[NOTE: SOME INFORMATION IN THIS POST MAY BE REDACTED FOR THE SAKE OF ANONYMITY]
Hello. My name is [REDACTED], and I’m from a small rural town just outside of [REDACTED]. I’m writing this post today to give advice to anyone who has ever experienced or will one day experience a situation in which you meet your doppelganger.
Meeting your doppelganger on the surface level sounds like something very scary, we’ve all heard the internet meme that goes something like “If you see another person that looks identical to you, run away and hide”, but that’s really not necessary.
Everybody’s doppelganger experience will be different, it’s akin to having a random roommate in college. You could have a great experience and really gel with the person, or they will threaten to kill you and have you lying awake at night fearing for your life.
The chances you will come in contact with your doppelganger is very high, with chances increasing significantly after you turn 25 years old. Personally I’ve met my doppelganger 4 times already, and through my job at [REDACTED] I feel as though I’m well qualified to give advice for those who haven’t met theirs yet.
When you meet your doppelganger, you must act like you don’t recognize them, even though they will look identical to you. You must wait for them to approach you and introduce themselves, they will usually say something like “nice to meet you” or “it’s a pleasure to meet you”
If they say something negative, or you make eye contact and they never introduce themselves, then you should leave that location immediately. It might be best to drive to your local police station, you can’t be too sure they won’t follow you.
It’s also important to note that even if you have met your doppelganger before, you still have to act like it’s your first time meeting, but they will usually bring up the fact that you’ve met before.
Now I didn’t come to reddit just to give advice, I also came to seek it. The other day, the strangest thing happened to me. I was at an outdoor market, and who do I run into buying antique wooden spoons but my doppelganger, whom I affectionately nicknamed [REDACTED] after my own name. She tapped me on the shoulder with her newly purchased spoon and greeted me with a smile, as she had a few times before.
“It’s great to see you,” she said, sticking out her hand. I went to shake it, saying the same thing but her skin felt ice cold, different than the last time I saw her. She looked around, then dropped her voice to a whisper, “how many times have we met?”
Something was off. She seemed nervous, her eyes kept darting around like she was on the lookout for someone. Despite what my brain was telling me to do, reply to my doppelganger that I wasn’t sure whether we had met before, I went with my gut instinct and told her the truth.
“This would be our fourth time meeting each other,” I whispered back to her.
She breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s what I thought,” she replied. She looked around once more before silently walking towards the parking lot. She walked a few more steps before noticing I wasn’t following her, as I was still taken aback by the interaction we just had.
“Come on,” she beckoned me to follow her. I half jogged to meet up with her, thinking about what I would be missing at the market. Organically fruit flavored honey. Hand knit quilts sold by a woman who looked no younger than 90. Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies from the vegan booth. Looking back at it now, I wish I had just stayed and bought my spoon.
“Before we go anywhere, can you just tell me what’s going on?” I asked. She stared straight ahead, making a beeline for the parking lot.
“I will. Which car is yours?” she responded. I wasn’t sure I felt comfortable getting in a confined space with my doppelganger. This was the longest interaction we had ever had, and the situation we were in right now didn’t make me think we were about to sit down and have a light hearted chat.
“Can you please just tell me what we’re doing?” I stopped walking, grasping her wrist so I could get her to stop walking too. She didn’t stop though, it was like she was in some sort of trance. She continued walking but was soon yanked back, with my grip on her wrist acting as an anchor.
When she turned around, I noticed her eyes were a little red and puffy and her cheeks a bit blotchy. I hadn’t realized until now, but she had actually been crying as soon as we started speaking. As she faced me, her eyes widened immensely and she wrenched her wrist away from my grasp.
I didn’t think I had hurt her in any way, I mean I had grabbed her wrist but I wasn’t Hulk Hogan or something. I started to croak out an “I’m sorry,” but I was cut off by a bloodcurdling screech
shriek coming from behind me. I realized that my doppelganger was not staring at me, but past me, and I reluctantly turned around to see the source of the scream.
At first I saw nothing, just families milling around the market and a young girl attempting to walk two Great Danes without tripping. As I watched the girl attempt to train the dogs, I noticed a thumping sound. I scanned the horizon, the sound getting faster and heavier as I looked for it.
When I finally saw it, I gasped. I felt like someone knocked the wind out of me, but I shouldn’t have. This sight would have been nothing out of the ordinary for me, maybe a little jarring at first but nothing I couldn’t rationalize, had it not been for who I was with.
Running full speed towards me from the woods was a young woman in her mid-[REDACTED], her long tattered [REDACTED] hair whipping behind her. She was in a hospital gown that was streaked with blood, and as she got closer I noticed she had a small scar across [REDACTED].
The woman was me. It was my doppelganger, but I knew it wasn’t. I turned around, [REDACTED] and I had the same look of horror plastered across our faces. “We have to go,” she choked out between sobs, and this time I didn’t wait for an explanation.
The two of us made a break for my car, not stopping to see if we were still being chased. I went for the driver’s side door but she stopped me, saying, “I know where we need to go, I’ll drive. You can be the lookout.”
I didn’t argue, even though I usually didn’t feel comfortable with other people driving my car, even though technically I would still be driving it.
I ran over to the passenger side and flew open the door, wincing as it slammed into the car parked next to me. In other circumstances I would have left a note, but I couldn’t waste any time. For someone who I assumed didn’t drive much, my doppelganger managed to speed out of the parking lot surprisingly quick.
As she was driving, I began to rack my brain trying to figure out what I had just seen. A third doppelganger? I had never heard of anything like this, neither in my personal life nor at work. And how did my original doppelganger know about this? Is she involved?
So I have a confession to make: I’m not writing this post to give advice, I’m asking for it. I had to introduce this and write it under the pretense of giving advice because it was the only way she wouldn’t get suspicious.
My doppelganger and I have been driving in circles around the entrance to the woods where I saw the third doppelganger. She is not speaking to me, just humming to herself occasionally and looking into the woods as we drive by. She’s driving with her left hand, and in her right is the wooden spoon that she bought, and she keeps tapping the armrest with it. The tapping is usually slow, but every time we pass the area where we first saw the doppelganger the tapping rapidly speeds up.
I don’t know what to do, I don’t know if I can trust her. Do I get out of the car? Do I tell my work about the third doppelganger? If anyone has had similar experiences I need your advice.