Word: Doppelganger

 

doppelgänger

or Doppelgänger

[ dop-uhl-gang-er; German daw-puhl-geng-er ]

noun

1. a ghostly double or counterpart of a living person.

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               Darren looked at himself. Not in the mirror, or in any other reflective surface. He looked at another him. The two Darrens stood there, looking each other for several seconds before the copy spoke.

               “So, uh, this is really awkward. You weren’t supposed to be awake.”

               Darren, the real one, was not quite sure what to think of that. “Why not?”

               “Would’ve made things a lot easier. Now I’m not really sure what to do.”

               “What were you going to do? And who, what, are you?”

               Clone Darren looked almost ashamed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m a doppelganger. I was going to do all the normal doppelganger stuff. You know, kill you in your sleep and take over your life for various reasons.”

               Darren was not sure what to think about that. He was, oddly enough, remarkably calm about the entire situation. “And you’re not going to do that now?”

               “Nah. I can only do that by getting the drop on you. Right now, you’d fight back and my fighting ability is pretty much nil. Even less than yours.”

               “Ouch. That’s gotta suck.” Considering he had never been in a fight and was not exactly at the pinnacle of physical ability, he could imagine how weak the dopple was. “So, what happen now?”

               “Oh geeze, I don’t actually know. I can’t exactly leave. All the other doppelgangers will have a field day if they find out. I’ll pretty much be a complete outcast.”

               “That sucks. Hey are there a lot of you guys around?”

               “More than you think. I’m not gonna go around ratting out my own kind though.”

               “Fair enough.”

               The two stood there, once again descending into awkward silence. Then Darren got an idea.

               “Hey, how about we make use of this?”

               “How so?”

               “We do the whole twins trade places thing. Do you have my memories and stuff?”

               “Right now, only surface level stuff. Normally I’d get all that by eating you, but there are other ways. Way that, you know, leave you alive an intact.”

               Darren was very glad to hear that. Being eaten was not high on his to-do list. “Okay, so here’s the deal. I’m not thrilled with my job, and would love a day or two off. But my boss isn’t the best person in the world. So, you take my place for a day or two, then we switch back and keep going. Maybe a full week or so for each of us.”

               “Hm, sounds like a raw deal on my end. What do I get out of it?”

               “Room and board, for one. I live alone, so nobody’s going to question why there’s two of me. Also, it’d probably be pretty easy to get a few spare IDs and credit cards and stuff. As long as you don’t go super overboard, we can split the bank account.”

               Dopple-Darren held his chin in thought. “Won’t that drain your money pretty quick?”

               “I have a few ideas for a side hustle that could make bank. I just never had time to actually do any of it. Without having to go into work every day, I could do that.” He was quite confident in his ideas. They may not make him a millionaire, but they’d at least pay the bills. At least if everything worked out. And he’d still have a full-time job to keep things going.

               “Hm. You know, that might actually work.” Dopple-Darren said. “Well, depending on what you’re planning. It’ll be a bit confusing for my kind, but who knows, maybe this’ll lead to a new era in human-doppelganger relations. Let’s do it.”

               “Alright, great. We’ll iron out the details in the morning?” Darren asked.

               “Yeah, sure thing. See ya then.”

               Without even asking where he would be sleeping, Dopple-Darren left real Darren’s bedroom. Most likely headed for the guest bedroom that never actually got used. Darren shrugged and got into bed. He could figure all this out in the morning.

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 I wish something like this would happen. It'd be great. Although I might not know what to do with myself if it ever did.

Word: Eyesome

 

eyesome

[ ahy-suhm ]

adjective

 Archaic.

1. pleasant to look at.

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               When Ben woke up, he was on a beach. A sprawling, white sand beach. The gently lapping waves of the ocean were soothing and formed interesting patterns in the sand. Behind him was an array of tropical plants, forming a colorful barrier separating the surf from the land. It was beautiful. Idyllic, even. Practically something out of a postcard.

               And Ben had no idea where he was. He tried to remember where he had come from, but he kept drawing a blank. He remembered the smell of chemicals and lights that were a bit too bright. The details of anything about his former location were missing though.

               Well, if he had to wake up in an unknown location, at least it was a nice place. Not like some of the stories he had read where the protagonist wakes up in a deep dark forest. No, a peaceful beach was a fine place to have been spirited away to.

               The sound of soft footsteps on the sand reached his ears. He turned to see who was there. It was a woman. And she was just ass beautiful as the beach. That is, she looked right out of a magazine. Features so flawless he was not sure if it was natural or due to some very expensive makeup. A light, almost translucent sundress that hinted at her curves in the gentle breeze. She even wore a beach hat to shield her face from the sun.

               Really, she was the kind of woman one would expect to find on a beach like this. She stopped in front of him and gave a gentle smile.

               “Hello.” She said simply.

               “Uh, hi.”

               “You’re new here, yes?”

               “Considering I don’t even know where I am, I’d say so.”

               “Oh you don’t need to worry about things like that. It’s not important. What is important is that you’re here now.”

               Ben was not so sure. He could think of several reasons why knowing his current location was important. Just knowing how he got there from his previous location would answer a lot of things. He still had no idea where that was. He recalled some kind of rhythmic beeping. And lots of people coming and going. Yes, there were definitely more people. Some of them might even be worried about him.

               “Are you sure?” Ben asked. “I mean, knowing where I am seems pretty important.”

               “Quite sure.” The woman said. “But if you really want to know, I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon enough. I would recommend not thinking about it though. Those thoughts don’t end well.”

               “What do you mean?”

               “Oh just that others who think about minor things like that tend to not do well. It ruins things for them. And why would you want to ruin all of this for anyone?” She asked, spreading her arms wide and doing a small spin.

               “It is a nice place.” Ben admitted. He was not sure why knowing where he was would cause problems, but he could think about that later. “So, if you’re not going to tell me where we are, can you at least show me around? There is more here than the beach, right?”

               The woman seemed to perk up right away. “Oh, yes. Lot’s more. More than you could do in a hundred lifetimes.” She went to his side and hooked an arm around his and gently guided him away from the beach. “Come on, I’ll give you the tour. At least, part of it. There’s so much here that it would be hard to show you everything on your first day.”

               The two of them walked towards the vegetation, the woman talking about some of the many things to do. As they went, Ben thought he felt something brush against his back. Feathers? It felt like feathers, but he did not see any birds around, nor did the woman have anything with feathers on it. Oh well, it was a faint feeling, so he probably just imagined it. He would figure it all out later. After all, he had all the time in the world. 

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Okay, it's pretty clear what's happening, right? Like, it's not that hard to figure out? Okay, just making sure everyone's on the same page here.

Word: Venerable

 

venerable

[ ven-er-uh-buhl ]

adjective

1. commanding respect because of great age or impressive dignity; worthy of veneration or reverence, as because of high office or noble character:

   a venerable member of Congress.

2. a title for someone proclaimed by the Roman Catholic Church to have attained the first degree of sanctity or of an Anglican archdeacon.
3. (of places, buildings, etc.) hallowed by religious, historic, or other lofty associations:

   the venerable halls of the abbey.

4. impressive or interesting because of age, antique appearance, etc.:

   a venerable oak tree.

5. extremely old or obsolete; ancient:

   a venerable automobile.

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               The novices entered the great hall. Most of them looked around at the resplendent room. The entire thing was a testament to the beauty of simplicity. Everything there looked simple and functional. But anyone with any real senses could tell it was anything but. The long carpet that lined the floor looked like it had been spun out of wool, but those who knew what it actually was could tell it was worth more than some cities. The wood the room was made out of was older than most nations. Even the candles that lit the place were worth more than most could make in a lifetime.

               Most of the novices were looking at the place, admiring everything in it. One was focused on the two people in the center of the room. One was the Venerable Elder, and the other an attendant. An old man sat in a chair that, like the rest of the room, was simple in appearance only. He wore voluminous robes that concealed his form, white hair that was cut short, and a matching beard that nearly touched the floor.

               The other was a small woman. She wore the robes of a servant and wore her dark hair in a tight bun. The novice thought she was quite pretty, but there was no chance he would voice such an opinion. Not here.

               The old man looked over the assembled novices and his eyes narrowed. He glanced at the woman, who stepped forward a few steps.

               “The Venerable Elder acknowledges the novices, and forgives your lack of manners as you do not know any better yet.  This will, of course, be your first lesson when you start.”

               The novices shuffled nervously. Had they done something wrong already? One of them looked closer at the two figures. There was something off about the situation, but he could not quite put his finger on what. Before he could, the old man spoke in a deep, booming voice.

               “Be grateful, young ones. For I shall personally give you your first lesson. When entering the room of an Elder, the first and last thing you must do is bow to them. I trust none of you are so foolish as to not know how to do that.”

               The novice focused on the words and suddenly, it dawned on him. He took a deep breath and cleared his mind. It was still not easy, and took a moment to do, but he focused on the flow of energy that permeated all things. He was only able to do so for less than a second, but in that short time he saw just what was happening, and what he needed to do.

               All the novices bowed. Most did so to the old man on the chair. One bowed to the young woman at his side. This was immediately noticed by all. The other novices were confused. The old man and woman looked at each other. The man spoke.

               “You there, novice. Why do you bow to her and not to me?”

               “Because, sir, although you are an elder, she is the Venerable Elder.”

               “Oh? And what makes you say this?” He asked.

               “Forgive me, but I looked at you both with the true sight. Sir elder, your energy is strong, but not what someone as lofty as the Venerable Elder should be. But when I looked at madam, I saw nothing. A being with no energy at all. I know little of the ways of the world, but I know that only the dead should have no energy at all. Which means she is hiding it. The only reason for this that I can think of is that she is the true Venerable Elder testing us novices.”

               The room was silent for a moment. Then a small sound came. The woman’s lips curled into a smile to match the small laugh that escaped her. That small laugh flowed into more.

               “You see? I told you there would be one to figure it out.” She said joyfully.

               The old man sighed and stood, leaving his chair. “Yes. Yes you did, Elder.”

               He stepped to the side and the woman took him place. The other novices looked horrified that they had messed up, but the woman, the Venerable Elder, did not seem mad at all.

               “Excellent work, young one. I shall be paying quite a bit of attention to your growth. I hope you continue to show the intelligence that you showed today. As for the rest of you, fear not. This was indeed a test, but there is no punishment for failing. It was simply a way for me to know which of you deserves to be watched more closely. Now then, I will say that my attendant did not lie. Your first lesson shall be given by the Venerable Elder, but it is not a lesson in basic manners. Instead, I shall teach you the most important lesson you will ever learn.

               “Always be aware of what is really happening. And never make assumptions based on appearances.”

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Oh yeah, you know there's going to be some magic kung-fu stuff going on. I mean, come on, is there any other way this could go?