quiet. She whimpers and runs towards the light switch. I don't even try to stand as she flips it on. I blink in the sudden brightness; I've been sitting here for over an hour in the dark after all.
"Who....are you? What are you doing in my room?" She is speaking in a louder tone than I wish she would, but I don't answer immediately. Just heave a great sigh.
My head is turned from her and she walks around the bed to get a better view of my face. When she finally gets within distance to see my face, I look up to meet her eyes.
She jumps back again. At this point I don't really know how she is going to react and I'd really prefer if she didn't start screaming again.
"I'll answer your questions if you promise to not scream or yell or run for anyone." I say quickly. I watch her eyes flick to the door and I sigh, annoyed.
"Allison."
She jumps at the sound of her name. She glances back at me and I can tell what she is thinking.
"Don't do it."
She looks from the door to me and back again. And then she starts towards it.
I move faster than I would have thought possible before today. I have my hand around her mouth and have her away from the door before her hand can grip the doorknob.
"Allison," I say again, trying to calm her. "Shut up and listen to me for a minute."
I drag her back to the bed and sit her down. She bites my hand which is over her mouth. I roll my eyes at her.
"Look at me." I take my hand away from her lips. She is staring at me with confusion and she is kind of starting to strain my patience.
"Come on. You know you recognize me. It's not like it's been that many years."
"But....it can't be." She whispers and my eyes roll again.
"And why not? It's not like you've not seen a similar scene to this in movies."
"I must be dreaming." She begins to shake her head. I grip her wrist and she looks down at our identical skin tones. I pull her up off the bed and to the mirror she has next to it. She stares at our reflections and I look at them too. It is certainly a strange sight. We could be sisters. Of course, we aren't. We are the same. Literally. She is a mirror image of myself and it is almost headache inducing.
"If it was a dream, you wouldn't be able to feel my hand around your wrist. But anyway. That's not what matters. What matters is that I am here." I turn her to face me, and it is strange to be taller than her. She is several inches shorter than me and her blue eyes glisten with confusion.
"Okay, you're here. But why? How?"
"Those aren't the questions I'm here to answer. Start with the simplest of your questions." I order her and sit down on the bed again. She sits down on the farthest side from me and stares at me for a long moment before her mouth opens again.
