The End, The Beginning

The cold rain began to pour down, at first as a light drizzle, then a steady down pour. The sharp drops fell onto Felix, staining his light brown coat to a heavy black mass. Felix looked up at the sky, the rain stinging his face, running down his cheeks like tears. Felix looked around the empty playground, at least he had thought it was empty, he caught a glimpse of a figure huddled under the slide, he recognized the woman as Madame Maureen, the fortune teller. Felix wondered if it was his imagination, he wasn't too sure of his sanity at this point. Felix thought it better to leave her be, she looked peaceful, and he didn't wish to disturb her.

Felix walked passed the slide, the rain muffling the crunch of mulch under his feet. As he walked down the alley, he heard the screech of a siren approaching the playground. Felix blocked out the incessant noise and continued down Rouse to the bus stop next to the entrance of the tunnel that had served as his home for so long. Through the years Felix had collected coins here and there, he wasn't one for begging, but if people saw him sitting by the road, they would throw a quarter, sometimes a dollar, at his feet. Felix estimated he had enough to get to the next state. Maybe he could find another tunnel and start over.

The Final Confrontation

"I am you."

Felix stared at the man in disbelief, he thought he must have heard incorrectly. Felix said with a little less determination, "what did you just say?"

"I'm you, Felix. I've always been here, but this is the first time you've actually been aware of me."

The man continued to smile at Felix in an almost patronizing way, and as Felix stared back, looking deeply into his eyes, the man seemed to become transparent, almost as if Felix could see right through him. Felix looked down at his feet, trying to gain his composure, reassuring himself that this was not a dream, and when he looked up, the man was gone. Felix felt an odd feeling of freedom, almost as if a weight on his life had been lifted.