The Doppelgänger (Revisited)

Edited by Stephanie Bachman


"You’re fired," Harold, a seemingly successful business executive, said at a near yell. "You’re lazy and I can’t stand being in the same room as you." He said as he shivered on his way out as a few people followed. Harold was making his weekly rounds of firings of people he didn’t feel make the cut for his business.

"Are you sure that was the right move?" An older employee asked. "He’s got a wife, children to feed. How is he supposed to provide if you’re firing the new employees left and right?"

"He should have brought his game. I am not leading a semi successful business; I’m leading a Fortune 500 business."

"You’re gonna regret it." Another employee said as she broke off from Harold hoping she wasn’t getting fired as well. "You’re gonna regret it." This phrase echoed through Harold’s mind all day.

"Will I?" Harold asked himself as he sat in his office at a near chuckle. No doubt in his outward appearance, Harold appeared to be very okay with his choice but inside he felt existential dread that his brash decisions were going to be the end of him, or worse, his company

Harold was heading home from a fairly long day of working still thinking of the words "you’re gonna regret it". Harold was a single father in which had a young daughter at the age of seven. Samantha was a fairly good girl but struggled to sleep at the house when no one was home. The nanny had left for the day and Harold seemed to neglect that she was home alone for a few hours. Samantha was an independent girl, Harold seemed to think. She is more than capable of doing whatever she wants, whenever she pleases, without any help. In fact, he thought about firing the nanny too and letting Samantha cook for herself, clean her room, do her homework. Firing was something Harold thought of frequently but not now. Now was if he was going to regret his past decisions.

It was dark outside when Harold got home and most of the house lights were off. Harold looked at the house on arrival and thought it was very strange that the house looked vacant. After pulling his car into the driveway, Harold walked through the garage and into the kitchen. There were no signs of Samantha anywhere. Harold turned on the light to reveal Samantha sitting with her back turned to him in the living room in the dark.

"What are you doing in the dark Samantha?" Harold asked, "I thought you didn't like the darkness," Samantha didn’t respond. Harold walked into the living room searching for the switch to the light and flipped it, but the light didn't turn on. The lights in this room seemed to not work but it was a job for another day. Harold went further into the room and stood beside her and he felt a tension in the room. Something was not right, and he was correct. Swiftly Samantha turned around to Harold and hugged him in her small arms and Harold knew instantly that Samantha did not have a good day.

"What’s going on Sam? You can tell me, I’m all ears." A slight bit of compassion to prove he was still a good father. Samantha didn't respond but continued to hold him firmly and he could only feel sorry for her. Maybe he has been working long hours and Samantha feels neglected. Harold thought carefully and thought about what Samantha wanted to hear, she wanted her father home and he agreed. He had been working long hours and barely had any time with her but that was what happened when you were an executive for a Fortune 500 company.

"How bout I stay home tomorrow?" Would you like that?" Samantha responded but it wasn't from her lips. He heard Samantha across the house and up the staircase in her room, not in front of him.

"Dad? The lights wouldn't turn on and I got scared so I hid in my room till you got home." Harold looked behind him to see a silhouette of a Samantha at the top of the staircase in dim light. "Who’s that?" She asked when she saw a small girl hugging him.

"I…I thought it was you," Harold said now breaking a sweat. If Samantha was on the staircase then who was this small girl? He tried to move the girl to let him go but she would not let go. Harold then turned her head to see her face and it in fact was not Samantha but some doppelgänger with black eyes.

Harold was petrified and held his breath as the small girl peered directly through him as if he and his daughter was food. She smiled revealing long sharp teeth in her mouth and at that moment Harold knew that his time at his Fortune 500 company would end this night. Constantly playing through his head, however, was, "you’re gonna regret it".






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