Have You Seen Your Doppelganger Lately?

       I chanced upon an article about doppelgangers (described as  1. A ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its fleshly counterpart. 2. Either of two people who physically resemble each other very much)  and it reminded me of a curious incident that happened when I was still in college (which was an awful long time ago). I was in a jeepney then when a pair (a girl and a guy who both looked probably just a few years older than me) boarded it.

       The girl (who sat in front of me with the guy at her left) instantly brightened up upon seeing me. “Have you paid your fare?” she asked me.

       I didn’t know her nor her companion who was also looking at me and smiling at me at that time, it was the first time I saw them, but I nodded.

       “Where are you going?” she then asked.

       I stared at her, puzzled, why was this lady stranger wanted to know where I was going.

       “Dave (not really the name she used), I asked where you’re going?”

       I smiled awkwardly, didn’t answer  and looked away. And it was the girl’s turn to look puzzled. “Uy, Dave!” she called me out, her voice a little louder now.

       “I’m not Dave,” I told her.

       And I couldn’t forget her reaction: her jaw dropped in disbelief and astonishment. The two looked at each other, the girl seemed freaked out. She didn’t ask any question again; they started talking to each other and I could hear them. There were other passengers in the jeepney, others were minding their own business, the others, I could see eavesdropping.

       “That’s not Dave?” the girl, in a low, skeptical voice, asked her companion.

       “He said he’s not “ said the guy.

       ‘Then who is that? Dave’s twin? They look impossibly alike, even the mannerisms and their voices are the same. And they’re both unbelievably handsome. (Okay, this last sentence is not true, she didn’t really say it, but I had a feeling that it’s already at the tip of her tongue. Lol.) But I know Dave doesn’t have a brother!” the girl exclaimed.

       “I don’t know,” the guy muttered, scratching his head.

        The other passengers were now looking alternately at the couple and me with amusement. Then, the girl looked at me again and she asked, smiling,( she had a pleasant face), “Hi,” she said. “if you don’t mind, what’s your name?”

       I told her my name.

       “Do you know Dave (she said Dave’s surname but I’ve forgotten it)?” she asked.

       I shook my head, and now, she looked totally amused.

       The jeepney traveled a few hundred meters more before the flabbergasted duo alighted, with the girl taking another glimpse of me—she even waved and smiled and made face at me as the vehicle scooted away.  The look of amusement never left her face.

       It happened eons ago but it still amuses me whenever I remember it.

       I haven't seen someone who really looks like me, but they say, one should not really look forward to seeing their doppelganger, human or ghostly. A doppelganger showing itself to you, they say, is not a good omen and is warning you of something unfortunate or tragic to happen. A terrible thing that will not happen to the people you love or you know but to you. And if other people see your doppelganger (the supernatural one, that entity that, like vampires, has no shadow nor reflection on the mirror, it means that you will soon meet your death.  Scary, isn’t it? Luckily, like our own manananggal, ghostly doppelganger belongs to the realm of folklore and legends. Meaning, untrue. Wait, manananggal is not real? 

       But back to Dave, my human doppelganger, I know that it is really not unusual for someone to have a look-alike, but it is still a puzzle to me why God has to burden Earth with two of my face.

       One is tedious enough.