Double Trouble

Subject: Double Trouble Sat Sep 24, 2011 10:10 am

You know what they say about Doppelgangers being harbingers of illness, bad luck, death and what not. Seeing your own doppelganger foretells your own demise whereas seeing a friend's or relative's doppelganger portends illness or danger befalling on that person. I'm just lucky to be alive and well right now. Nope, I was fortunate enough not to see my doppelganger face to face and I wouldn't even wish for that day to come. But my cousins did. And boy was I scared when one of them told me all about it.

I didn't arrive home until quarter to 1 am since our practice for the cheer-dance competition didn't end until midnight. I was surprised to see my cousin all pale and trembling when she opened the gate for me, like she saw a ghost or something.

"Ate ging, okay ra ka?" (Are you okay ate Ging?) I asked.

"Ambi nakog naa naka sa balay. Nakit-an taka nigawas sa imong kwarto." (I thought you were home already. I saw you come out of your room." She answered softly and anxiously.

"Kwarto? Atika sad uy... Karon lang gani ko abot gikan school..." (My room? Preposterous... I just arrived from school.)

"What's wrong?" I asked her again. "Nothing..." She answered as she fumbled with the lock on the gate and hurriedly went inside.

By then I thought things couldn't get any weirder. She usually greets me with a smile when I get home. I never really actually found out what happened until after the cheer dance competition, which was a week later. But I sure did regret hearing the details.

One of my cousins who were with ate Ging at that time recounted what happened on that night at around 10:00 pm. They were watching TV in the living room when they heard the door to my room open. My room was situated beside the master's bedroom at the end of a hall way. The partition between the hallway and living room wasn't exactly high so anyone from the living room can see the light coming out of my room and anyone coming in and out of my room and the master bedroom.

At that time, the lights in my room were off since, the room is empty. Apparently, they saw me come out the dark, empty room, looking all ashen and sober and somewhat spaced out.

They were a bit surprised to see me home since, first of all, they never saw me enter the house since I left for school at 7 am. Secondly, they know I have cheerleading practice which doesn't end until midnight. And thirdly, since I still don't have a computer with internet and a cable TV in my room yet, I didn't have any choice but to come out of my cave and watch TV in the living room or surf the net in the computer room which is about 3 steps away from the living room. Lastly, if I would even consider locking myself up in my room, I would have the CD player blasting Dave Matthews Band or The Queen of the Damned sound track with my lights on. I hate it when my room's all dark and quiet.

Anyway, there I was, apparently. I walked out of my "empty" room, passing by the hallway, walking down the living room and en route to the computer room without bothering to take notice of the people in the living room. Funny thing was, I was walking in a rather slow pace. I usually don't do that. Though a bit scared, ate Ging still had the balls to call out on me.

"O, naa na diay ka? Ambi nakog unya pa ka uli?" (You're here already. I thought you won't be home until later?) she asked me. But she never got an answer. Apparently, I didn't even bother to stop and look back at her, according to my cousin.

She called out to me again this time with a louder voice to no avail. I just ignored her until I walked into the computer room without bothering to turn on the lights.

Curiosity got the best of ate Ging and 3 of my cousins hanging out in the living room and they all got up to follow me. They just saw me standing up by the book shelf with my back on them, just facing the books and doing nothing.

They started calling out on me but I didn't budge. Thinking I just want to be left alone, they gave up and went back to watching TV and never thought about it again until around quarter to 1 when I (the real me) rang the doorbell. They looked out the window and were flabbergasted to see me outside the gate. They all went back to the computer room to find it empty and still dark.

I'm not exactly Harry Houdini to magically "disappear" in the computer room and "reappear" by the gate outside our house. That's just impossible, maybe even for Harry Houdini.

Collective imagination maybe? Who knows?

But anyway I guess that pretty much explains why Ate Ging was all nervous and shaky when she opened the gate for me on that night.

For the record, I never got sick or had bad luck after that incident contrary to superstitious beliefs about doppelgangers.

Question though... What else do you guys know about doppelgangers aside from what I have mentioned?