The day was gloomy, the clouds were grey and the sky was barely visible. Marcela put on her white sneakers and black jacket for the school day. She straightened her dark black hair, put blush on her cheeks to give her face a wash of color. Marcela attended her classes that day normally, but suddenly felt dizzy by her third class. 

“Ms. can I go to the nurse,” she said as she felt the warmth of her forehead. “Of course” the teacher replied. 

Marcela walked through the narrow hallways of her school and headed downstairs to the nurse’s office. The nurse said, “Looks like you have a fever…..103 degrees, you should go home and rest”.

She called her mom and asked to leave and go home for the day. “Ma I’m not feeling too well I’m going home”. On her way back home she walked through the empty sidewalks as her body began to warm up even more. The trees looked like dark shadows from a distance as the fog surrounded the forest. Marcela walked closer to a yellow two-story structure, the brightest one on the block. Finally, she arrived at her home. She took off her shoes and hanged her jacket by the door. Marcela took a glass of water and two ibuprofen pills, then headed upstairs to her room. The door to her room was open and she stepped into her poorly lit room and took a nap.

She was awakened by a mysterious tapping noise outside her room. The clock read 10 p.m. which meant someone had to be home already at this time. Marcela calls her mom “Please leave a message at…” 

No answer.

Strangely no one was home. Marcela heads downstairs to her balcony and waits for her mom to come home. She opens the door, the air was crisp and smelled like fresh rain. The breeze went through her hair as she sat on the front porch and observed the darkness of the streets in silence. Suddenly she sees someone from afar on their red bike. The person seems to be heading in her direction. She can only see the silhouette of the person from a few feet away. Her face wasn’t quite visible since the lighting was dim outside. 

It was a girl. She stepped closer to Marcela and stood there. Marcela was confused, as she stepped closer to the girl she realized they both had the same features. Long black hair, a black jacket, and white sneakers. They just stood there without saying a word. Marcela waved.

The girl waved back.

There was an uncomfortable tension between them and she couldn’t understand what was going on. 

Marcela goes back to her front porch again and pauses when the girl says 

“Stop!”

“What?” Marcela replied

“Don’t go back in”.

At this point Marcela ran to her house and closed the door, she locked herself in her room. Marcela sat on her bed and just sat there with thoughts running through her head. 

“Did I just see myself?…”

She then drifted into a deep sleep after a chaotic night.

The next morning she was awakened by the beaming sunlight coming through her window. She was scared of what was going to happen. There were noises outside her door, dishes clattering, and footsteps. Marcela opens the door slowly only to realize it was her mom. 

“Ma…what time did you come home last night?”

“I arrived around 6 pm, you were asleep so I didn’t want to wake you,” her mom said.

“Did I sleep throughout the whole night? I didn’t hear you come in” Marcela replied.

“Yes, you were in a deep sleep, probably because you weren’t feeling well.” Her mom stated

“Oh. Strange.” Marcela realized it was probably just a fever dream.

That same night she was closing her blinds and getting ready to sleep at 10 pm when she saw a girl passing by her house, 

she had a red bike.