The Hungry Artist

That very night she had this dream:

Her best friend appears to her, only she looks completely different. Something tells her that this indeed is her best friend, despite the fact that this person looks nothing like her best friend. This individual doesn’t even have the same mannerisms. Everyone accepts her as this best friend. Slumber Citizen 1 does too, but when her best friend says she has a boyfriend despite being married, suspicion takes over.

“You have a boyfriend?”

“Well, yes, and my husband has a girlfriend.”

“Wow, that’s strange.” Slumber Citizen 1 thinks of how her best friend would never do such a thing or stoop so low.

“You don’t look like the friend I know.”

“But indeed I am.”

Slumber Citizen 1 is troubled. Something tells her that this indeed is her best friend, but at the same time, something tells her that she is not. She decides to ask her best friend’s sister in order to verify her identity. She looks everywhere but cannot find this sister. She only sees her in her mind’s eye. At last, the real best friend appears, who looks exactly like Slumber Citizen’s best friend and has the same mannerisms.

“She isn’t me.”

“I know.”

“I vow to discover the true identity of this impersonator.”

“Yes I know. I believe you. You are the real thing. And yet, this other one, she seems to be you too. Despite the fact that she looks nothing like you – still, she is somehow you.”
Slumber Citizen 1 woke up the next morning not remembering a trace of this dream.

She felt the overwhelming urge to let down her hair after pinning it in a bun. She paused, reflecting on her self in the mirror. Let down your hair, she told her self. You don’t have to be in school today. Without remorse, she let down her hair and lilted around the bathroom, barefoot and light-footed.