Double from the past pt.1

Cragar's son winced and took a step back as the entire landscape began to take shape more clearly.

Shirei stared intensely at his double, trying to read the soul hidden behind that illusion of self. The scene around them was breathtakingly beautiful: a lush garden, bathed in full sunlight, stretched until it faded into dreamlike whitish fog. The grass was a vibrant green, glistening with morning dew, and the melodious song of birds filled the air.

A white marble path wound through nature, the smooth edges of the shining stones reflecting the sunlight. The road led to a summer residence, an elegant villa, with Doric columns and large arched windows overlooking the garden. Colorful flowers, carefully arranged in well-tended beds, added pops of red, yellow and purple to the landscape.

Shirei felt a familiar warmth on his face, the sun kissing his skin with a tenderness that seemed to come from another time. Although he was aware of being in an illusion, everything seemed extraordinarily real. The scent of cut grass was intense, almost intoxicating, and the heat of the sun seemed to penetrate deeply into his bones, pushing him to seek shelter in a dark area.

Shirei looked around as his heart pounded in his chest. Every detail of the landscape seemed to evoke fragments of his forgotten past. 

The double moved in the mirror image of him, like a reflection in the mirror, and the two's eyes met again. There was a strange awareness in those identical irises, an intuition that went beyond words.

Cragar's son felt a strange feeling of nostalgia, a sense of belonging that he couldn't explain. The garden, the marble path, the summer house... everything seemed shrouded in mystery, part of a chapter of his life that had been torn away from him. Yet every time he tried to grasp those memories, they eluded him, leaving him with a sense of emptiness and unsatisfied curiosity.

"Do I have to say it again?" His lookalike asked rhetorically.

"Who are you?"

The figure with the same appearance as him raised his index finger and pointed in his direction, "I am you... and you are me."

"What does it mean?"

Before Shirei could argue, the figure added, "However, we are not the same person, to be honest."

Cragar's son remained silent and, rather than worry about his mysterious self, allowed himself to be distracted by the landscape in search of some clue.

"Yes, this is the result of the memories contained in your mind," the false Shirei finally confirmed.

The boy tried to ask himself why he was experiencing that situation at that moment, after three long years in which he had waited to see some glimpse of his past.

That place was the first hint he was having of his life, of the memories that had been removed from him or that he had erased of his own free will.

But why now, what triggered all this?

"Instead of remaining silent, you could ask me why you are here. Sometimes you just need to ask rather than think about every possibility."

The background of the vision, dream, or whatever it was that was happening began to change. 

Suddenly, it wasn't morning anymore.

The sun was about to set, coloring the scene in warm tones and making everything more nostalgic.

The figure of his interlocutor began to tremble and change, as if it were composed of moving fog. Shirei watched, amazed, as his mirror image transformed before his eyes. The familiarity of the face remained, but the hair became slightly shorter, and the height decreased, giving the new lookalike a younger, more inexperienced look.

Now Shirei was no longer looking at a reflection, but a younger version of himself, dressed in a black military officer's uniform. The fabric of the cloth was impeccable, shiny buttons and red lines adorning the simple outfit. The eyes of the young Shirei were alive with a youthful ardor, full of a strange suffering and ambitions still unrealized.

The landscape around them remained much the same, but the presence of that younger figure added a new layer of meaning to the scene. 

Shirei felt a wave of mixed emotions. He felt a strange melancholy, as if he was observing a shadow from his past, a shadow that brought with it faded promises and hopes.

Then the demigod felt a lump tighten in her throat.

He looked carefully at the young man, trying to settle every detail, every nuance of that image that seemed almost tangible in his mind.

Yet, beneath that surface of order and rigor, Shirei could sense the tumult of emotions that had marked his youth.

"In case you hadn't figured it out, we don't have much time before you come to your senses."

The young Shirei gave him one last look before starting to walk in the direction of the villa's gate. Cragar's son was forced to follow him as he desperately tried to bring back memories of that place and that time.

"Don't try hard," the reply said in a sour tone, "It's not worth getting this memories back. Be grateful to be free from that testimony of suffering and pain."

The two passed the gate of the mysterious residence. Shirei turned back for one last look at the house, but sadly discovered that it had already dissolved into thin air.

"Who are you really?"

The young Shirei closed his eyes, "I have already answered that question. Try something different."

Cragar's son returned to his thoughts as the walk continued downhill, towards a place that still appeared obscured by the whitish dreamlike fog.

After endless minutes of reflection, he asked, "Why am I here?"

"Finally."

Shirei's reply stopped in perfect coincidence with the disappearance of the Sun beyond the horizon. Cragar's son's head throbbed slightly, causing him to hold it in his hand and close his eyes.

When he reopened them, the landscape had changed for the umpteenth time.