Narcissus

A quick reissue. Not as bloody, Erica.

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Narcissus

On a hike in the woods, Ron noticed a path that he'd never seen before. He hiked these trails fairly often and found himself slightly annoyed that he'd failed to notice this path until now. About ten minutes into this new trail he saw a body of water that he’d never seen before. It looked like an enormous mirror laid out on the ground. It was beautiful, surrounded by wildflowers; it stretched out across the meadow-still, peaceful, and completely clear. He wondered why no one else on the trail had stopped to watch it or to go for a swim.

Ron walked up to it, amazed at how still the water was. He dropped a penny into it, and the ripples that emanated from it disappeared almost immediately.

Ron thought he could see some fish moving around under the surface, so he got down on his knees and looked closer.

When he saw his reflection, he noticed that he looked much younger somehow. He looked as well as he did when he was still in school. Then he saw the background. It was his old college campus! Whirling around, Ron saw that he was still in the woods. When he looked back, he saw himself walking to class, going about his day just as he remembered. As he watched the pool, he saw that this version of his life was being played out differently. The version he was watching stuck with his major, worked hard, and graduated in four years.

Ron did not remember doing it that way.

In college, Ron quickly abandoned his lifelong dream of opening up a restaurant, dropped his business major, and became a phys ed major, because it seemed that any degree would do. He worked hard enough to almost get by, and eventually graduated in six years, long after his friends had finished and moved on with their lives.

After school, he moved from one job to the next, eventually settling down in a job repairing vending machines. It was an empty existence, but an easy one, and he had no intention of straying from his path of least resistance.



A bright flash appeared in the pool, and Ron saw that it was his graduation day. His doppelganger had scored an internship with a startup restaurant in town. While working there, he gained experience and the esteem of his coworkers, and eventually moved on to open his own place.

Ron was lying on his stomach, propping his head up on his hands, lost in this alternate reality.

His twin managed the restaurant with the same diligence that he'd finished school with. He worked through the initial struggles of a new business, then he found his groove and enjoyed the eventual success of his business.

His nose was practically touching the water.

He watched as his other self lived his dream, living a rewarding and eventful life. The life he should have been living. He'd never been so happy.

When the police arrived on the scene, they marveled at how a man could drown in an inch-deep puddle of mud.