Why Are There Two?

Why Are There Two?(Florence) ‘’He looks just like James though.’’

Inessa comments.

‘’So?’’

Noelle shoots back.

“Isn’t it weird. They could literally be twins.”

‘’But they are not.”

‘’But that should not matter. Don’t you want to wait for a while? Are you sure you want to date? After the….er….”

‘’After his death. It doesn’t feel like I’m jumping into things. Don’t worry.”

‘’But……’’

‘’Stop. I’ll be fine.’’

Noelle, even after her best friend, Inessa, warns her, goes over to the table in front of them, where a man is seated, with his laptop.

‘’Hello.’’ She says, flirtatiously.

‘’Um hi?’’

‘’What’s your name?’’

‘’James.’’

‘’Perfect. Do you want to go out with me sometime?’’

“You don’t even know me.’’

“I just think you’re hot, and I wanted to say hi. No no, don’t let this go to your head now.”

James looks at her, impressed.

“What is your name?”

“Nala uh sorry Noelle.”

“Okay then Noelle, here is my number, text me.”

‘’Great. See you.”

Inessa, shell-shocked, sprints to Noelle.

‘’The heck.”

“I know. Guys are fools.”

“He seems sweet okay, shut up.”

‘’When are you going to text him?’’

‘’Now.”

Noelle winks.

Inessa rolls her eyes.

Her best friend was always a bit odd. Not in a bad way. But, sometimes, in a very concerning way. Really. She was smart and cunning it was scary. But at the same time, she wasn’t. It depended on the situation. When it was called for, Noelle was superhuman, all quick and clever. Otherwise, she’d be the dumbest person on earth, and half of the times, she would not even remember the stuff she’s done and said during all the ‘superhuman’ phases. Truly peculiar.

Noelle did not have any friends until Inessa came along. She was the quiet and timid kind. She was always on time for work, she’d submit projects way before deadlines, attend all her meetings. An angel. She wasn’t the kind to interact voluntarily, and she was fine with that.

Inessa and Noelle were friends for three years now. Inessa wasn’t scared of Noelle per se, but was certainly creeped out by her sudden antics.

Now the James Inessa was talking about earlier, at first, was Noelle’s boyfriend. Of two years. He passed away. No one knows how, when and why. Nobody knows if he was killed or if James was responsible for his own death. What had happened was that he was found in one of the large dumpsters inside his apartment building.

Not many people moped about, after hearing about his death. He was an orphan, had a few close friends and only interacted with a small group of people from work on a daily basis.

They had bonded over the ‘wonders of being an orphan’, as Noelle was rendered an orphan, from the age of four.

They first met at a press meet. They then came across each other’s Instagram profile. The ‘talking phase’ lasted about half a year.

James was deeply charmed by Noelle’s wit. They were equally introverted and had loved each other’s company.

‘’Ahh well, as long as she doesn’t get too carried away with this new James.’’

Inessa tells herself.

Fast forward to half a year later. Noelle and the new James are dating, the relationship being more alive than ever.

‘’I’m sorry but do you not understand. He could literally be his twin. He literally works in the same firm. He’s from the same hometown. He’s an orphan. Do you not see the resemblance?’’

Inessa, frustrated, tries to talk some sense into her head.

‘’There is an uncanny resemblance, yes, but I have gotten to know him and he’s just the best. Almost perfect…. too good to be true.’’

‘’Exactly my point. There has to be something he’s hiding. Don’t do this.’’

‘’Don’t do what?’’

‘’Stop hanging out with him. He could be dangerous. You never really know.’’

‘’I know everything about him. There are no secrets, and if there happen to be any, it’s harmless. Trust me on this. We really like each other.’’

Inessa frowns, in disbelief.

The interactions between James and Inessa were minimal. She played the role of a messenger sometimes, when Noelle wanted to give him something, it was mostly sent through Inessa, as she lived a block away from James.

The three of them did meet together often, and Inessa didn’t feel like the third wheel, most of the times. Noelle always made sure to include Inessa in conversations and fun outings.

There was one thing though. Eight months into the relationship, Inessa soon realized that Noelle started acting out of sorts. She was unable to recall certain parts of the day, sometimes even days all together. James, seemed very anxious and stressed about something.

Inessa tried talking to them, simultaneously, but failed and the level of confusion arose. She was puzzled, and wanted to find answers.

This bizarre behavior continued for the rest of the year.

The new year unfolded in a very dull manner. Inessa really wanted the both of them to take a stance and put an end to their relationship. It seemed toxic at this point. The authenticity of the relationship was no more and it was visible that both of them needed to be away from each other for a while.

‘’Look we are doing just fine. What is your problem?’’

‘’Oh, my problem? You both don’t even look at each other nowadays. It appears as if you guys quarrel all day long. I’m sorry but is very noticeable and it needs to stop.’’

‘’I’m done with this conversation. I don’t care about what you see and what you think. You’ve never bothered to be happy for me. Always bitter and moody. Get lost, really.”

Dumbfounded, Inessa urges herself to retaliate and to defend herself but no words come out.

‘’See? Now that I’ve called you out, you stand there like a goldfish, as dumb and pathetic as ever.

‘’I…um…what the….? Noelle, I just wanted- ‘’

‘’Oh, shut up already just stop talking and kindly go away.’’

Inessa wondered and wondered. Noelle, on a daily basis is the most chill person ever. Sometimes she has talked and acted out, but never to her. She never has had any serious outbursts to her like that.

Well, after that very honest, truthful and rather painful chat, Inessa decided that she would go over to James’, in the hope of him shedding some light upon the situation, and helping Noelle.

She wanted to go over on the same day but got held up and ended up going over after a few days.

As she reached his door and was about to knock, she realized that the door was slightly ajar.

She could hear voices of two different octaves, back and forth. She recognized both of the voices in an instant. She peeped in and was horrified.

Her best friend, held a huge knife in one hand, and a plastic bag in the other, was glaring at James, who was huddled in the corner of the room, his eyes glistening with tears.

‘’I did what I had to do and I don’t regret it. I will never regret it. In fact, I feel quite proud of myself…stop changing the subject. You die today. We cannot change dates, I’m afraid. I have it all written in my schedule.”

‘’Nala you are a sick human being. You need help. Come with me. Noelle, if you can hear me, you need to know that you are a good person. You are hurt and you are just trying to protect yourself, I understand and respect that. Just let me help you.”

“Cut the crap James.’’

Fear grips Inessa’s heart. James stands there, genuinely frightened, while Noelle stands there and growls at him.

‘’Nala? What is going on? Should I get the police?’’ Inessa thinks to herself.

She is interrupted by a loud scream. She runs back to the elevator and knocks down the doors of the neighbours.

‘’Hello dear. What’s the matter?’’ A man in his 50’s asks.

‘’Please will you go to that apartment and call for James? Please it is urgent.”

He does so and the apartment goes silent.

Noelle grunts and turns to James.

“I will be back. Nothing will save you then.”

She opened the apartment door and sauntered off.

Inessa had hid herself and had come back out after Noelle left. She went to James’ apartment to find that the door was completely open, and James was slumped against the wall.

Inessa sits right next him.

“You need to fill me in. I saved your life, yes, thank me later. Who the hell is Nala? Why does Noelle want you dead? What did she do? She feels proud? Of what? What was she doing here with that knife, did she actually want to kill you?’’

Completely drained and worn out, James does not answer, but dips his head and sobs.

Alarmed, Inessa tries to comfort him.

‘’It’ll be okay. We’ll figure this out.’’

James lays his heavy head on Inessa’s shoulders, feeling a tad bit of relief.

Inessa stayed there for the night. They didn’t talk much, but they did communicate. Inessa understood that there were some deep-rooted conflicts and happenings which she wasn’t aware of.

The next day, Inessa and James went to a small park, which was right next to a busy railway station to talk, undisturbed.

‘’My name is actually Flynn. I am James’ twin brother.’’

Inessa stares blankly.

‘’Does Noelle know this? Why did you use another name?’’

‘’I just didn't want to use my own. No. He was about to tell her, but then she started acting weird and…’’

‘’Oh, what is this why didn’t you tell me this before?’

‘’I’m sorry I should’ve told you, but since you hang around Nala….er I mean Noelle so much I didn’t want to risk it.’’

‘’Who is this Nala?’’

‘’Yeah, I’ll get to that.

James’ death wasn’t an accident. In fact, I was aware of the ‘how’, ‘where’, and ‘why’.

He had killed himself in the bedroom of his apartment. Upon finding this out, Nal- er…Noelle….um…she carried him out and put him in one of the dumpsters.’’

‘’How did you even? So…. she killed him? But that’s completely irrational, do you even have proof?’’

‘’Inessa can you shut up for a minute?’’

Inessa reddens.

‘’So, you are aware of the fact that Noelle, sometimes could not recall what she did during the day and where she was at a particular time, right?’’

‘’Mhmm…yes but she always told be it was because of her headaches.’’

‘’She also used to be timid, dumb and nice in some situations, but absolutely ferocious in others, right?’’

She nods.

‘’Well, this is because, she is suffering from dissociative identity disorder, also known as multi personality disorder, where the individual, the host, has alters. These alters have completely different personalities, thinking, memories etc. Noelle, the host, is the calm, composed and kind one. Nala, is the cunning, rude and nasty one. She is the alter.’’

‘’Oh, what actual- wait is this true? Then why can’t Noelle remove Nala?’’

“Noelle isn’t even aware of this whole situation. In this case, the host is powerless, and the alter, Nala can jump in whenever she wants. This is a psychological disorder, and Noelle has to receive help from professionals. It could take years for Noelle to recover, as Nala has to leave, and trust me, interacting with Nala is the last thing you want to do.”

‘’So, there’s another person in…. Noelle?’’

‘’Something like that, yes, it is more like two different personalities in the body, one host and one alter.’’

‘’So, can there be more?’’

“Yeah there could even be a hundred alters. Thankfully, it’s just Nala here.’’

‘’How did you know this? Did James tell you this?’’

‘’James wasn’t aware of this, but he did know something was up. In about five months into the relationship with Noelle, he told me that Noelle acted weird. She was hurtful, she hit him, burned him, made him do all her work. The most spiteful person, actually. A nightmare. He was afraid of her.

He told me not to tell anyone, and that Nala would kill him if she found out he was telling me.

Noelle, as usual would not have a clue and would ask him about his scars every day. Sadly, Nala would appear and treat him horribly again. He wanted to break up with her, and even tried to, in a public place, but she stalked him and hurt him, physically.

He couldn’t take it anymore, he hung himself. He even left a note, so that everything would be clearly explained and understood, but Nala found it and threw it, after she dragged him out to the dumpsters.’’

‘’He could’ve told me, I would’ve helped, I mean, I saw her every day I could’ve, I was her best friend….”

Inessa, dejected, stays silent.

‘’He didn’t want to take that risk. You would’ve been in danger too.’’

‘’How did you find out about this whole disorder?’’

“I looked it up on the internet at first. I then, talked to a few professionals and upon surety, I decided to come up here and see her, posing as a random guy in a coffee shop. It was easy for me, as Noelle approached me right then. After a few months of dating her, I knew what James said was true, as Nala was starting to appear, and was as rude as possible. I confronted her, and at that instant Nala jumped out at me.

You know, something I didn’t mention before was that, people with this disorder, are affected due to many reasons. It can be due to self-hate, any trauma, incompetency to deal with situations, unpleasant childhood experiences etc.

Nala was born when Noelle was 16, when Noelle had a rough sexual encounter with her first ever boyfriend. Noelle didn’t want to, but he forced her and it did not end well. Noelle, due to this reason, was, and is scarred for life.

Nala is there to protect her from such horrible experiences, and she’s gone to great lengths. He.....he may have killed himself, but he died because of her. Only her.’’

‘’I am sorry Flynn. I did not realize, er…. but…how did you find this out?”

‘’Yes, so….as soon as I confronted Nala and told her that I am Flynn, James’ twin, she lashed out at me, she was really scary, I was so afraid. She told me about Noelle’s boyfriend, and what she had done with James. She was not afraid at all. She was quite calm after that, I had offered help, and told her that it was fine and she should get help, for Noelle’s sake. She didn’t budge. She plainly told me that she was not planning to leave Noelle and would stay.’’

‘’But…that could put Noelle in danger.”

‘’Exactly, I told her that, and she said that I was wrong, and that Noelle would be shattered if she wasn’t there.”

“Well.”

‘’We’ve got to do something now. We’ve got to- ‘’

‘’How dare you.’’

Inessa and Flynn turned around in a flash and saw that Noelle, was leaning against a tree, right behind them.

‘’Look, Nala, now that I know, it’ll be okay. We can help you. You want Noelle safe and so do we.’’

Inessa, abashed, pleads with Nala.

‘’No. I was counting on you to protect Noelle and safeguard her from people like him.’’

‘’People like him? Nala, you killed Flynn’s brother, who genuinely cared about Noelle. Flynn comes here to help you, not to get revenge or anything like that. Why don’t you want any help? You even wanted to kill Flynn the other day. Do you want to kill me now too?’’

‘’Yes, I am the cause of James’ death. Yes, I wanted to kill Flynn. I still want to. Now that I think of it, I want to kill you too.’’

Flynn looks at Nala and all around her, to see if there is a way out, to see if he can trap Nala. Nothing.

‘’You know Flynn, I wanted to kill you the day I saw you, because you look so much like James, I thought to myself, ‘ahhh, such a nice pair to send to heaven…or rather, to hell’ , I’m so very sad that I lost the chance to kill you that day.’’

Nala stood there, smirking at them.

Flynn erupted and flung himself onto Nala.

Nala was too quick and drew out a small, but sharp knife and slashed.

Flynn fell and stayed there, groaning.

A moment of silence, before Inessa took off, with Nala going after her.

Inessa could hear the ground trembling as the trains were approaching.

‘’Oh no, I can’t cross now, what- where do I hide, wait I can call the police yes, ugh I don’t have it, I left it on the bench.’’

Inessa abruptly turns left and hides behind a small vacated building, and hears Nala’s fast approaching footsteps.

Since it was a rough, sharp turn, Nala was not able to turn left as Inessa had done, and had tripped on the curb, fell with a loud thud.

After a few minutes, Inessa appeared and examined Nala from afar.

Unmoving and covered with blood, she lay there, slumped onto the sidewalk.

‘’Inessa? What are we doing here?’’

Noelle calls out as Inessa was going over to get help.

Inessa knew that Noelle was really hurt, and was in no position to get up and walk or run, but she was still petrified.

‘’Heyy…. I’m going to get help. Just stay there okay?’’

Inessa sprints over to Flynn and sees that he’s alright. She turns his body over and helps him sit upright.

‘’What happened?’’

“She’s okay. Noelle’s here now. She’ll be here for a while.”

She calls the police and they arrive and help them out.

Six hours later, bathed and fed, Noelle is visited by Flynn and Inessa, and two doctors.

They try their hardest to get something across to Noelle but Nala would just not allow it.

‘’The poor girl has no control over her own life, her own body. She’ll have to undergo therapy. She’ll be alright, now that the both of you have come clean and let us know about everything.”

Inessa and Flynn nodded.

They were to visit Noelle once a week, and talk to Nala, if they could.

James got a proper funeral.

Flynn was thankful that he had Inessa to help him out.

Inessa was glad that she was now fully aware, and was determined to help her best friend.