December 28, 2013
It was one of the coldest nights of the year. Made even colder as the ocean breeze blew through the small cruiser boat. The formal wear worn by all the guests on the boat that night did nothing to shake the chill from their bones, but two figures in particular, the cause of this gathering, seemed to not feel it.
All they could feel was incredible warmth. Whether that warmth was from the alcoholic buzz of their wine, their overwhelming happiness, or just the body heat of their partner, was unclear.
Their warmth was contagious, as no guest could find it in themselves to complain about the cold, not when the two grooms looked at each other like they were their own personal suns. One of the men, dark haired and freckled, his hands twined in the others, brought his partners fingers to his lips, the newly received bands sparkling as bright as the stars in the sky. The other man, slightly taller, sharp grey eyes, and grey hair that looked silver in the cold moonlight, let a soft, intimate smile cross through his normally-hardened features, revealing a person much more gentle than most would believe.
So lost in each other, they didn't notice the photograph being taken until a too-bright flash jolted them out of their trance.
"Sorry guys, I forgot the flash was on." A sheepish voice spoke. The two men turned to look at the offending photographer, a tall man, around their age, with sandy brown hair and lean build. While normally they would be annoyed at the ill-timed interruption, they were both too elated on this particular night to be anything but mildly amused.
"Larry," the one with dark hair addressed, "What are you doing?"
"It's your special night, dude," Larry whined, "We gotta take pics so we can all remember it."
The gray-haired man snorted. "I doubt either of us would forget our wedding night," he said wryly.
Larry frowned. "Edgey, c'mon, Nick's my best friend. I wanna take a professional photo of you guys."
Nick nudged his partner. "Let's just humor him, Miles. Where's the harm?"
Miles gave a poor attempt at a judgmental look, but very quickly melted into Nick's gaze.
"Very well," he sighed lightly, "but I would prefer if you could refrain from blinding us this time."
Larry smiled brightly and brought the camera back behind his face.
"Alright! Be ready for the shot in 3…2…1."
It wouldn't be until months later when they got to view that photo, along with the others.
Just them sitting at their table, wine glasses in one hand, the other interwined, the dark ocean behind them, looking at each other as if no one else existed. Or mattered.
May 28, 2027
Maine, USA
It was unusually warm and sunny as the outdated yellow buses pulled in front of a lodge, the faded Camp Gourdy inscribed on its side. As it screeched to a stop, a swarm of children flowed through the rickety doors. Girls of all ages, some young enough to still have baby teeth, and others old enough to start learning to drive, unloaded from the crowded bus with a collective sigh of relief at the fresh air and open space, their chatter overpowering the roar of the engines. One girl in particular, a young teenager, stood in front of an evergrowing pile of luggage, scanning for her own. She was rather small for her age, long brown hair in a low bun, and bright blue eyes, with an even brighter smile as she spotted her duffel bag.
"Aha!" she gasped triumphantly, grabbing the handle. She pulled the handle towards her with no luck, as more bags continued to pile up.
"Is it your first time?" A soft voice asked behind her.
"How'd you guess?" she grunted, mildly embarrassed, turning around to meet her new companion, a girl a couple years older than her, but not any taller, with short dyed-purple hair cut into a bob that somehow resembled the ears of a rabbit.
"You didn't know to grab your bag before the bus drivers handled it," the girl scolded lightly. "Would you like some help?"
"Yes, please. I'm Trucy, by the way. Trucy Wright." Trucy held her hand out in greeting, which the other girl shook politely.
"Bonny DeFamme. Now, I think if we both pull together, we can get it out."
Trucy nodded. "Gotcha. Okay then, on a count of 3…"
"1…"
"2…."
"3!" they both yelled together, yanking on the handles, but to no avail, as more bags began to pile on top.
"Ugh, seriously?" Trucy groaned. Just as they were both about to give up, another girl around the same age walked up, thick eyebrows and a stern demeanor with a tie-dye shirt, and lifted her own bag from the bottom with ease and started to walk off towards the lodge. Trucy gaped in awe.
"Now, that's my kind of woman," she said dreamily. "Reminds me of my friend at home."
Bonny gave her a strange look.
"That girl could probably beat both of us up. At the same time," she pointed out.
Trucy smirked. "Exactly." Then she perked up. "Hey, we could totally ask her to help us!"
"I'm not sure if-," Bonny started, but Trucy wasn't listening.
"Hey, Tie-Dye girl!" the brunette yelled. Tie-Dye girl turned around and stared at them, more curious than unfriendly. "My bag is stuck. Do you mind helping me get it out?"
Tie-Dye girl dropped her own duffel to the ground and sauntered back over to where the two girls were. "Which one is it?" she asked, mildly suspicious. Trucy pointed to the spot where her bag used to be.
"It's right under there, the big blue one."
Tie-Dye girl nodded curtly, and grabbed the handle. It only took a few seconds of her face scrunched in effort before the bag was loose and on the ground next to their feet.
Trucy clapped her hands together in glee. "Oh my gosh, you're amazing, thank you so much!" she gushed.
Tie-Dye girl blushed. "It wasn't a big deal," she mumbled shyly, and then she noticed the name plate on the blue duffel. "You're from Japanifornia?"
Bonny did a double take. "Wait, like Hollywood? Are you friends with celebrities?"
Trucy chuckled drily. "You know Japanifornia has over 40 million people, right? Celebrities are pretty rare. I've never even been to Hollywood and I've lived outside Los Angeles my whole life."
"Oh," Bonny tried her best to hide her disappointment. "So you don't have any cool samurai neighbors then?"
"I don't have any neighbors actually. I live next to a vineyard."
"What's a vineyard?" Tie-Dye girl asked.
"It's basically just a garden for grapes so people can make wine."
Tie-Dye girl and Bonny nodded in understanding as all three entered the lodge to find their cabin assignments.
As it turned out, Trucy, Bonny, and Tie-Dye girl, who they later discovered was named Jinxie Tenma, were all in the same cabin, and Trucy knew from there that this would be a summer she'd remember forever.
A sleek, silver Fiat pulled up to the lounge entrance. A large man in a worn green trenchcoat came from the drivers side. He opened the trunk and unloaded a large suitcase as the passenger door opened. A young teen, with short dark brown locks, long bangs gelled up towards the sky, exited the car, brown eyes looking around them in wonder.
"Well, pal," the man grunted, as he rolled the luggage to the child, "Looks like this is the place." He frowned in distaste. "Can't believe we flew all the way here for this."
"It's perfect," the teen said breezily, in a German accent, "Just the kind of adventure Papa wanted."
"Speaking of him," the driver took out a decently sized list. "We should probably go over this." The teen got a slightly panicked look.
"That won't be necessary, Gumshoe," they cut in hastily, "I can assure you I have looked it over atleast 10 times."
Gumshoe pouted. "Okay, well, if you're sure…just make sure to call him every night, Apollo. You know how he worries."
"Of course. Thank you for your help." Apollo held their hand out formally. Gumshoe smirked, grasping it firmly, and what started as a regular handshake turned into some sort of dance, with hip bumps and alternating palm slaps, with both of them chuckling at the end, not paying any attention to the small audience they had.
Gumshoe pulled the teen towards him and ruffled their hair fondly, ignoring the squawks of protest.
"You stay out of trouble, y'hear?" he warned, climbing into the drivers seat, "I'll see you in 8 weeks at the airport."
Apollo waved to the retreating car. It was only once the car was out of sight that their nerves started to creep on them. They were truly all alone now. Nothing but miles of nature in a foreign country with complete strangers. They were half-tempted to call Gumshoe and go back home with them to Germany. It was only after they released a breath they didn't know they'd been holding that they were able to steel up and head towards the large building.
"I'm sorry, there must be some mistake," Apollo said politely, as they entered the cabin they were assigned to. "This cabin appears to be all girls."
The old woman counselor, Wendy, gave them a strange look.
"Well, yes, that's because it's an all girls camp, girlie," she pointed out.
Apollo blinked rapidly in confusion.
"I was under the impression that this camp was supposed to be mixed."
"It is. Boys on one half, girls on the other."
Apollo felt the dread sink into his stomach. "But then," they argued feebly, "shouldn't I be on the boys side?"
Wendy scowled. "And just what exactly do you mean by that? Kids these days, always trying to pull one over on their elders, I'llhaveyouknowthatwhenIwasyourage-," Apollo stopped listening as it dawned on him.
The application he'd filled out had only asked about his biological sex, which technically, was female. He hadn't had the chance to mention what he actually identified as.
Maybe if he explained the situation he-
His thought process was interrupted as he felt a tap on the shoulder.
A girl around his age with long, auburn hair in a high side ponytail stared back at him amused.
"What do you say we ditch Oldbag before she blows and go eat?" she whispered conspiratorially. Apollo's stomach growled in response and he blushed. The girl snickered and grabbed his wrist, not giving him much of a choice in the matter.
"I'm Athena, by the way," she introduced herself, "Athena Cykes."
And Apollo knew from that moment that this would be a long and interesting summer.
"And for my next trick," Trucy presented, wiggling her fingers over the plate of food in front of her, "I shall make this lasagna disappear." She started tearing through her meal like a famished animal, much to the amusement of her new friends.
"Best trick of the night," Jinxie giggled.
"All hail the great magician Trucy Wright," Bonny chimed in, doing a mock worship.
Trucy gave her a flat look. "Did you ever find your necklace?" she asked curiously.
"Right," Bonny sighed in defeat, "Can you give it back now?"
She shrugged innocently. "I didn't take it, it disappeared." Bonny pursed her lips in dissatisfaction but knew she wasn't gonna get anywhere with the issue so she let it drop for now.
"Where'd you learn to do magic from?" Jinxie asked, her chin in hands, looking rapt. "Do your parents do it?"
Trucy blushed under the attention of the other girl. "My daddy performed in college and has an art major, so I guess I got it from him. He focuses more on painting though."
"What about your mom?" Bonny asked.
"Don't have one," Trucy deadpanned. Both girls had the decency to look sheepish, but Trucy laughed it off. "Relax, it's fine. I've never had a mom. It's just been me and my daddy for as long as I can remember."
"He was never married?" Bonny asked sadly.
Trucy's eyes glimmered slightly. "He was," she said, her voice going softer, "Once. I never met him though."
If her two companions were surprised at the choice of pronouns, they didn't show it. Instead, Bonny just sighed dreamily.
"Man, I've always really admired artists. It's super hard, y'know?"
"Can we see a picture of him?" Jinxie asked. And then she clarified, "Your dad I mean."
Trucy smiled gently, pulling a digital camera out of her pockets. It had been her Christmas present last year along with a large scrapbook, and she planned on making use of both this summer. She filtered through the photos until she found one of her father, at ease in his workshop. She slid the camera across the table to the other girls wordlessly.
"Oh my gosh, Trucy, your dad's a total hunk!" Bonny squealed, with Jinxie nodding in agreement wordlessly.
Trucy scoffed back a laugh. "What? No way! He's a total nerd! Here, I'll prove it."
The first dinner of summer camp ended with the three girls huddling over a small camera, giggling.
"Your name's Apollo Justice?" Athena screeched, getting glares from other kids in the lunch hall, "Dude! That's so cool! It's like a superhero!"
Apollo resisted the urge to plug his ears. One of the first things he learned about his new friend is that, much like her hair, she was very loud. In every sense of the word. Not that he had much room to talk, as his vocal coach told him he had "chords of steel", but that wasn't really his choice. Athena seemed to live for attracting attention, and though it was a bit embarrassing, he found he quite liked her anyway.
Through his walk with her, he learned that she was also German, although raised in America, and lived with her single mother. He also met her much quieter and more mellow friend-but-definitely-more-than-just-friend, Juniper, or Junie, who came from a family of florists.
Out of the corner of his eye, while Athena distractedly rambled to Junie, he noticed a rather large crowd gathering around a table across the hall.
"What's going on over there?" he asked curiously, gaining both girls attention.
"I believe one of the girls is a practicing magician," Junie said, "Apparently, she's quite talented."
Apollo scoffed, "It's all just a trick of the eyes and hands."
"True, but it's still fun to see how they do it, right?"
"Well, why are we just talking about it?" Athena cut in, "C'mon, let's go check it out." She yanked both of them out of their chairs, and honestly, her strength was a bit terrifying, and dragged them towards the crowd. She easily pushed through some smaller girls until the show was in view. Unfortunately, all they saw was the back of said magician's head, long dark hair in a low bun, but they were able to atleast hear and see some of the tricks.
"You all just saw me make this girl's scarf disappear," the magician announced. Apollo felt an unexpected shudder run down his back. Something about their voice was…oddly familiar. Almost nostalgic, even.
He was jolted back into reality as everyone around him started applauding, the magician pulling the earlier mentioned scarf out from behind their own ear. Apollo felt the need to clap as well. Even if it was all a farce, it was still a pretty neat trick. He didn't know how they did it. It was only when the food was announced that the crowd dispersed and Apollo remembered he hadn't eaten since early that morning.
As he made his way to the front of the line, he saw one of the counselors, a rather odd woman by the name of Lotta, cut her way through the middle.
"Shyoot," Lotta said excitedly while he dished some vague pasta dish that resembled lasagna on his plate, "I reckon oranges are better than a squirrel in a landmine." Apollo gave her a confused look as she grabbed a handful of unpeeled oranges. "Sorry, hon," she said to a kid that she bumped into on her other side, "Didja want some?"
"No thanks," the kid replied cheerfully, "I'm allergic."
"That's a dern shame." She turned back to him. "What about you, buddy? You want some?"
"I'm sorry but I can't," he said hesitantly, "I'm allergic to citrus."
She scrutinized him, almost as if she thought he was lying. "Oh, right, duh," she finally said, playfully smacking herself, "You done just told me that." Then she looked confused. "Wait a tick, how did you get over there?" Apollo didn't bother to answer that question, and instead, went back over to his table to eat.
"Apollo," Athena waved at him, "So I was just talking to Junie and I came up with a theory." Oh boy. He nodded politely while he began chewing to show he was listening.
"Okay, so like, your dad is totally single, right?" He nodded in affirmation.
"And I live with my totally single mom." Another nod.
"And we're both named after Greek gods." Another nod.
"So, I'm thinking, wait for it," she pauses, putting a finger up, and takes a deep breath, "What if we're long-lost siblings?"
He choked on his current mouthful, and Athena rushed over, slapping his back a bit too hard. He took a large gulp of his water and shooed her away hastily before he became permanently damaged.
"Geez, I didn't think it would shock you that much," Athena said with a sheepish grin. He glared at her weakly while he took the time to catch his breath. After a few moments, he cleared his throat.
"Interesting theory," he coughed, "But there are a few glaring holes in your logic. The first one being, we don't look anything alike."
"Adoption exists," Athena waved off.
"The second hole is that my father has been single my entire life, and any change in that would definitely not be with a woman."
"Yeah, but we could still pretend," Athena argued. "How funny would that be to meet your long-lost sibling?"
"If by funny, you mean ridiculous, then sure," he retorted coolly.
Athena pouted. "You're no fun."
The table went silent as they all finished their meals. It was actually Juniper who broke the silence.
"So, has your dad really never been married? Like ever?" She asked in shock.
Apollo wiped his mouth neatly on a napkin before replying. "Once. I used to have two fathers, but my other one has been gone since I was a baby. I never met him."
"That's so sad," she whispered.
"You think so? I've never really given it much thought."
"Probably a deadbeat anyway," Athena said nonchalantly. "Can't think of any other reason why he wouldn't stay in touch."
"Yeah, 'Thena's right, 'Pollo," Juniper agreed, "You're better off without someone like that, right?"
"I suppose," he trailed off.
It was only as he lay in bed later that night that he wondered how true that actually was.
"Daddy, where's Mommy?" A much younger Trucy asked.
"C'mon, Truce, we've talked about this," a baritone voice responded. "You never had a mommy."
"Auntie Maya said I used to have two daddies," she admitted innocently. "Is that true?"
The tall male figure was overlayed in shadow, but she heard the hesitance. "Yes, honey, that's true."
"So why do I only have one now? Where did my other daddy go?"
"He's gone," her dad replied tersely.
"Gone where?!" she prodded, "Is he coming back?"
The man patted her head. "Trucy…" Then he disappeared. Trucy looked around her franticly.
"Daddy, where did you go?"
"He left."
Trucy turned around to look at the speaker, and her eyes widened as she saw herself, older.
"Daddy's gone now," Older Trucy said menacingly. "Just like our other daddy. That's what happens when you're a bad girl."a
Trucy felt the tears well up as the darkness surrounded her
"DADDY!"
Trucy jolted awake, breathing heavily. She rubbed her damp eyes and listened for the signs of her father snoring. She started to panic when she couldn't hear him, but it only took a moment to realize that she wasn't in her bedroom. She was 1000 miles away in Maine at camp. She flopped back on her bunk, with her arm across her face. She hadn't had that dream in months. Why now? Was it the conversation she'd had with Jinxie and Bonny yesterday? She felt herself start to relax again, and then bit back a groan when she saw the sky was beginning to lighten. They were going to have to wake up at sunrise anyway, so there really was no point in falling back asleep. She quietly stepped out of bed, tied her sneakers and made her way to the breakfast hall.
To her surprise, she wasn't the only one awake at this hour. There was one other person in the breakfast hall who looked as if they'd been there for a while. A taller girl with bright, orange hair even longer than hers. Trucy would almost feel jealous if she weren't so impressed.
The girl didn't seem to notice her, so she quietly made her way to the coffee table, careful to avoid drawing too much attention.
"Hey!" She heard a voice, but ignored it.
"Hey!" The girl tried again. "Are you sleepwalking or something?" Trucy continued to not respond. Finally, she heard a huff and flinched when a hand landed on her shoulder.
"C'mon, I thought we were friends!" Trucy looked into the angry (and rather pretty) blue eyes of the taller girl. "Don't ignore me!" Trucy stood stunned, too lethargic to move, as the other girl glared at her.
"Friends," she repeated hoarsely, while she scrutinized this other person. Maybe this girl was the one sleepwalking because while Trucy did get the sense she'd seen her around, she honestly had no idea who she was. And since it was still much earlier than Trucy was accustomed to being awake, she said as much. "And you are…?" she drew out, hoping the other girl would finish her sentence.
She half-expected anger or even hurt, but instead the other girl laughed in her face.
"What?! Oh man, you really aren't a morning person, are you?"
Trucy could tell she was being mocked, but felt too drained and confused to care, as the girl continued.
"That's pretty cute! You were so uptight yesterday, I figured you were the 'early to bed, early to rise' type, but I guess not." Then she smirked. "Also, didn't peg you as a Steel Samurai fan." She motioned to said t-shirt that Trucy didn't bother to change out of, an old worn thing with a faded logo of the Steel Samurai.
Normally, Trucy wasn't one to let other people carry the conversation for her, but this other girl seemed to have a criminal amount of energy for the both of them this early, so Trucy just quietly sipped her coffee and listened. Or tried to, anyway.
"Can you believe we're gonna be stuck here for eight weeks?" The girl asked her. She only grunted in response as the coffee started to do its magic.
"Geez, Apollo, you could atleast act like you're paying attention," she huffed. Trucy stopped drinking, suddenly alert.
"Apollo?" she asked. "Who's Apollo?" Trucy watched as about 50 different emotions played across the other girl's face before they finally settled on embarrassment and shock. The girl's face went almost as red as her hair before she started speaking again.
"Oh my gosh," she whispered in horror, "You're not Apollo."
"Nope," Trucy deadpanned. The other girl giggled nervously.
"Holy crap, that's why you seemed so confused. You don't even know me, and I got all mad at you like some crazy person for it." Trucy continued to stare, as the other girl covered her face in shame. "Wow, this is…really embarrassing I'm so sorry."
Comfort has never really been Trucy's forte, and this was especially true when she was half-asleep, so she poured another mug of coffee and handed it out to the other girl in a sort of peace offering. She took it gratefully, and narrowed her eyes, as if she was trying to see through her soul. Trucy squirmed in discomfort, and the girl's sudden laughter didn't help any.
"God, what was I thinking?" she asked, more to herself than anyone, "The hair should've been the first red flag."
"I'm sorry?"
"No, no, it's nothing," the girl backtracked. "You just look like one of my cabinmates but your hair is like super long."
"Ahh."
"I'm Athena, by the way." The girl held her hand out in greeting. "Figured I should tell you my name since I already made myself look like an idiot."
Trucy clasped her hand. "Trucy."
Athena grinned. "Nice to meet you! So…uhh…can we forget this ever happened?" she asked, the strained tone making her voice higher.
"Sure thing, Alaina," Trucy said wryly.
"It's Athena."
"Sorry, I thought you were someone else."
Athena's eyes widened in shock as Trucy downed the last of her coffee. She snickered and Trucy almost choked when the taller girl swung an arm around her shoulders, bringing her into an almost forceful half-hug.
"You're alright."
"Oh man, Apollo, the craziest thing happened this morning," Athena said in awe.
"Oh? Do tell."
"Well, I met this girl and-,"
"Truuuuucccyyy!" a voice from the distance shouted. Both teens turned around to see a small girl with a purple bob running towards them. She stopped in front of them, panting.
"Oh man," she wheezed, "I'm…really…out…of…shape."
"Are you alright?" Apollo asked, concerned. The girl put a finger up in a wait motion while she caught her breath. It took several moments of him and Athena exchanging confused looks before the girl was able to speak again.
"I've been looking all over for you! Jinxie's already at the fencing competition and-," she paused, as she fully looked at him. "You're not Trucy," she stated blankly.
"No…," he trailed off awkwardly, trying in vain to ignore Athena's giggling. The girl stared at him in disbelief.
"You look exactly like…nevermind," she muttered, as she started to run off.
"Hold it!" he called out, feeling slightly guilty at the wince the girl gave at his volume. "You mentioned a fencing competition?"
"Y-yeah," the girl stuttered, still recovering, "Right up the trail there. Better hurry though because it's almost over."
And with that, she was gone. Apollo could do nothing but stare for a moment. What had just happened?
"So anyway," he diverted his attention back to Athena, "What were you saying about some girl you met earlier?"
"Doesn't matter now," Athena blew him off, "Let's go fencing!"
It only took a few minutes before they both heard cheering.
"Trucy Wright continues to be the reigning champ!" Lotta announced. Apollo walked up to see a kid, their face covered by the fencing mask with their arm being held up in victory.
"Alright, y'all, reckon we got time for one more match! Anyone wanna go at it?"
"Apollo will!" Athena yelled out from next to him. The cheers began to die down, as everyone turned in his direction. He felt the heat gather from up his neck as he turned to glare at a smug Athena.
"You wanna challenge Ms. Wright here?" Lotta asked, looking for confirmation.
"Sure," Apollo sighed, resigned, "I'll take a whack at it."
He glowered at his friend one last time but her only response was to give him a thumbs up.
"Okay, kids, this here's our final match, so let's make it good, y'hear?" Lotta looked between the two kids as they stood in starting formation, raised her arm down with a whistle and Apollo swung.
The other kid, Trucy, if he remembered correctly, dodged with ease and brought their own counterstrike. They were quite swift, and only narrowly missed his chest. Apollo smirked. Challenge accepted.
Apollo went on the offensive, twisting this way and that, going over and under, trying to land a hit, and grew frustrated as Trucy nimbly avoided him with well-timed ducks and turns. Evidently, their "reigning champ" status thus far wasn't just a farce. Both kids found themselves on the porch of the cabin as the other campers looked on from below. He didn't realize how close they were to the edge until he nudged the other kid, managing to grab their sword, but immediately recoiled in shock as his competitor fell over the edge with a scream.
He heard a splash and winced, looking over the endge and giving a sigh of relief as he noticed they were in a water basin, relatively unharmed.
"I'm so sorry," he gasped, and then he bent over with his arm stretched out. "Here, let me help you."
"No," he heard them say in a clipped tone, as they grabbed his hand. "Let me help you." He felt a hard yank and he was airborne.
He sat there stunned, as he felt the water seep through his clothes.
"Are you completely mad?" he blurted out angrily to Trucy, who was now next to him, "What did you do that for?"
"You did it first," they huffed, their voice echoing under the helmet, "I was just repaying the favor."
"It was an accident!"
"Hmph." The other kid crossed their arms. If he were able to see their face, he's sure they would be pouting.
"Alright, that's enough of that!" Lotta came up, yanking them both by the collars. "Now, the winner is Apollo Justice!" Apollo took off his mask and started to ring out his clothes, back turned to his rival, but couldn't help the slight smugness he felt at Lotta's declaration.
"We don't like bad sports where I come from, so both y'all turn around and shake hands! C'mon now!"
Apollo sighed deeply and turned around to face his rival, only to meet their back. Their helmet was off, and he noticed their long brown hair in a low bun. Something about it seemed familiar.
"Ms. Wright!" Lotta scolded the other kid, "That means you too!"
He heard them scoff as they uncrossed their arms and turned around to face him. The snide remark about them being a sore loser falled dead on his tongue the minute his eyes met their own wide, matching brown ones.
The face he saw in front of him was his own.
Except it wasn't.
It was just identical.