The Other

A leaf slowly floated to ground as I opened my eyes. The air was crisp, as fresh as it could be. A waterfall echoed in the distance. A subtle, beautiful noise filled the atmosphere… birds chirped, insects buzzed away to their business, when I heard a twig snap to my right. Turning, I saw a man approach me. Dark brown hair, medium height, medium bulk; quite like me to be honest. As he turned to look me in the eyes, I saw the most astounding thing! That man seemed to be me! Of course, he could not be me, as I am me, and we could not both be the same person, unless he was me or I was him. He certainly moved like me, quite clumsy but not so much that you’d notice if you didn’t pay much attention. He stared me in the eyes. Just as I would, a couple of moments before I summed up what I would tell someone. I stared back at Him. Or me. I’ll call him ‘Him’ during this story, even though I never understood whether he was me or someone else.
‘Hello, friend’ said He as he gently approached me. Just as you would approach an animal, to make sure it won’t bite you, before you try to pet it. I looked him in the eyes. He offered a hand to pull me up; I took it. My legs were stiff; I must have been sleeping for some time. ‘Hi’ I replied, studying his every move. He seemed to be intrigued by my confused state. Never the less, he smiled, as I asked him who he was. ‘I need not say; walk with me and you will see’, was what he told me. And so I did. We walked, on a trail through the forest. Lush, succulent and fleshy fruit grew off the great trees, so dense, filtering the sun's light into a green smell in the air. Dew trickled off the leaves as my eyes focused on them, while He started to talk.
What exactly he told me, I cannot say, due to the fact that simply, He told me. He was not me. Not entirely, at least. Through his words, I saw my life flash before my eyes, everything I had ever done, or mostly, anything I hadn’t done, and things I would not do in the future. Through his words, I saw myself, living a life were I took nothing other than what I wanted into account. No logical thoughts as to whether something could be done or not, no morality issues at all. Merely primal desires. Living in such a way, he seemed to acquire everything he ever wanted! His sex-life was much more exciting than my own, as he gave in to every fetish of his, just as the rest of his life; he lived it all to maximum, never allowing himself to think ‘what if?’
As we followed the path, we reached a clearing. All the trees of the forest stayed behind, and so did all its beautiful noise. Before us, dove a cliff, hundreds of meters down, where it clashed with the sea. The white fluffy waves pounded the walls of the cliff, creating their own melody, carried by the wind. I considered all He told me, as I started to feel a bit jealous of all he had in his life. (I would not tell anyone, of course, but fortunately this is merely a notebook.) I turned to Him, but he was not there. I looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen. I turned back towards the sea. A great majestic sun fell into the horizon, dyeing the whole sky a warm, fulfilling orange.
As it all faded to black, with the sun disappearing, I thought of Him, and noticed he had not told me of any friends, or true lovers, or brothers… I became numb, and closed my eyes, safely, as I knew I had sacrificed all He had, for love. Love of people. And I was in peace.