Enjoying the view of slowly falling snowflakes from the purple and orange sky above, Diego pauses for a moment before entering his building and watches as they flutter haplessly from the heavens. Breathing in deeply he watches as the vapor leaves his mouth and in a puff of visible smoke rises into the night sky. He jostles the keys in his hand. The song of jangle and tingle fill his ears from beneath his wool beanie. The powder accumulating will stick. The days have been cold as of late and this snowfall will be one to remember. 4 feet of snow is scheduled to come down throughout the night. The joy of playing in the snow dissipated as he grew older. What was once the height of playfulness in his childhood, has gone and been replaced with resentment for the danger on the roads and the crunch of the snow beneath his feet as he makes his way around town. Made. He doesn't spend much time going on walks as often.
I should see Toto. I don't really want to be here for the snow. I'm sure he'll let me stay at his place. Well, let me call him first. What if he has a girl over or something? Does he even have sex? I don't remember any girlfriends since high school. BOYFRIENDS!? Well done, sir. Hid it from all of us, or maybe just me? I'll ask him.
Diego, still in the doorway of his building, pulls out his phone. There is a crack along the bottom home button he is noticing for the first time. The hard case he bought has protected the back, but as valuables tend to do, it fell once face first onto the cement staircase out front of his building cracking at the bottom and scuffing near the front facing camera.
Aw man. When did this happen? Dangit.
“Hey Diego, what's up?”
Toto! Two things:
“Um, Toto? Still? Why though?”
Why? Because that's your name. Again, two things:
“Please, call me Tomas. I'll even settle for Tommy.”
Tommy? No. Who are you? Anyways, two things:
“Then, Tomas. I don't really care for Toto.”
Do you want to hear my two things, or not? Because you're being super selfish right now and my feelings are hurt.
“Selfish? Do you know what that word means? Speaking of, do you know what irony means?”
You're deflecting. TWO THINGS:
“Aww, are you back in therapy? You said 'deflecting.' I'm so proud of you.”
What? No. No. Should I go back? Do you think it helped?
“I don't know. Maybe. Also, could you just get to the two things? You're stalling.”
Ahh! How dare you sneak one in on me. Bastard!
“Ha ha. Point to me.”
Let me add that to your tally. Ooh look, you have 3 points. Good for you.
“Well, counting was never your strong suit.”
I love you. Two things: what are you doing tonight/tomorrow, and is that brisket taco food truck you've told me so much about still around?
“I love you too, man. Yes, I am around tonight and tomorrow. Why, are you in town? I work tomorrow so I wont be able to spend much time with you during the day, but afterward we can hang out. And yes, that brisket taco truck still cruises these here streets.”
No. Just because you live in Texas doesn't mean you can sound like you live in Texas.
“What can I say, Austin is rubbing off on me.”
Masturbation joke. Noted.
“What? No. That wasn't... whatever. Are you here?”
No, but I'm on my way.
“Are you flying?”
Err, no. I am in Austin, I just am making my way to your place from the Airport. What's your address? I'll catch a rideshare.
“That's like 20 bucks. I'll go get you. When did you land?”
Not too long ago. I've been working on some things here. No need. I'll make my way to you. Or, we could meet up at that taco truck. Where is it currently?
“I have no idea where it is. It usually hangs out by this one bar, but you can track it. I just made dinner. I made enough for a meal tonight and another one tomorrow. Want to come and eat with me and we can find the truck tomorrow night?”
Yeah. That's cool. I'll head your way soon as I can punch your address into this app.
“Right, I live right on the corner of Pressler and 6th. Just put that in. Call me when you get there and I'll go grab you.”
That's Downtown, right?
“Yeah. It's a little pricey, but I'm doing okay, so I can afford it.”
Cool. I am not doing okay. Well, that's not true. I'm doing great, but I am just not doing so well with money lately.
“You're not here for a loan are you, because I wont let you into my house if that's why you're here.”
Loan? No. Absolutely not. I know the rule. 'Never mix business and family. Never do work for someone you know.' I am not here for money. I just haven't seen you in a long time. I miss you. And there's something I have to tell slash show you.
“Are you in trouble?”
What? No. It's good news. Anyway, this says I'll be there in like 20 minutes. See you then?
“Yeah! Looking forward to it.”
Tomas hangs up the phone and begins feverishly cleaning his apartment.
Diego cannot remember a time where he visited Austin so he Poofs to Houston and follows the highway north until he reaches the bustling city of Austin. Poofing along the dimly lit city streets he makes his way to Pressler and 6th street in the Downtown neighborhood. Admiring the atmosphere and the quantity of shops and eateries he contemplates a longer trip than the 48 hours he plans to spend there. Reaching into his pocket he grabs his phone and checks the time. It’s only been 13 minutes. Maybe I’ll walk around a bit. He makes his way up and down the street enjoying the warm air and jealously watching everyone walking by as they enjoy their normal. Almost ten minutes pass, and he meanders back to the corner. He reaches for his phone and notices there is a live call. Tomas is on the line. Thinking quickly, “Shoot, I must have butt dialed him.”
“Hey Diego. You here?”
Yeah. Sorry, must have butt dialed you or something. Dude, I really like Austin. It doesn't even feel super Texan. Is that a thing?
“I don't know. Come back toward the apartments away from 6th on Pressler. I'll meet you out front.”
Um, no. You said you'd come out to me. I'll wait here on the corner. You live on the corner, right? I'm here at your house. Wait, that's not a house. You lie!
“Dude, seriously? You can see my building from where you are. Just walk a bit. I'll be right down. I'm coming down. Don't make me have to get all dressed.”
Are you naked? I don't do nudity.
“Diego. God. You're really on something today, huh?”
Too much? I'm just nervous. I don't mean to be too cheeky. I am just flustered.
“Why are you nervous? Are you sure you're not in trouble?”
Yeah. You'll see when I get there.
“Okay. I'm at the front, where are you?”
Walking up. I see you.
Diego hangs up the phone and slides it back into his right rear pocket. Everything has a place. Keys in the front right pocket. Wallet in the front left. Phone in the right rear pocket. Rear left pocket is empty. Always.
Hey man. Diego and Tomas embrace tightly and give each other a peck on the cheek. Dude, it's been longer than it should have. I'm sorry. How are you?
“I'm great. Work is going well. I have finally branched out on my own and am consulting full time now. Here, let me get the door.”
Diego, admiring the artwork on the walls inside, and the lovely courtyard out front, slowly takes in the gravity of the disparity of their current living situations. The success his family has seen financially seems to have escaped his grasp. All of the efforts put into gaining wealth that his siblings have put in has come to fruition. Tabitha is on track to be Vice President of global sales for the pharmaceutical company where she has worked since college and Tomas is a self-employed consultant in a swanky condo in a swanky building downtown Austin. He can feel a measure of jealousy rising inside him.
I'm proud of you. Good job.
“Thanks. Tabi has really inspired me to push further than I saw for myself. She got the call. She's going to be VP by the end of the quarter. I can't believe it.”
Great. Now we'll never see her again.
“What do you mean? She actually comes to Christmas.”
Rude.
“Ha. Come on in. This is my place.”
Wow, it's beautiful. Trendy, yet sensible. I like the art. It's really lifelike. So many large pieces. No nick knacks. You seem to have grown out of collecting those. A sleek home theater system. The appliances are beautiful as well.
“Are you casing my place?”
Yeah, see, I'm gonna rob ya, see?
“That's super convincing! Whatever will I do?”
Hey. Look, I can't handle the butterflies anymore.
“Have a seat. I'll get us some coffee. I have a Nespreso machine. I love it.”
Ooh, I love Nespreso. It's all over Europe.
“Sure is.”
Hey. This might sound freaky or whatever, but I need to you just hear me out before you say something.
“Alright. You go ahead, I'll just listen.”
Great, thanks. I appreciate it. So, in September of last year I discovered I could poof. I'm calling it poofing. No arguing. I can poof from one place to another. I was at the bakery where I worked. Yes, 'worked.' I learned I could poof and I just never went back. I didn't mean to quit, or get myself no call no show fired, but that's what happened. I've been living off savings since. Again, I am NOT here for money. Don't even offer it. I wont accept. I don't need your blood money.
“Blood money?”
I said no arguing!
“Whatever.”
Thank you. Since then I have been just poofing everywhere I can think of. I went to Fiji, I've been all over Europe, I even made my way to the Gulf of Mexico and free dived, dove, whatever, down into the depths. It goes further than you can imagine, and the vast nothingness was terrifying. Really. Don't do it.
“I don't understand. Poof?”
Yes. Call it that. Some people might be inclined to say something like teleport or translate, but they are wrong. What I do is poofing. No arguing. I can't believe I have to tell you so many times.
“Is that the best you could come up with?”
I thought it was funny and I want to stick with it. I don't think I've ever heard it referred to like that.
“I see. Okay. So, you can 'poof.'”
Don't use air quotes.
“Fine, 'poof.' Show me.”
Thought you'd never ask.
Diego pauses for a moment, deciding where would be fun to scamper off to, and chooses his house, but first he grabs hold of the only action figure sized sculpture on Tomas' desk.
I'm going to take this with me. Home.
In an instant, Diego finds himself back home, elephant in hand. He puts it on the kitchen counter and checks the fridge, but there isn't anything interesting and he closes it. Immediately thereafter, he poofs back to Tomas' living room.
See?
“I didn't see anything. Where's my elephant though?”
WHAT? You didn't see me disappear?
“No. You just stood there. Your eyes went blank for a moment and then you looked confused for a second and then you said 'See?'.”
Confused and alarmed, Diego is fighting to reign in his frustration. He looks about the condo to take something else, something more substantial to be truly convincing. He sits down in a large black leather comfy chair. He pulls the wooden lever on the right side and reclines back and rests his feet on the riser.
This looks comfy. I'll just take it Home.
In his living room, with his brother's chair. He yanks his cellphone from his pocket and snaps a selfie in his apartment showing his home theater setup and the bookcases adjacent to it. Satisfied with the photo, he jumps to his feet and heads right back to Tomas' condo.
Well?
“I don't know what's happening, but you haven't left yet. This time though, the chair disappeared from underneath you. I didn't know you were into magic. Where'd you hide it?”
What? Dude, it's at my house. I swear. It's in my living room. Look, I even took a selfie. Here.
Upon seeing the image on Diego's phone, he becomes confused and a little amazed, “That does look like my chair. It even has the discoloration on the headrest. How?”
I told you, I can poof. Maybe you saw an after image or something? Maybe an echo?
“No. You looked confused and annoyed that you fell, but it was you. Here, 'poof' somewhere and stay there for a few minutes so I can talk to the you that's still here.”
Don't use air quotes. It's rude. Fine. I'll just go back Home.
With that, Diego arrives back in his apartment and sits down on his new comfy chair. He looks for the discoloration Tomas mentioned and tries to find any other blemishes.
Tomas watches closely as Diego, the Diego in his condo, regains his bearings. With a shake of his head he clears the cobwebs therein and takes stock of his surroundings.
“Diego. You good? You didn't go anywhere like you said you were going to.”
I did, actually. Or, he did. I think there is more than one of me. I think we trade places when we poof.
“You call it poofing too?”
Yeah. I'm sure we all do. You should too, because you're my brother and you need to support me.
“This is weird. I will admit. Where's my chair and my elephant?”
I don't know. You get to keep what you're holding when you poof. But if you're not holding anything, it stays. I think I am getting the short end of this stick though. Maybe he figured it out first or maybe I am the one that gets to keep him connected to the different versions of himself, or maybe, and worst of all, maybe I'm just his echo?
“What?”
I don't know how it works. All I know is that I tend to bounce around. I'm at home, I'm at mom and dad's place, I'm here, I'm at a restaurant. It's really confusing and super annoying. Can you do anything like this?
“No. Nobody can. You don't seem too well.”
Luckily, he doesn't poof too much, so I get to recover. Well, there was this one time he was playing catch with himself. I thought I was going to die. I even saw him. It was so weird. He stopped for a few days after that though.
“I don't understand. What the fuck are you talking about.”
I can poof. But it's not what I thought. I thought I was just teleporting around, but I think it's more than that. I think it's just me throwing my consciousness into other versions of myself. Well, he is doing that, and I am the one that goes into the one where he was last. So maybe we all get shifted? And I think that only happens when he is connected to something or someone. I tend to find myself in places where he has a connection, but I can't imagine that's the only times he does it. So maybe, I only pop up when he has an emotional stake somewhere, and that's how he comes back. Interesting, this makes more sense now. So, he moves forward while poofing, through realities, but then he comes back when he leaves me, an echo, if he's strongly connected to the place where he is poofing from. Fuck. That sucks for me, maybe I am not the person I thought I was, and I'm just an echo of him. How many times has he poofed since he got here?
“Just twice.”
Hmm. I came here twice, but that doesn't prove he's the only one. Maybe there are others like him in different realities? I don't know, I have no idea what's going on. I am a little disappointed you're not like me. Guess I wont tell Tabi or mom or dad.
“Yeah, I wouldn't. None of what you're saying is making sense. It's not possible. Please though, give me back my chair and my elephant. Now.”
Call him.
And just then, the echo left behind when Diego poofed home begins to slowly fade away. Tomas, freaking out, quickly grabs his phone and calls Diego.
Believe me?
“You just disappeared. Where did you go. You told me to call you and then you disappeared.”
What? No, I didn't. I mean, I poofed a few minutes ago, but I didn't tell you to call me.
“Yes, you did. You did. You told me to call you. You said you were some kind of consciousness left behind. That you aren't teleporting, you're just throwing your consciousness. And then you disappeared. GIVE ME BACK MY CHAIR!!”
Fine, I'll give you back the chair, but, throwing my consciousness? Does that mean I can visit different realities? Aw man, I thought I was teleporting. Well shit, now I have to try and spot what's different in each place. I don't want to do that, you know I'm not too good at attention to detail.
“MY CHAIR!”
Jees, I'm coming.
Diego hurries to the kitchen to retrieve the small wooden elephant. He scurries back to the den and jumps into the air and as he lands on the black reclined leather chair, he wills himself to Tomas' condo.
Here, take the stupid elephant. And there's your chair.
“Look, I don't know how you did it. I don't know how you made my chair disappear and how you made it reappear. I don't want to hear any more about this poofing that you're doing. I'm not interested. Got it?”
Come on man. I came to you because I wanted to share with you what's going on in my life. I didn't mean to bring you any grief.
“Well, I don't like what just happened. You don't seem to have a firm grasp on the trick, and it comes off as creepy more than anything.”
Dude, it's not a trick. I went to my apartment. I showed you the selfie. Look, I don't know what's going on, I'm going back home.
“Wait, you don't have to leave. Let's just hang out. Maybe talk about this some other time, when you have a better grasp on what's actually going on?”
Okay. Yeah, okay. I'm starving. Let's get something to eat.
“That sounds good. Hey, you know your watch is off?”
Oh, I know. The battery dies all the time. It's annoying.
“Maybe get a self-winding watch? They don't use batteries.”
Good idea.