Echoes Of The Mind

Time Travel And Duplicates

I tossed around in my sleep, interrupted by the harsh rays of sunlight peering from my windows, casting a bright gleam on my bed. "UGH!" I sighed in annoyance and hauled my blanket over my almost blinded eyes.

BANG!

A loud noise from downstairs made me flinch in surprise. I jolted upright in my bed immediately, clutching my blanket as a shield against my body. What was that?! The worst part was that I was alone at home...

Ting ting ting ting

A chill of trepidation ran through my spine and my body froze. It was as if someone was tapping a rhythm on the metal staircase that led up to the floor where my bedroom was. The same rhythm I always tap with my fingers whenever I am bored. The same rhythm that no one except me knew. "Mom? Dad? Is that you downstairs?" I called out; my lips were trembling. I could only desperately hope it was just them, playing a prank on me. Hearing no answer, I stared wide-eyed at my closed door that was only a few feet away from the foot of my bed, terrified that someone was going to burst in and attack me.

I heaved a few deep and shaky breaths and forced my frozen legs on the floor, tiptoeing towards my door. Clammy hands on the handle, I opened my door as quietly as possible and peaked through the staircase. I could see the windows surrounding the stairs on the floor beneath. A feeling of deja-vu greeted my mind as if I have experienced this situation before but I could not remember clearly no matter how tightly I shut my eyes to clear my memories. Suddenly, my toy car rolling by itself on the floor interrupted my thoughts. What the hell?! Did it really move by itself? ...Or is there...truly an intruder in my house?

No, it couldn't be! I consoled myself in a bid to calm my throbbing heart. That only ever happens in

movies! Taking it as a mere product of my hyperactive imagination, I turned away to back to bed when a movement in my peripheral vision haltered my steps. There was a pair of pink shoes peeking from the curtains downstairs and a silhouette was hiding behind them. The shape of its head slowly turned in my direction and as if the figure spotted me, it hauled the curtains away and speedily ran upstairs towards me with booming steps. Extreme fear gripped my body and clouded my judgment, making me only able to stumble backward in shock. Then, the adrenaline kicked in and I was immediately in the flight mode. Regaining my senses, I raced towards my room and shut my door. But the figure was faster than my frozen body and rammed their shoulders against the door as I was about to lock it. I pushed my skinny body against the door with all my might but in vain. The figure was already slithering through the open slit and forced their way inside my room.

The person fell on the floor on their knees with a thud. It was a girl with a tight bun lying messily on her head, strands escaping as if she ran a marathon. She was wearing loose familiar clothes and she was of a smaller build than me. Grabbing my lamp, with adrenaline still coursing through my veins, I braced myself to lunge at her when she lifted her face and stared at me with familiar eyes.

We were both surprised; our chests were heaving up and down heavily and we let out a shocked gasp at the same time. I lost my footing and slid to the floor, not believing my eyes.

The intruder gaping at me was none other than myself – my past-self from five years ago. My 13-year old self hesitantly crawled towards me, her small hand inching towards my face to decipher whether it was an illusion in front of her or not. Upon contact, pain shot through the connected skin as if kilovolts of electricity rattled our bodies. We wailed in pain and crawled away as far from each other as possible, my past-self clutching her hand to her chest whilst I buried my face in my hands to stop the pain.

"Who the hell are you?!" we shouted at the same time. The difference in our voices was barely subtle. Hers was shriller whereas mine more mature from the age gap. "This...this...this is impossible!" she stammered. "This must be a...dream!"