I Saw Myself

I would be in my home in the hallway; empty, dim, and calm. The air was warm and stuffy, like my old house always was. All the doors that connected to the hallway were closed, except for the door at the very end that was cracked open just enough for light to seep out. It was the 'computer room' of the house that my family fashioned as a little office area. 

Naturally, I walked toward that light. Propelled by curiosity and routine as I had this dream dozens of times. It was always the same. 

When I approached the door, I would peak inside of the room. Except it wasn't how I knew it to be in real life. The window was open with a cool breeze coming into the room and light pooling in from the outside, but the signature curtains were nowhere to be seen. Instead of office supplies and a home computer, there was a bed and dressers. Rather than filing cabinets, there was a wicker basket full of miscellaneous items. And, most different of all:

There was a girl.

She had her back turned to me, as always, while I peeked in. However, my secret spying ended when she raised her shirt up and I quickly ducked away so I would not see her exposed. 

This dream happened like clockwork. Never changing, never waning. Always constant.

Fast ford a decade later and I'm 17, alone in my room. My family had converted the computer room into a bedroom for me so that my sister and I didn't have to share our old bedroom. I was home alone, it was quiet and stuffy. As always. 

I had left the door slightly ajar, something I only really did when my family was out and had my window open to enjoy the breeze from the outside. Not a care in the world. 

Having to change my shirt, I turned to my bed and began peeling the shirt off when I heard a gasp from behind. Startled, I whirled around and saw a blur of motion from the door, the air disturbed and gently moving the door with it. 

I stood there for a moment, stunned before rushing to the door and opening it.

Nothing was there. 

I remembered my dreams from childhood then and there, in complete shock. Everything in the room was positioned exactly how it was from the dreams. The event was replicated perfectly. 

However, the rational part kept trying to find reason in what happened. I sat down on my bed as I questioned my own sanity.

Perhaps my subconscious somehow positioned my bed and belongings exactly how it was in my dreams as a child, I thought? 

But that couldn't be because my parents were the ones that arranged my room. I didn't pick my furniture nor where it would be. 

I looked at my wicker basket my grandma made for me just a year ago, still frazzled. Perhaps I was hearing things?

No. I know what I heard. There were too many coincidences and too many perfect alignments that were not in my control.

I saw myself. A decade apart. In a dream. 

And it's still happening.