She found herself in an empty room. At first, she thought she was just dreaming. But the more she looked around, the more she realized that it wasn’t a dream. She walked up to the door and opened it. And there she was again in an empty room. It was not the same room. It was empty just like the first one. But this one was different. It felt different. She was scared. She tried to remain calm but her heart started beating faster. She was sweating profusely. She almost wanted to cry but to her dismay, the tears wouldn’t come. She wanted to scream but her voice was muffled.

    She sat on the floor, breathing in and out. This time, it worked. She became calmer with every deep breath. And as her fear turned into her instinct to survive, she began to examine the empty room. It was not exactly empty as she initially thought. She realized there was someone else in the room. And to her horror, the person looked exactly like her. She shook her head in disbelief.

    She woke up after some time. Hours, she assumed. But she couldn’t remember how or when she fell asleep. She had a lot of questions. Why was she here? Who brought her here? Who was that girl who looked exactly like her? How was she going to get out?

    Finally, something jogged her memory. She started remembering who that other girl was and why they were both in that room. She had been alone and lonely most of her life, so she created her, the only person who truly understood her. And she built a room, that room, so they could be together. But it was all in her head. The doppelgänger. The room. Was it really just a fantasy? Some delusion of grandeur? She was not convinced, so she stayed there. In that room. With her. And she planned on staying for good.

Sahara Piang

Sahara Piang is a self-published author of When Poetry Becomes You and has previously authored, and co-authored academic pieces, including peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, government reports, technology primers, and commentaries on policy forum and news websites. She is the founder and owner of the first independent book store in the City of Koronadal, South Cotabato, Philippines. Her official website is saharapiang.com.