*Duplicate Lies*
Chapter 12
Dave
The morning sun felt heavy on my eyelids. I woke up with that familiar, nagging blankness about the night. Avina was still asleep beside me, her breathing soft and even, almost too still. She looked so peaceful, yet so distant. The image of her drinking that "supplement" my father sent flashed in my mind. He'd said it was for "proper rest," but the speed with which she'd fallen asleep, her almost doll-like movements, didn't feel right. And my own memories of the night were just a black hole. It was getting harder and harder to ignore that chilling thought: was this *sleep*, or was it something else entirely?
I shook my head, trying to clear the thoughts. I had work. Architecture. Concrete plans, clear lines, solid structures. That was my world. Not these vague, unsettling feelings. I got ready, ate a quick, quiet breakfast alone, and left for the office.
The office was a welcome distraction. Plans for a new commercial building filled my screen. I focused on blueprints, angles, and budgets. It was clean, predictable. For a few hours, I could almost forget the strange quiet in my house, the growing distance in Avina's eyes, and the disturbing blankness in my own nights. But every now and then, a shiver would run down my spine, a small voice reminding me that something was very wrong.
By lunchtime, my stomach rumbled. I needed a break from the drawings and the numbers. I decided to head to the nearby mall, grab something quick from the food court. The mall was always busy, a vibrant rush of people, music, and chatter. It was a good place to feel normal, to lose myself in the everyday noise.
I walked through the bustling food court, looking for a place that wasn't too crowded. The smell of fried food, coffee, and perfumes mixed in the air. People laughed, talked on their phones, pushed strollers. Just normal life. I finally found a line that wasn't too long at a sandwich shop.
As I waited, a faint voice spoke right next to my ear. "It's hard, isn't it? Living in the dark."
I turned, expecting to see someone talking to their friend, but no one was there. I shrugged, figuring I'd imagined it. The line moved.
Then, a moment later, as I was about to order, the voice spoke again, clearer this time. "They make you believe it's normal. That the fog is just tiredness."
I spun around. This time, I saw him. An old man, standing unnaturally close. He was thin, dressed in simple, worn clothes, blending into the crowd almost perfectly. His face was lined, but his eyes… his eyes were startling. They were a bright, piercing blue, and they looked right into me, as if they could see every unsettling thought I'd tried to push away.
"Excuse me?" I asked, a little annoyed, a little startled. "Were you talking to me?"
His gaze didn't leave mine. His lips barely moved as he spoke, his voice surprisingly clear despite the noise of the mall. "You live in a lie, son. A big one. They control everything. Even what you remember."
A cold feeling spread through my chest. His words hit too close to home. My memory blanks. Avina's forgetfulness. My father's talk of "process."
"What are you talking about?" I demanded, my voice low, a prickle of fear starting at the back of my neck. "Who are 'they'? What lie?"
The old man didn't answer my questions directly. He just shook his head slowly, his bright blue eyes full of a deep sadness. "You're not alone, you know. You might think it's just you and your wife in that house, but there are *many* people in that house. Many stories. Many faces, perhaps."
*Many people in that house?* The words confused me even more. It was just me, Avina, and the domestic staff. Was he talking about spirits? Or something else? The unease I'd been trying to ignore all morning rushed back, stronger than ever.
"Wait!" I said, taking a step towards him. "What do you mean? Who are you? How do you know about my house?" I looked around, instinctively, for security, for someone else who might have heard this bizarre conversation. But everyone around us seemed lost in their own worlds, oblivious.
The old man just smiled, a small, knowing smile that didn't reach his eyes. "The truth is always there, even in the darkest corners. You just have to be brave enough to see it."
And then, he was gone.
One moment he was standing right in front of me, his piercing blue eyes fixed on mine. The next, he simply wasn't there. He didn't walk away, didn't turn. He just… vanished. The crowd was still surging, people were still talking, but the space where he had been was empty. It was like he'd dissolved into the air.
I stood there, my sandwich order completely forgotten, my mouth slightly open. I blinked, then blinked again. I spun around, frantically searching the faces in the crowd. Nothing. No old man in simple, worn clothes. It was as if he had been a ghost.
My heart pounded against my ribs, a wild drum. *Living in the dark. Living a lie. Controlled. Many people in that house.* His words echoed in my head, no longer just strange, but terrifying. They resonated with every uneasy feeling I'd had about my marriage, about Avina, about my own father's demands.
I tried to rationalize it. An old man, confused. A trick of the light, perhaps. But the way he had looked at me, the precise way he had spoken to my deepest, unspoken fears, and then his impossible disappearance… it chilled me to the bone. This wasn't normal. None of this was normal.
The loud, cheerful sounds of the mall now felt like a mocking backdrop. My ordered world, my predictable life, seemed to crack around the edges. The truth, whatever it was, felt vast and terrifying, and I was just beginning to step into its shadow.
---End of chapter
What do you think Dave will do now, after this unsettling encounter? Will he dismiss it, or will it push him to seek answers, perhaps even confront his father or Avina?
Tbc....