The Raven

Deja vu

The creepy laughter sounded bizarrely familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. I was sure that it was laughter I knew all too well, but I was unable to give a face to the voice. It felt like it had been a part of me, and that I must remember it but my unconscious mind kept protecting me by not sharing the information with me. 

Probably it figured I was too fragile to face yet another spooky creature so soon. If it was just another creature, then why did the sound of that voice, that hair-raising evil laughter sound so familiar? The monsters from hell didn't really have a habit of roaming the Earth, did they? 

All I knew for sure was that all too soon I would have more answers than I really wanted, so I just kept on approaching the towering dark mountain. 

Standing in front of a monstrous giant it seemed as if it might squash me or eat me, depending on its mood. The howling of the wind (how could there be wind? ) mixed with the strange cacophony of the familiar laughter was so ominous that I didn't really know what I could expect next. 

"What was worse than the horrors I had witnessed and the evil creatures I had fought?" I wondered. Then I saw it.

I saw her. Her back was turned to me and her long black hair was wildly blown by the strong wind. That hair, I knew it too well. I had combed it so many times over the years that there was no mistaking it. Even before she turned around, I knew who she was. 

And yes, it could get worse, much worse. Because the evil being I was confronted with was something much more terrifying than a demon or the six-headed dog-like monster. Her face was so pale but her eyes were still the same dark brown that I remembered. The same eyes I saw every morning when I go up. 

It was me! I was face to face with myself! Nothing prepared me for that, how was I supposed to win in a battle against myself? Was it even possible? 

She was me, but I guess she wasn't completely me. She seemed to lack something, something crucial. What she lacked was soul. She was just a soulless humanoid creature, and she shouldn't have worried me. If that was true why were my palms sweating and why was my heart beating a mile a minute? Somehow deep down in my very soul I knew it would be the most difficult battle ever led, in which my sword or my new powers, would be of no use to me.

As she turned she noticed my presence and suddenly stopped laughing. The sound of the howling wind was even more haunting without the chilling laughter, which seemed impossible. Her eyes changed color suddenly and instead of the eyes I saw every day in the mirror, I saw they were something else. It was some kind of misty yellow color, that was even more ghastly as it stood there, on my face, on our face. 

I had never thought of myself as intimidating, but once I saw my face with those creepy eyes I was more frightened than I had ever been before, dead or alive. How was that possible? Could that be me? Could I become it? Those were just some questions that went through my head.

It cocked its head as if sizing me up. Then a deep dark whisper could be heard over the sound of the wind. It immediately gave me goosebumps. 

"Hello, the other me. Is it weird that I like the sound of screaming?" She asked contemplatively as if continuing her thoughts out loud. 

My throat was so dry that I couldn't say anything, not that there was anything to say to such a weird statement. 

"I have always had a strong urge to dig my fingers into a person's eye sockets, maybe I can try that out with you. It would be a bit unnerving and weird, like digging a finger into my own eye sockets but it could be fun." She said and fell into a peal of demented laughter. 

It lasted for quite some time, so I got the chance to try to get my bearings.

What was she? 

If it weren't for those demonic eyes even I would have thought it was me. I could vaguely remember reading something in the old books about... about an evil twin, I think. Not an actually twin but someone who looks and sounds like you but is actually your evil counterpart. 

Doppelganger, yes that was it. That is how the books referred to it. It was a being that physically resembled you but was usually evil and in search of using your weaknesses, which it knew too well, against you to achieve its evil plans. 

Well, I thought it was just a myth, so I didn't pay a lot of attention to it at the time. 

At that moment, I wished I had paid more attention because although I could identify my opponent I had no idea how to go past her and reach the Dark Lord's lair. 

As all these thoughts ran through my head, I could hear that the unnerving laughter had seized. "Too bad I would have to ruin such a beautiful face. I always found it perfect, but maybe it will be even better to kill the one who has used our body for such a disgusting purpose, to be good. What a despicable thing to do! To sacrifice yourself to save your friend's soul, and how hard did I laugh when I heard that you actually killed her. " She exclaimed happily. 

"I will enjoy eating the flesh of your bones because it will go back to the one to whom it truly belongs. Let the games begin! " She yelled as she prepared to attack me.