Aaaahh!

  "Where am I?" I said in a dazed tone.

  I rubbed my eyes groggily, the blur fading out as I slowly opened my eyes; the chandelier on the ceiling came into view.

  The ceiling was different. It was in ivory, with golden patterns embedded on it. Not the one I knew

  "Where am I?" I said my mind, clearing away.

  "What am I doing here? Wasn't I in Golden Estate? What's happening?"

  I shot myself up from the plush bed, which had red bedspreads and vanilla pillows.

  This bed is quite comfy, but what am I doing here? Wasn't I being beaten by those idiots? I thought.

  I made my way stumbling around the house to the bathroom, which I knew exactly where it was for some reason. I looked up at the calendar it was 2054, Month of Selune, 6th.

  "Isn't today the day of Mom's and Dad's execution?"

  I reached the vanity and looked at the mirror; my face looked older. I was around in my late twenties.

  "When did I get old? Is this the afterlife? Did I really die?"

  I felt something in my head.

  "Agghhh, why does it hurt so much?"

  Memories started to flood in, not mine but the memories of this body.

  "Right, I am twenty eight. My name is Arggghhh, it's Duncan Kerr?"

  I momentarily took a step back and stared at my face in the mirror.

  "No, what is happening? Am I dreaming? I am Alyss, right?"

  I scratched my head, I sat back on the couch.

  "Am I dreaming? This is the afterlife. Something's wrong."

  I pinched myself, the spot throbbing.

  "So I am not dreaming."

  Beep-beep! Beep-beep!

  Ah!

  I jumped as the alarm rang

  "Who sets an alarm in the middle of the day?"

  I walked over to the desk to dismiss the clock, and I read the time, 15:00, with a note saying, "Get ready for the office."

  This is reality. Yes, I am Duncan Kerr, a twenty eight-year-old engineer who works an evening shift at Pillar & Co., and I should get to work right now. But why is Alyss still on my mind? It's just a nightmare; it must be a vivid dream. I should stop watching horror series before getting to bed, like Shona said.

  Wait, who is Shona? Why did it slip out of my mouth?

  "Shona, Shona, Shona," I mumbled as I was getting dressed. I opened the wardrobe to a neatly ironed pair of shirts and trousers with a memo note on it read, "Don't forget to buy bread when coming back home, luv," with a lip mark on it.

  Right, Shona is my wife, she was a year younger than me. We got married three months ago, but why did I forget about it? I can't even make out her face. Something's wrong. Was it because of the dream of being a child without swirls? That's lousy.

  Wait, swirls, how many do I have?

  I quickly untucked my shirt and lifted it up to my navel surrounded by twenty one swirls. I felt happy, as if it were when I saw the tower cake Mom and Dad bought me on my fifth birthday.

  I should try it out. What's my ability? Why can't I remember it?

  I rubbed my index fingertip with my thumb; a small hole formed in the index finger, and a mini tool came out. I was able to change what that tool was from a screwdriver to a precision laser. My ability allows me to pinpoint fabrication; that's one of the reasons Duncan became an engineer.

  Why am I being happy because I have a swirl? Something is definitely wrong; it's that dream. It must be; it's just a nightmare, nothing more. I am not Alyss, I am just Duncan Kerr, and it's a nightmare. Then why do I know everything about Alyss but forget about me? No, I am not Alyss. Alyss is just a dream, nothing more, nothing less. I clapped my cheeks and said out loud,

  "Wake up, Alyss, it's just a dream."

  What? Why did I say, Alyss instead of Duncan? No, no, no, this isn't happening, it's a dream. Think, Aly-Duncan. just get to work;Just you are getting late.

  I wore my jacket and exited my apartment, still dazed, my mind still reeling over the events in my dream where I was stomped to death. It was such a terrible dream. As I stepped into the familiar street of Golden Estate, the clock ticking at 15:15, I looked around with an unease.

  *****

  clack-clack-clack-clack

  What am I working on? Why can't I remember everything completely? I know that in today's work schedule I should finish the rest of the firmware debugging, but why can't I remember what I did? and why do I feel And so tired already? I work till 22:00 and take a break, yet it's just 18:45, but why am I so tired? Why is everything so vague, but I could remember everything about myself? No, I could remember everything about Alyss but not about myself, Shona, and my workplace. It all starts to connect with the flow when I meet someone. Why could I remember the dream so vividly but this life vaguely? Something is seriously wrong with me, maybe I should check on the internet what's happening. I am not Alyss, I am Duncan. There is no point in denying it.

  Stolen story; please report.

  I tried to deny it, my mind going around in circles over the same thing. I thought about my childhood, but everything came from Alyss, not mine. I tried to avert my mind to the cabin, the small, hundred sqft room with textured walls, once white, now yellowish from the piled dust. A red trash can almost full next to the office computer, the air conditioner buzzing, the leaking water dampening the wall, which was already covered with damp marks.

  "I should inform the boss to fix it for me."

  It's getting chilly in here.

  "Aero, set the temperature to twenty-two degrees," I commanded.

  The air conditioner whirred, and with two beeps, the temperature was set to twenty-two, the room heating up instantly. That's better. I took a sip of the cold brew and lifted my gaze up to the ceiling, a bulb dangling between its domed shade. I moved my eyes towards the wallpaper on the wall behind the office desk, a bright abstract paint covered in some dirt and residue. The abstract art formed an image of a tiger in the center, its eyes staring.

  "This is the wallpaper I bought for two thousand three hundred Lumes, right? It was said that from whatever angle we look at it from, the tiger will always look at us. An artist sure is brilliant."

  No matter what I did, my mind didn't leave the gutter; only one thought was circling around.

  Is Alyss really me? Don't think about Aly-Duncan. You are Duncan Kerr, not Alyss, not a swirly guy. You are a good man, and you have nothing to do with Alyss, and it's just a dream.

  "Hey there, pal, what are you doing slacking off work?"

  I turned around and saw a bald guy; it instantly reminded me of the bald guy who stomped me.

  I shouldn't think about it. This man is Euan Reid, my colleague, and he works in the R&D.

  "Nothing, Euan just had a dream, which is still in mind even though it's been three hours."

  "What did you dream of, Duncan? another dream where you got turned into a worm?"

  Wait, when was that dream? If it's something silly, Duncan would definitely remember. No, I would remember.

  "No, it isn't in that level of weirdness; I'm just trying to figure out why my mind is still dazed."

  "Well, you might be in a hypnopompic state."

  "Hypno-what?"

  "Hypnopompic state is when you wake up from a dream and you still feel dazed and stuff. You must be in one."

  "Oh, when did you become so smart?"

  "You know I like to read stuff."

  "Didn't know we had a bookworm in here."

  "Not books, but articles"

  "What's the difference? "Both of them are just a bunch of words and punctuation."

  "Did you get hit in the head? you are dumber than usual today"

  "No, I am not. It must be because of the hypnopompic state."

  "The hypnopompic state doesn't make a person dumb like a kid."

  I held my breath and slowly exhaled.

  "Kids aren't dumb."

  "Most of the time they are."

  "You never had a kid around, did you? They are pretty smart."

  Wait, why am I defending a kid? What's the point of defending Alyss?

  "Not everyone spends their twenties working in school."

  "I was tight on budget."

  "Tight on budget, or did you blow it on all drinks?"

  "Come on, pal, I am not that bad, am I?"

  "I've known you for six years, and you are the worst one."

  "Buzz off."

  "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

  He placed his hand over my shoulders and looked at my screen.

  "Still looking about the dream?"

  "Trying to find a cure. Got any?"

  "Nothing"

  "Well, that sucks."

  I closed the tab and got back to work.

  "You are awfully diligent today, pal."

  "Oh, am I?" Am I really this diligent?

  "Want a smoke?"

  "No," I replied without thinking.

  "No? Sick today, Duncan? You are not yourself."

  "What do you mean, not myself? I am me, I am Aly-Duncan."

  "You sure are hazed, pal. Did your missus say she won't give you a goodnight kiss if you reek of tobacco?"

  "Bullseye"

  "Well, it's a surprise that a lousy rascal like you got tamed by a ring."

  "..."

  "The ring, I suppose," he let out a dry chuckle and hit my shoulders.

  I let out a laugh too.

  "Well, I am clocking out. I got permission from the boss to take my wife out; it's our second anniversary."

  "Well, congrats. Give the lucky girl my regards."

  "Will pass it on, pal, and before you make a joke, I am not taking her to the execution."

  It was as if my heart stopped. Don't tell me the entire thing was true, it was just a bad dream. It's something else, it isn't true. Mom and Dad aren't executed. What am I blabbering about? This isn't happening.

  "You look pale, Duncan. Head home fast."

  "Ye-yeah, sure, see you tomorrow."

  "Tomorrow is Sunday, so you won't see me," he chuckled.

  "Well, looks like my tongue slipped."

  "Enjoy the night. See ya, Euan."

  "See ya, Duncan."

  Euan left the cabin, leaving me alone with my thoughts save for the sound of the air conditioner.

  Alyss, don't think about it.

  No, you aren't Alyss, you are Duncan Kerr. Remember, it's just a dream, nothing more. Don't search about the execution, it will make it worse. This is for the best. I muttered to myself and leaned in the pushback chair, looking at the miniature photostand with the picture of Duncan and Shona on it. She was wearing a white sundress with an almond-colored hat and sunglasses. I picked it up and stared at it, trying to recall where we took this photo, but I couldn't figure it out. It was as if my mind blocked itself from reaching it.

  "Why does she look so familiar, but she feels more like a stranger to me? Is there even a point in denying it anymore?"

  How did I meet her? Why is it vague?

  I clutched my head, and slowly memories started to unlock.

  "Shona, huh? I met her eight years back. the time when I was a university student. She was taking care of her mom's school. What's her mom's name? It's Kirsty? Yeah, it's Kirsty, but how did I meet Shona? Right, I went to work there as a part-timer. Then I met Shona there, and we later ended up together. That seems about right."

  I dropped the photostand, it fell with a soft thud on the blue carpeted floor, and I stared at the back of the frame with a small card with the words "2052, Month Of Vour, 17th."

  "It's the day we got married?"

  I picked up the frame again and wiped the dust off it and placed it back in the same spot.

  "It's something precious to Duncan."