Submerged

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(Edited)


Photo by Cristian Palmer on Unplash


Submerged


Spencer opened his eyes slowly. He looked around and realized it was happening again. A light was shining on his face as he floated. He looked at the source of the flash as a moving figure. Spencer desperately moved his arms and legs to try to ascend, but he was motionless, trapped, and with no way out. He was completely submerged.

"No!" he cried out in desperation, he was back on his bed gasping and shaking. He wiped the sweat from his face and looked at the mirror by the window.

"Why is this happening to me?" Referring to the nightmare he just had. He sat on the side of the bed and began to cry.

Later, Spencer attended another session with the therapist. Dr. Ferdinand was trying to help his patient with her hydrophobia, her problem seems to have brought on more excellent circumstances and increased her anxiety conflicts.

"I had that dream again last night, doctor," Spencer revealed during the session. "Again I was surrounded by water. Sinking into the sea. With nowhere to go, just a light emanating on the surface that I couldn't reach. This time I felt short of breath, I thought I was going to die..."

"No one can truly die in their dreams, Spencer," The psychologist replied. "Remember that everything that happens is not real, now, I'd like to try something different to find out the cause of your fear of water."

"Are you going to hypnotize me?" Spencer asked sarcastically.

"I prefer to call it: Suggestion Technique. I need you to relax, please. Don't worry, if anything bad happens I'll help you right away."

Spencer was nervous, but he took a deep breath and followed Dr. Ferdinand's directions. His body was completely calm, under the influence of suggestion, and again he glimpsed that light that had illuminated his face in that dream.

He found himself submerged again and panicked.

"Spencer remember this is just a figment of your imagination. It is not real. I need you to calm down so I can help you. Just listen to my voice and everything will be okay."

Spencer began to shake less and her legs went numb. He slowly opened his eyes and waited for the doctor's instructions.

"You're doing great." Dr. Ferdinand asserted. "Now tell me, what do you see?"

"I'm just immersed underwater floating, while a light emanating from the surface illuminates me... Wait! The light disappeared! Now it is appearing in front of me."

Dr. Ferdinand begins to write down everything his patient says.

"Do you notice anything different?"

"The light... it turns into a mirror. Through it, I can see my room, like a portal. Someone is standing with his back to the mirror."

"Do you recognize him?"

"No... but he's turning around... My God, it's me!"

"I beg your pardon?" Dr. Ferdinand was becoming intrigued.

"It's me! On the other side of the mirror seeing myself!"

"And what are you doing?"

"I'm just standing there, smiling as I look at myself."

Dr. Ferdinand scratches his head after jotting down a few observations. He approaches his patient and helps him wake up from the suggestion. Spencer exhales a big breath of air as he is back to reality, he looks at the doctor with confused eyes waiting for answers.

"Well, this is something new," Dr. Ferdinand began in conclusion. "But I think it's a breakthrough. That corporeal manifestation of yourself outside of immersion may represent hope for curing you of your hydrophobia. Congratulations, Spencer! We've got a good thing going here."

Spencer felt some relief at the doctor's words, but he had a faint feeling that something wasn't right. Later that night, he settled down to sleep with a little dread of dreaming the same thing again, but then he remembered his therapist's words and managed to calm down. After several attempts, he finally got to sleep.

At first, it was all darkness, but a light began to emanate in front of him, just like that time in the session. Spencer knew he was dreaming and tried to calm himself. Again, the mirror appeared in front of him, revealing his room and his other self, however, something was not right.

The doppelganger stood in front of the mirror, watching Spencer floating under the sea. Spencer noticed that his appearance was different, he had that grim smile, with darker hair and flashing sapphire blue eyes.

The twin reached out in front of the mirror, it began to slowly shrink in size. Spencer, wild-eyed, called for help in desperation, but neither his voice nor his strength could get out of the vastness of the sea. The mirror closed completely leaving Spencer trapped in his nightmare forever.

The next morning, Spencer got up, looked out the window, and smiled. His hair was now black and his eyes turned sky blue.


THE END

Other publications of my authorship

[ESP-ENG] Los Videos Que más me Traumaron de Marylin Manson
A Novel Idea
[ESP-ENG] Caminos A Un Mismo Fin

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19 comments
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(Edited)

Beware modern science :) It is not equipped to deal with the 'unnatural'. I am one reader who suspected that doppelganger was going to absorb Spencer. I kept warning him (in my head) to ignore the advice of the 'scientist'. To no avail.

Nicely written. You have a knack for creating atmosphere and building tension.

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Thank you very much. Deep down he also wanted to save Spencer, but just like you, by listening to the therapist he lost his identity. Again, thanks for reading and commenting.

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Very well realized story. Spencer's fear is contagious. We also feel the dread of the doppelganger. Perhaps if Spencer had continued to fight, he might have been able to resist the mirror image. We'll never know, because Spencer is lost to us :)

One thing you might try to fix in your stories is the confusion of pronouns. This happens often when stories are translated mechanically from Spanish to English. The use of female/male pronouns is different in the languages and this gets mangled. If you go back after the story has been translated and check that 'he's and 'she's are in the right place it would probably clear up the issue.

Despite the pronoun confusion, it's a great story. Thank you for sharing it with us. We appreciate that you support other authors in the community with your comments.

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Thank you very much for pointing out the observation, I have already corrected it. Sometimes details escape during translation, it's a good way to learn another language.

Your comment is nice, this challenge has helped me think. Have a nice night.

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greetings @universoperdido
Certainly another interesting story, you achieve an atmosphere of suspense, the end can be glimpsed, however the end of the story does not lose strength.

Tu post ha sido votado por @celf.magazine, proyecto curatorial y revista digital sobre arte y cultura en Hive. Únete a nuestra comunidad y comparte tu talento con nosotros.
Your post has been voted by @celf.magazine, curatorial project and digital magazine about art and culture in Hive. Join our community and share your talent with us.



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A very well written story. It definitely made me grip on my seats. I wasn't expecting the doppelganger which was a good twist in the story. Spencer definitely reflected our fears which is sometimes reflected in our dreams. Great job @universoperdido!!!

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There was a time when I was afraid of the sea, I think that has emerged with this story. Thanks for reading me.

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Ouch. Another bit of dust. Just like that, that doppelganger absorbs and takes over. Scary shit if you ask me. A wild thought has me thinking we have such doppelgangers walking around.

You write so well. Well done.

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Never trust your reflexes, if Spencer had known, maybe he'd be the one waking up that morning. Thanks for reading me.

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masterly. A story that the end leaves a desire to know what will happen to Spencer and him evil twin, what will he do?

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Spencer got caught up in her nightmare and now her doppelganger will live her life from now on. A terrible change for him. Thanks for reading me.

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Ingenious story. Like @agmoore my mind was screaming out a warning throughout the read. 😊

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It was inevitable for Spencer. Thanks for reading me.😁😊😉

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