After Dark

That morning, I woke up feeling groggy as usual, my head felt heavy and my thighs ached. With a groan of frustration, I pushed myself off the bed.

I had gone to bed last night sometime around nine and this morning, like every other morning in the past two months, I was waking up bone tired. I was feeling like I jas walked through the streets of Lagos all through the night.

I have no idea what caused my condition, the doctors are clueless about it. No matter how long I sleep, I would never wake up rested. I have taken all sorts of medications but all to no avail.

Then I began to think; could it be that I was just sleepwalking? Because once I slept off, I had no other memory until I woke up. Sleepwalking had to be the answer.

I went with this idea, trying to stop my sleepwalking until I noticed a startling fact, my bed was always made up whenever I woke up. It never had that rumpled look of a bed that had been slept in.

This could mean that I had truly been sleepwalking, it felt creepy imagining myself roaming around my house during the night when all was dark and even the gods were asleep.

Somehow though, it was not satisfied with this answer. I was way too tired for someone that has been roaming about aimlessly. I always felt drained and exhausted, like I had been involved in some strenuous activity.

By the time my muscles began to hurt real bad and it was getting difficult to live even a cup of water to my mouth, I began to get desperate. The doctors still did not know what was wrong with me. They felt it was another form of sleepwalking but they were not sure. They needed to run more tests. Meanwhile, my case kept getting worse.

I could not rely on the doctors anymore. I had to figure this out myself.

Every morning, I woke up tired and stressed out, this could mean that while my mind was sleeping, my body had not. And seeing as my bed was always made up when I woke up, it was safe to bet that whatever activity I did while asleep took place somewhere other than the bed. Then I stumbled on the dirty footprint on my living room carpet.

That was when I realized that had been sleepwalking outside the house. That was dangerous, anything could happen to me while I was in that state.

I did my research into sleepwalking and found out that when sleepwalking anything I do in that state is often habitual. Anything that requires active thinking would be impossible for me. So I decided to do something that was out of habit for me.

After locking up for the night, I took the keys, and instead of putting them in the flower vase close to the door, as usual, I hid it under the carpet in the living room. If I was sleepwalking, I shouldn't be able to remember that and go outside. And for better effect, I cuffed my wrists to my bedpost and put the key on the floor at the foot of the bed.

I slept off eventually.

And I woke up, tired as usual. This time I felt like I had run a marathon all over the country. There was nothing else for me to do except one thing.

To spy on myself.

I installed CCTV cameras all over the house and kept them active throughout the night. While I slept, they recorded. I had hidden the key under the carpet and cuffed myself to the bed once more.

And now, finally awake and feeling spent, I staggered to my computer so I could watch the video recording of the night. And as I watched, my mouth fell open.

I was not sleepwalking. Whatever it was I was doing I don't think there was a name for it just yet.

Watching myself, I saw that barely fifteen minutes after I slept off I got up again. And I don't remember doing that.

Then I took the key of the cuffs by the bed and unhooked myself. I got off the bed and hurriedly made it before walking to the wardrobe and taking off my pajamas so I could wear one of my flashy clothes.

"Oh my God!!" I gasped as I watched myself, those were my party clothes.

I couldn't tear my eyes off myself. I was not moving like someone who was sleepwalking. There was randomness in my movements. In fact, it looked to have a purpose. I was doing everything with my mind intact.

"What the..."

Finally done dressing up, I watched as I went to the fridge and took some snacks which I consumed in a surprisingly short time. I washed it down with some water and soda. Then I walked to the living room, gingerly lifted the carpet, and took the key I had been hiding.

"Holy..." My voice trailed off as I watched myself look at the camera, a smirk crossed my face. Then with a bounce in my step, I walked out of the house, waving at the camera.

"No..." I gasped, sitting back in my chair, "this cannot be..."

I kept watching, the house was empty for over eight hours until suddenly the door opened and I saw myself stumble in, looking like I had just had the time of my life. I put the key back under the carpet, took off my clothes, and wore my pajamas once more then went back to bed.

Less than fifteen minutes later, I was waking up now to come and watch the video of my insane night.

I was breathing hard and fast. I had just seen myself do things I could not remember doing. And I was losing my mind. The person I had seen in the video may have looked like me, but he sure as hell was not me. I could tell by the look in his eyes and the way he walked.

That was when I realized I had been seeing the wrong doctors all along, giving them wrong symptoms and they were giving me wrong results. What I needed was a psychiatrist.

I had an alter-ego.

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_{The End.
Image by Chris Bair
Thank you for reading.}

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