The Sim-ilar Archive Of Every Double Ganger

Chapter 1

The first time I saw my twin, was also the first time I looked into my own eyes.
I'm going to start this with a rant. I'm sorry, I know I do too much of it. And you will notice this later. But this is how it always begins. With a crazy theory.

Okay so have you heard of that theory where we don't ever really see ourselves. At least not the way people see us. And not even in the philosophical way. We just look at our self in the mirror. And that's not you. That's you + the mirror. And how crazy is that? How crazy is it that you probably look so much different to others.

And so when I saw her at the mall, I kind of saw colours I'd never seen before. And I heard sirens. And people screaming. And just like that, my world was never the same again.

I know what you're wondering. How did I run into my twin at the age of sixteen years ? And that too at the mall? Well she isn't my twin. At least not right now. Right now she is just a girl who looks exactly like me. And, oh Lord, I cannot even explain the exactness of the situation. I saw in her hazel eyes the one spot of light that I saw in my own. I saw her hair do the exact thing that my hair does, where it can't be classified as straight or curly.

But at the same time, there was so much difference. There was a hardness in her face that made me wonder what happened to her. There was a tilt in her neck as if shed lost a bit of a fight. There was something about her face that was like me, but still not me. She was a watered down version of me. If I was GTA 4 she was GTA 3.

The way we met itself was nothing. Wedding season also known as shopping season had begun. And my mother had dragged me to yet another mall store for the perfect dress for her sister's husband's brother's wedding. I cannot even begin to explain how characteristic that is to an Indian mom. There is always dragging involved. Dragging is just how I travel now.

Anyway so while she sifted through the Shoppers stop sale I escaped. I was supposed to meet my best friend, Vedika. She was going to meet me at McDonald's on the fourth floor. And just while I was walking all the way round the place to get the escalator. I saw her, and the funny part is I almost missed it.
I stood there for what felt like eternities just observing. So long that it was actually funny.

" Are you seeing what I'm seeing?", she asked with the most amused expression on her face.

I said to her reciprocating the exact feeling, " It's like I stepped out of a parallel universe."

" Well, isn't this creepy" she added

" All my hopes and dreams of being The Greatest Prankster Of All Times are flashing in front of my eyes" I said in a trance.

In the Channel of My Brain, at least five shows have to be about imagines. And there's most action at night. I creep into my bed and hosted by Anxiety is The Existential Crisis. Anyway so my point is. I have always loved the idea of twin pranks. And I just finished a show called "Pretty Little Liars" That show has so much twin stuff that they should patent it.

And so looking at this sudden doppelganger, it would be completely uncharacteristic of me to not think about a massive prank including weeks of rehearsals. And in favour of being My True Flawless Self( as instructed by anybody who is anybody) I make it a point to do it.

"Um, so what's your name", she asked, breaking my internal monologue.

That's when I realised, that I just spent five minutes staring at her face. And in spirit of my latest decision. It was not going well for me. I needed to think on my feet if I wanted to do this.

So I said to her, " Um, I'm sorry I've been staring, but this is really crazy. I'm usually called Simran , but my friends joke that I'm a Sim because at times I just get stuck half step, lost in thought. And since I just zoned out you can see why. Oh god I'm over talking again. What's your name?"

And I suddenly realised, she was shy. And I was a bumble bee.

She flushed and replied, " Vasudha"
" Hi", I said with my best smile and a handshake.

Observation 1:
She isn't much of a talker
But I could find my way around that. I can make anybody talk. Or that is what I always believed. And a thing is a thing only if you believe it. I've spent a whole lifetime looking for a "thing" for myself. And as a result, I didn't have one. I had a million. And what do you do with that? You forget about them. Obviously the natural course of action.

She replied with a polite Hello and I could see just how much the conversation was over for her. But I couldn't resist. I had three long months of holiday and an entire unplanned college life ahead of me. And a head start could work for me. I had to do something. I couldn't let this opportunity walk past me and into Global Desi.

So I fought past my instincts yelling goodbye to my social etiquettes. That's not the sort of thing you do in India. The risk of one being a stalker or creep is way too high to dole out numbers at malls.

" Um I know it may sound creepy,but could I have your number? It's quite a coincidence to run into you here. And that's something I want to keep just in case I might need a stand by twin", I said with as much chill as I could muster.

She put in on my phone and I gave her missed call and was treated to the Nokia tune that would now be on my mind all day.

And I said a quick bye with a smile and walked away, trying to think about anything but the one track on my mind. The Nokia Twin